By Clint Thompson
The 2025 Georgia State Legislative Session continues to focus on topics pertinent to Georgia’s specialty crop industry. Georgia Agribusiness Council (GAC) President Will Bentley highlighted a few important pieces of legislation, starting with the Conservation Use Valuation Assessment (CUVA).
“There have been a lot of bills moving around the Capitol these past two weeks dealing with agriculture as a whole, but something that will be important to specialty crops deals with CUVA. We know how important CUVA is to all of agriculture to be able to maintain their farming operations,” Bentley said. “There’s been a couple of bills brought forth dealing with expanding the acreage limits from 2,000 to 4,000 acres that can qualify for an individual in CUVA.
“Then also a bill dealing with LLCs and family farm operations, how they’re formed and their qualifications for the program. As we know business practices have changed. Farmers are partnering with neighbors and other people that maybe not what you would consider the family farm but are more in an LLC type of situation. We want to make sure the program reflects those changes as agriculture has evolved over the past couple of decades since that program was implemented.”
Certain properties, including agricultural lands, could be eligible for reduced property tax rates through CUVA. This would result in a significant decrease in property taxes.
“It lowers the valuation of a piece of property to an ag valuation,” Bentley said. “We’d be unable to farm land if they tax it at the highest use value.”
HB 223
HB 223 had some movement last week. House Majority WHIP James Burchett, a South Georgia representative, brought forward HB 223 in partnership with the governor’s office. It looks to provide additional disaster relief from Hurricane Helene
“A lot of it is directed at the timber industry as far as tax credits on cleanup and reforestation, but there are some great things in there for agriculture as a whole; one of those being allowing some inputs that go into the replacement and repairing of agriculture structures on farms to qualify for GATE exemptions on those structural inputs,” Bentley said. “Currently, that’s limited to poultry houses and livestock barns and just added in greenhouse facilities. We’re continuing to advocate to try to get all ag structures in there to include packinghouses and equipment sheds. We think it’s important to help get all sectors of agriculture back on their feet.”
Bentley said the bill cleared the first hurdle last week by moving through the House Ways and Means Committee. It is available to be picked up by House and put on the floor for debate, which Bentley said should happen quickly.