2025 Legislative Session Update

Weekly updates of the Georgia General Assembly’s Legislative Session

Principled advocacy relies upon sound data and inclusive collaboration. With this in mind, the Georgia Conservancy's Advocacy team is under the Gold Dome every day of the Legislative Session working with partners in advocating for the protection of Georgia's land, water, and communities.

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Last week, the 2025 Legislative Session of the Georgia General Assembly officially kicked off under the Gold Dome.

On Thursday, January 16, Governor Brian Kemp gave his State of the State Address and presented his recommendations for an amended FY 2025 Budget and the FY 2026 Budget. Click here to read the Governor's budget report.

Included in the Governor's FY 2026 budget is $23,012,109 allocated to the Conserve Georgia Grant through the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program. Thanks to the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act, which was passed in 2018, 40% of existing State sales and use taxes on outdoor sporting goods is annually dedicated to fund "stewardship projects for existing state and local parks, acquire and develop new state and local parks, and acquire and protect new lands critical to the protection of our wildlife and clean water supplies". The FY 2026 amount represents a more than $7 million decrease from the FY 2025 budget. Cited in the Governor's budget, the decrease is due to safeguards put in place statutorily when the grant program was implemented. The Governor's recommended changes the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program in the FY2026 budget include: 
1. Reduce funds for grants and benefits to reflect a decrease in FY 2024 collections of sporting goods stores sales and use tax pursuant to O.C.G.A. 12-6A-5.
2. Reduce funds for grants and benefits by 20% to reflect a greater than one percent reduction in collections pursuant to O.C.G.A. 12-6A-5.

We will continue to follow the appropriations process as it relates to Georgia’s natural resources.

Additionally, last week the General Assembly passed an adjournment resolution, effectively setting the calendar for the 2025 Legislative Session. Key dates include Crossover Day (March 6th) and Sine Die, or the last day of the session (April 4th).

If you are not already on our legislative email list and you would like to receive our weekly Legislative Updates, which are emailed every week during the session, please click here to subscribe. In addition to the weekly email, you can also find the updates at: www.georgiaconservancy.org/advocacy/update

The Georgia Conservancy's Advocacy team is at the State Capitol every day of the Legislative Session advocating for the protection of Georgia's land and water.

There are often many surprises that arrive during the three-month session. Some of these surprises may be welcome pieces of legislation that will be of benefit to Georgia's natural resources, while others could have dire consequences for our state.

The Georgia Conservancy has a clear set of priorities and is monitoring any legislation introduced that could be of benefit or detriment to our state’s natural resources.

We are currently focused on a number of potential legislative and budget actions, some of which were introduced during last year's session, as well as forwarding other conservation-minded legislation during the 2025 Legislative Session. Some of these include:
 

Farmland Conservation -  During the 2025 Legislative Session, the Georgia Conservancy will advocate for increased, consistent, and sustainable funding for the newly established Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund and Program, and additional policies that may help achieve this goal. In the FY 2024 Budget, the State allocated $2 million in initial funding for the program.

The Georgia Farmland Conservation Program was established during the 2023 Legislative Session when the Georgia General Assembly overwhelmingly passed the Georgia Farmland Conservation Act, Senate Bill 220. The Program offers farmland owners a financial incentive to conserve lands that are under threat of development. The establishing legislation was developed by the Georgia Conservancy, in concert with Representative Richard Dickey, Senator Russ Goodman, and the Department of Agriculture. (Learn more about the Georgia Farmland Conservation Program)

During the 2024 Session, through House Resolution 470, legislators created a Senate Study Committee on the Preservation of Georgia's Farmland. Referencing the Georgia Conservancy's Georgia Now and Forever Initiative, which determined that "Georgia lost approximately 2.6 million acres of crop, hay, and pasture land from 1974 to 2016", the Senate Study Committee's established purpose was to decide if "additional legislative measures may be necessary to give local communities the ability to protect Georgia's farmlands as a vital state resource and to slow the permanent conversion of this resource to other uses."

In five meetings hosted throughout the state this summer and fall, the committee heard from organizations (including the Georgia Conservancy), farmers, and other citizens about the need for robust farmland conservation programs and incentives. A summary of the committee hearings and the committee's findings and recommendations can be read here, while a summary of the committee can be read here.

In late 2024, Georgia Conservancy President Katherine Moore was appointed by Tyler Harper, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner, to serve on the Georgia Farmland Advisory Council (GFAC). The council was created through 2023's Georgia Farmland Conservation Act.  Per the Act, the GFAC "will advise and assist the Georgia Department of Agriculture with the administration and implementation of the program utilizing the criteria proposed by the department and adopted by the council."  

Moore's appointment came after continued Georgia Conservancy advocacy efforts during summer and fall meetings of the Senate Study Committee on Preservation of Georgia’s Farmlands, at which we shared with legislators and citizens data and information from our Georgia Now and Forever initiative—an analysis vital to preserving our state’s fertile agricultural lands.


Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program - As a member of the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Coalition, the Georgia Conservancy continues to monitor Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP) funding activities during the session and throughout the interim. The fifth-year application period closed in October and applications are now being reviewed and ranked based on their alignment with set criteria. The GOSP Board of Trustees voted on a set slate of projects on January 14, which will then be considered by the DNR Board, followed by the Joint Appropriations Committee of the State House and Senate.

The GOSP, which was established by the 2018 Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act and through a subsequent ballot amendment, is authorized for a 10-year period. During the 2025 Session, the Georgia Conservancy will be gathering support for the program's reauthorization in 2028 and looking towards ways to improve the program and increase funding.


