2026 Legislative Session Recap

The 2026 Georgia Legislative Session wrapped up in early April at the State Capitol without any progress in conservation funding. Going into the session, Georgia Conservancy saw consistent, sustained funding for land conservation in Georgia as our main priority. We come away from the session and enter the summer disappointed that critical funding for both private and public lands conservation was not a state-level priority.

The conservation of ecologically, economically, and recreationally important lands wouldn’t be possible without sustainable and reliable funding and incentives from the government. As the session began, three programs critical to conservation in Georgia were either nearing their reauthorization dates or in need of formalized, dedicated funds.

Those programs are the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit (GCTC), the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP), and the Georgia Farmland Conservation Program (GFCP). None of which received the funding support during the legislative session.

Georgia’s 2026 legislative session showed that conservation is still not being treated as an essential public investment, even as rapid growth continues to reshape the state’s farms, forests, waterways, and communities. Georgia remains behind many peer states in providing reliable funding for land conservation, despite the economic, environmental, and community benefits these lands provide.

Key conservation funding efforts, including support for the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP) and the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit (GCTC), failed to advance. While the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program remains an active source of conservation funding through 2028, its reauthorization, along with additional FY27 funding to improve the program, was vetoed by the Governor. The passage of legislation to reauthorize the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit stalled on the final day of the session, limiting much-needed support for landowners working to protect natural resources from growing development pressure. Meanwhile, no legislative action was taken to establish dedicated funding for the Georgia Farmland Conservation Program.

These setbacks make continued advocacy more important than ever. Lasting progress will depend on supporters, landowners, legislators, and community leaders across Georgia continuing to speak up for conservation as a shared statewide priority worthy of sustained public investment.

Georgia Conservation Tax Credit – Did Not Pass

With the vast majority of acres in the state under private ownership, the conservation and restoration of private lands in Georgia is especially important.  In Georgia, a significant funding mechanism that supports private land conservation is the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit.

During the 2026 Legislative Session, Senate Bill 515 sought to re-authorize the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit for a 5-year period through 2031. The substitute legislation in Senate Bill 515 maintained the aggregate amount of tax credits allowed annually at $4 million. Additionally, the measure sought to place administrative responsibility with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a department with significant history in managing conservation transactions.

Senate Bill 515 has passed the full House, but failed to receive an approval vote by the Senate before the session ended on April 2.

The Georgia Conservation Tax Credit (GCTC) is a vital resource for safeguarding Georgia’s environmental integrity by providing landowners with an additional financial incentive to conserve critical acres of forest, wetlands, and working lands. However, as this measure did not pass during this session, the GCTC will sunset on December 31, 2026.

The GCTC offers landowners a financial incentive to protect their land through a state income tax credit. Protection can be achieved either through fee-simple donations to conservation organizations or through conservation easements that place permanent restrictions on how the property can be used. Critically, it promotes the conservation of land and natural resources without increasing the land-management inventory of government agencies. Examples of environmental resources protected by the tax credit include:

• Water resources and wetlands
• Natural habitats for wildlife and plants
• Working lands, including agricultural lands and forests in production rotation
• Outdoor recreation areas
• Outdoor cultural heritage sites

Currently, the GCTC provides a tax credit of up to 25% of fair market value, capped at $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for partnerships or corporations. The bill language in Senate Bill 515 sought to raise this cap to 50% or $ 1 million, whichever is greater, for both individuals and corporations. 96% of the conserved lands are private lands requiring no state management.

• GCTC has conserved more than  255,000 acres in Georgia.
• It is used in 130 counties throughout Georgia.
• Since 2014, the GCTC has supported $119 million in conservation value at a small fraction of that cost.
• Tax credit transferability is a  key component of the program

The Georgia Conservation Tax Credit is essential to land conservation in our state, as the tax incentive has supported the permanent conservation of critical lands and habitats. The reauthorization of the GCTC is also important as a succinct statement of Georgia’s conservation values and priorities that inform many aspects of the essential work of land trusts.

