With the 2021 legislative session underway, advocacy groups from a variety of areas turn their eyes to the Gold Dome to either push for new rules or laws, or perhaps to guard against new ones. One of these groups includes conservation advocates, and not just of the stereotypical environmentalist-type, but also farmers, tourism industry officials, and regular community residents.
The Georgia Conservancy is one of the leading advocates for conservation in the state and is again watching the goings on in Atlanta. A number of issues are high on their radar this year, some that have come around before and a couple new ones. It is the first session of a two-year assembly, so even those pieces of legislation that have had a hearing before will have to start all over, back at the beginning.
The Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP) was passed via an amendment in 2018 with 83% support. The program provides a dedicated funding mechanism to support parks and trails, protecting and acquiring land critical for wildlife, and clean water and other outdoor recreation. In only its second year of existence, with Covid-19 in full swing, approximately $5 million was removed from the GOSP allocation in this year’s budget. The Conservancy is hoping for the restoration of funding in the amended budget – something that may be possible due to the unexpected return of revenue after the drop last spring.
The Conservancy will also be pushing for the reauthorization of the Georgia Land Conservation Tax Credit, which will sunset on December 31 of this year unless reauthorized by legislators. The Conservancy is working with the Association of Georgia Land Trust to advocate for reauthorization, as the tax credit offers landowners a financial incentive for protecting lands.
Another recently voter-approved measure was Amendment 1 from last November, which allows the General Assembly to dedicate existing trust funds whereby fees collected for a specific purpose must be allocated to that purpose rather than be redirected to the General Fund. Surprisingly – or perhaps not so surprisingly, more legislation may be needed to give that amendment some extra teeth, or at least an expanded mission. The Conservancy is hoping to see legislation that would dedicate the Solid and Hazardous Waste Trust Funds.
One of the items that may make some news is the push for a carbon registry in Georgia. The Georgia Forestry Association, the Nature Conservancy and Southface are all partnering with the Georgia Conservancy to help introduce legislation that would establish such a registry, enabling the creation and tracking of carbon credits in the state. These credits could be accrued and sold by developers hoping to offset their carbon footprint. The idea of a carbon registry or carbon credits has been a controversial one and may have trouble gaining a foothold in the state.