Georgia Outdoor Recreation - Georgia's robust outdoor recreation assets benefit the conservation of our natural resources and bolster the health of communities large and small. During the 2025 Legislative Session, the Georgia Conservancy is working with partners in the Georgia Outdoor Recreation Coalition (GORC) and legislators to strengthen and expand our outdoor recreation infrastructure through thoughtful policies and programs. 
 

Okefenokee and Trail Ridge Protection - During the 2025 Legislative Session, the Georgia Conservancy anticipates legislative measures seeking to protect Trail Ridge, near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, from future mining. 

It's been six years since word got out that Alabama mining company Twin Pines, LLC was seeking to mine for heavy minerals on Trail Ridge, near the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Public engagement and concerns over the project have so far (and thankfully) kept the ground intact on Trail Ridge, though Twin Pines continues to inch closer to their ultimate goal. The slow process, however, gathered intensity during the spring of 2024, as the proposed project took center stage in several arenas – the most obvious being at the State Capitol during the 2024 Legislative Session and in a Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) public comment period.

After the issuance of draft mining permits in February 2024 by Georgia EPD, the Georgia Conservancy, along with tens of thousands of concerned citizens and dozens of conservation organizations, submitted formal comments to the agency, urging them to deny the final mining permits and reject Twin Pines Mining Land Use Plan. As of early January 2025, Georgia EPD has not decided on its next move.

Concurrent with the public comment period, Georgia’s General Assembly evaluated and weighed Twin Pines’ mining proposal through the legislative lens. House Bill 71, a measure that sought strong protections for the Okefenokee by banning future mining permitting on Trail Ridge, failed to get a vote in the House Natural Resources Committee, putting an end to the hopes of a comprehensive legislative safeguard for the Swamp. However, in the latter half of the Legislative Session, a compromise bill supported by the Georgia Conservancy was introduced by House leadership. An amended Senate Bill 132 proposed a 3-year moratorium on the acceptance of applications by Georgia EPD for dragline surface mining permits of heavy sand minerals, the type of mining specific to Twin Pines’ proposed operations on Trail Ridge. The measure overwhelmingly passed the House with a vote of 167 to 4. However, on sine die, the amended SB 132 succumbed to a slow-moving process and did not receive a floor vote by the Senate.

There is a possibility of a measure similar to SB 132 surfacing during the 2025 Legislative Session.

Navigable Streams and Freshwater Access -  During the 2024 Legislative Session, House Resolution 1554, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Smith (R-70) established a House Study Committee to evaluate issues surrounding navigable streams and potentially recommend legislative actions determining which streams, or parts of streams, are navigable in Georgia.  

The Study Committee was established to provide further understanding and potential additions/changes to two measures (HB 1172 and SB 542) that were introduced during the 2024 session. While both HB 1172 and SB 542 sought to clarify the law as it pertains to state ownership of navigable stream beds and clarify language that expresses the public right of passage on navigable streams, SB 542 provided much stronger support for the rights of those boating, hunting, and fishing on such streams. The House version eventually passed both chambers and was signed by the Governor.

The Georgia Conservancy has a long history of promoting, supporting, and advocating for recreational boating on Georgia’s rivers and streams, and we closely followed this committee as it hosted four meetings across the state during the summer and fall. Its report and recommendations can be read here.

While, in the end, the committee suggested no legislative or regulatory action as it pertains to legal definitions of navigable and non-navigable streams in Georgia and how those definitions relate to public access to waterways, the Georgia Conservancy will keep an eye on any measures that seek to erode current public access to our state's waters.


Disaster Mitigation and Resilience -  During the 2024 Legislative Session, both chambers passed resolutions establishing study committees to examine disaster mitigation and resilience. The House Study Committee on Disaster Mitigation and Resilience was charged with examining "ways to develop a comprehensive resilience plan to accommodate and mitigate current and future disaster events with the goal of facilitating strong economic development, promoting tourism, and assisting communities and businesses struggling with repeated disaster impacts." The committee met three times across the state during the summer and fall. 

The committee's report and recommendations can be read here. The Georgia Conservancy anticipates some elements of the committee's report to appear in legislative action during the 2025 Legislative Session. We will remain watchful during the session, as many of the committee's recommendations are relevant to our statewide efforts, including our role in salt marsh conservation and coastal resiliency.

Georgia Conservancy Advocacy Program

For a statewide nonprofit organization, there are more barriers than incentives to including an Advocacy Program in its mission and work.

Advocacy work is difficult to resource. It takes a special disposition to balance various relationships with elected officials and between partners, and an interest not only in policy but also in politics, process, and strategy.

Last year’s session demonstrated again why the investment in an effective and engaged Advocacy Program at the Georgia Conservancy is so important – it’s necessary! 

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the Georgia Conservancy. We couldn't do this important work without you! 

House and Senate Committees

The Conservancy works closely with members of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment, House Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment, House Committee on Game, Fish and Parks, and the House Committee on Ways and Means. Bills that originate in these committees often have the greatest impact on Georgia's natural environment.

Please advocate for sound environmental policies that benefit all of Georgia by reaching out to your elected officials. This is our Georgia.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact Georgia Conservancy Communication Director Brian Foster at bfoster@gaconservancy.org with any questions regarding the 2024 Legislative Session.

The Georgia Conservancy is a donor-supported organization. Learn more about how you can support the Georgia Conservancy and be a part of our mission to protect and conserve Georgia's natural resources.

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