Reauthorization and improvement of this important conservation incentive were priorities for the Georgia Conservancy and our partners in the Association of Georgia Land Trusts during the 2026 Legislative Session. Though legislation did not receive final approval from the Senate before the end of the session, we thank Representative Chas Cannon and Speaker Jon Burns for understanding the importance of the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit and for making its reauthorization a priority for them as well.

While we are disappointed with this outcome during the session, there remains interest in the legislature for state support of private land conservation. We will continue to explore avenues to establish and expand sustained, dedicated funding and incentives for the conservation of private wild and working lands with state leadership before and during the 2027 Legislative Session.

Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program – Passed, but Vetoed by Governor Kemp

During the 2026 Legislative Session, legislation to re-authorize and increase funding for the popular Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program passed the Georgia General Assembly, however the measure was vetoed by Governor Brian Kemp on May 12.

Senate Bill 478, sponsored by Sen. Sam Watson (R-11), sought to amend the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program’s (GOSP) enabling legislation to adjust the allocated sale and use tax revenue from 40% to 60% and extend the sunset date for the funding mechanism by 10 years, to June 30, 2039. It would remain to be seen how Georgia DNR will utilize or distribute an increase in allocated funds. The measure, in amended form, was passed and adopted by both chambers before being vetoed by Governor Kemp.

Successfully advocating for conservation funding is nothing new for the Georgia Conservancy. In the 2010s, Georgia Conservancy and a small contingent of conservation partners helped establish the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP), the state’s only dedicated funding mechanism for the conservation of public lands.

Currently, 40% of existing state sales and use taxes on outdoor sporting goods is dedicated to the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund, which provides for the acquisition and stewardship of conservation lands, support for state parks and trails projects, and the development of local parks and trails of state and regional significance.

GOSP, established by the 2018 Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act and a subsequent ballot amendment, is authorized for a 10-year period.

During the 2026 Session, the Georgia Conservancy explored avenues to improve the program, increase funding, and build support for its reauthorization before its 2029 sunset date.

According to Georgia DNR, since 2019, “GOSP has allocated over $117 million of funding to 62 conservation and outdoor recreation projects across Georgia. Grantees have committed more than $201 million to match these grant funds, for a total investment of more than $318 million.”

GOSP is responsible for the establishment and expansion of several State Wildlife Management Areas and State Parks, including Ceylon WMA, Treat Mountain WMA, Dawson Forest WMA, and FDR State Park – to name a few. Additionally, the Program has supported regionally significant recreation projects, including the Atlanta Beltline, Chattahoochee RiverLands, Jekyll Island natural areas, and the Firefly Trail. An increase in GOSP’s funding and its eventual reauthorization are vital to future conservation efforts in Georgia.

Georgia Conservancy and partners will continue to advocate for improvements to GOSP and to seek its reauthorization in the legislature. 

Georgia Farmland Conservation Program – No Legislative Action

During the 2026 Legislative Session, the Georgia Conservancy advocated for increased, consistent, and sustainable funding for the recently established Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund and Program, as well as additional policies that may help achieve this goal. Having established the program, it is now necessary to create a formalized source of dedicated funding. In the FY 2024 Budget, the State allocated $2 million in initial funding for the program.

In 2025, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (DoA) released its rules for the recently established Georgia Farmland Conservation Program and announced a public comment period to receive feedback. The comment period closed on August 18, and the DoA has now opened the Program for applicants.

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 land threatened by development. The establishing legislation was developed by the Georgia Conservancy, in concert with Senator Russ Goodman, Representative Richard Dickey, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, 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.”

Georgia Conservancy President Katherine Moore currently serves on the Georgia Farmland Advisory Council (GFAC). The council was created by the 2023 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 meetings of the Senate Study Committee on Preservation of Georgia’s Farmlands in 2024, 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.

During the interim and during the 2027 Legislative Session, Georgia Conservancy will continue to engage with state lawmakers on the importance of sustainable funding to the Georgia Farmland Conservation Program.

