There’s just a few legislative days left for the 2025 General Assembly. Those following or hoping for particular pieces of legislation to be passed may be starting to get nervous. But, as readers of James Magazine Online no doubt know, the volume of passing legislation that is sure to come on Sine Die can be immense. For those following natural resources or conservation issues this year, a handful of bills are still waiting to be passed.
The Georgia Conservancy is following those issues closely and in its legislative update this week noted the House passage of the amended budget for FY 2026 that includes an additional $4 million in Conserve Georgia Grant funding for the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP). The amended budget is currently in the Senate and will certainly get a hearing before the end of the session but the amended part can also certainly be amended again. That additional $4 million is on top of Governor Brian Kemp’s proposed $23 million for the fund, bringing the total to more than $27 million. With a very likely decline in federal support for grants like these, the additional funding could be critical for certain projects so supporters of the GOSP are hopeful for approval from the Senate.
The Conservancy and other conservation stakeholders are also following House Bill 90, which would increase maximum acreage for CUVA (conservation use value assessment) qualifications. The current CUVA rules allow for conservation benefits and tax reductions for landowners who agree to a 10-year covenant that reserves a portion of the property for conservation use or certain agricultural purposes, as well as prohibiting development of that acreage. There is no minimum acreage allowable in the program but 2,000 acres is the maximum for which a landowner can seek the CUVA benefits. H.B. 90 would push that maximum out to 4,000 acres. The hope by supporters is that it would broaden the pool of potential property owners looking to preserve their land with more enticing benefits and the bill is limited in that no other changes to the CUVA benefits are included in the bill. This bill has already passed the Senate and House and will head to the governor’s desk but notably will also require passed by voters in the 2026 general election as an amendment to the state constitution.
Another item conservation supporters are watching involves farmland conservation. The Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund and Program was created during the 2023 legislation as an effort to preserve farmland across the state, noting that over the last forty years, the state lost more than 2.6 million acres of crop, hay and pasture land. In the FY 2024 budget, the state allocated an initial $2 million for the fund, not a lot for a program that seeks to limit development on often highly sought-after land that is proximate to quickly developing areas in metro Atlanta and other regions.
With several of these and other concerns depending on funding from the budget, the outcomes might not be known until the Senate passes the amended budget. This could come before Sine Die or early on the day as it did last year but it may also be a nailbiter to the end like many other years. There’s plenty of reason to watch until the end.