State Budget

The FY 2027 Budget was adopted by both chambers through a conference committee in the final hours of Sine Die. An amended FY 2026 Budget was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on Tuesday, March 4. T Click here to read the Governor’s budget report.

Included in the FY 2027 budget is $33,754,042 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 2027 amount represents more than a $10 million increase over the FY 2026 budget.

In January, the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP), the Board of Natural Resources approved the list of 2025/26 Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program/Conserve Georgia Grant projects, as selected by the GOSP Board. This list has been approved by the Georgia General Assembly as part of the budgetary process. Click here to see the 2025/26 GOSP Project list, which includes the acquisition of nearly 4,000 acres along Trail Ridge near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for future use as a State Wildlife Management Area.

Additional Legislation

Additional measures that the Georgia Conservancy monitored during the 2026 Legislative Session represented a range of proposals addressing housing affordability, energy, environmental stewardship, data centers, and forestry operations. While many of the proposed pieces of legislation reflected growing awareness of these challenges, relatively few ultimately passed.

Housing Regulations and Affordability

House Bill 1166 proposed exempting very small residential units of 400 square feet or less from local zoning regulations to expand housing options and improve affordability. The measure aimed to encourage compact development in areas already served by infrastructure, but it also raised concerns about limiting local governments’ ability to guide growth. The Georgia Conservancy supported increasing housing options while emphasizing the need for local planning flexibility. The bill passed the House and a Senate committee, but did not reach a full Senate vote before the end of the session.

Another measure addressing housing, Senate Bill 463 originally sought to curb large-scale investor ownership of housing, a factor linked to rising costs and reduced availability for homebuyers. Although it passed the Senate, its language was later replaced with unrelated legislation in the House, halting its progress.

Energy Development and Land Use

House Bill 1133 would have authorized the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority to finance solar installations on closed landfills, turning underutilized sites into productive renewable energy assets. The bill aligned environmental and economic goals but was ultimately tabled after passing the House and a Senate committee. The Georgia Conservancy monitored this legislation throughout the session.

Water Resource Management

House Resolution 1008 amended the state’s water management plan by reducing the size of regional water councils. This change addressed ongoing challenges in maintaining large councils, particularly in rural areas, and aimed to improve efficiency while preserving regional representation. The resolution passed unanimously and was supported by the Georgia Conservancy.

Data Center Tax Exemptions and Permitting

Senate Bill 410 proposed repealing tax exemptions for data center equipment, reflecting concerns about the long-term impacts of rapid industry growth. Currently, the state provides a full exemption for qualifying high-technology equipment and related infrastructure used in the construction and operation of data centers. The measure passed the Senate but did not advance in the House. A similar measure, Senate Bill 408, did not advance during the session.

Another data center-related bill that did not move through committee, House Bill 1012, was a bipartisan measure that proposed a temporary statewide moratorium on the construction and development of new data centers in Georgia.

The Georgia Conservancy supported the passage of these three measures.

Forestry Operations

House Resolution 1000 aimed to support the timber industry by exempting certain timber from ad valorem taxes under conservation covenants, helping sustain working forests and reduce development pressure. It passed the House but stalled in the Senate. The Georgia Conservancy advocated for the passage of this resolution.

An amended House Bill 134 incorporated the Keep Georgia Forested Act, which makes existing jobs and investment tax credits transferable for qualified forestry manufacturers. With a five-year sunset, annual reporting requirements, and a $250 million cap, the bill aims to strengthen Georgia’s competitiveness in attracting investment and jobs in the forestry industry. The measure passed and has moved to the Governor’s desk.

State Flower Designation

Senate Bill 240 proposed designating the native sweetbay magnolia as Georgia’s state flower, replacing the invasive Cherokee rose. The measure highlighted the ecological importance of native species but did not receive a final vote in the House.

The 2026 session highlighted ongoing legislative interest in addressing housing, land use, and conservation challenges, even as many proposals fell short of final passage.

Going into the summer and leading up to the 2027 Georgia Legislative Session, Georgia Conservancy and our conservation partners will continue to advocate for robust conservation funding for both wild and working lands.