Georgia Code
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 48-5-7.7. Georgia Forest Land Protection; Short Title; Method, Qualifications, and Conditions of Preferential Assessment

Forest land conservation use property may include, but is not limited to, land that has been certified as environmentally sensitive property by the Department of Natural Resources or which is managed in accordance with a recognized sustainable forestry certification program, such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Forest Stewardship Council, American Tree Farm Program, or an equivalent sustainable forestry certification program approved by the State Forestry Commission.
History. Code 1981, § 48-5-7.7 , enacted by Ga. L. 2008, p. 297, § 2/HB 1211; Ga. L. 2009, p. 27, § 2/SB 55; Ga. L. 2009, p. 216, § 2A/SB 240; Ga. L. 2011, p. 285, § 1/HB 95; Ga. L. 2013, p. 655, § 2/HB 197; Ga. L. 2017, p. 9, § 2/HB 238; Ga. L. 2018, p. 119, § 4/HB 85.
The 2017 amendment, effective April 17, 2017, deleted “or” at the end of subparagraph (q)(4)(B), substituted a semicolon for a period at the end of paragraph (q)(5), and added paragraphs (q)(6) and (q)(7).
The 2018 amendment, effective January 1, 2019, rewrote the introductory paragraph of paragraph (b)(2); rewrote the introductory paragraph of paragraph (c)(1); in subsection (d), substituted “ten years” for “15 years” in the first sentence and twice in the last sentence, and substituted “ninth year” for “fourteenth year” in the middle of the last sentence; and substituted “ten-year covenant” for “15 year covenant” in the first sentence of subsection (v).
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2008, “subparagraph (b)(1)(C)” was substituted for “subparagraph (b)(1)(2)” in paragraph (c)(2).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2010, “ Code Section 48-5-7.4” was substituted for “ Code Section 48-7-7.4” in the first sentence of subsection (f).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2008, p. 297, § 5/HB, 1211 not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Code section becomes effective on January 1, 2009, upon the ratification of a resolution at the November, 2008, state-wide general election, which resolution amends the Constitution so as to provide for the special assessment and taxation of forest land conservation use property and for local government assistance grants. The constitutional amendment (Ga. L. 2008, p. 1209) was ratified at the general election held on November 4, 2008.
Ga. L. 2009, p. 27, § 5/SB 55, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the amendment to this Code section shall be applicable to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2009.
Ga. L. 2018, p. 119, § 7/HB 85, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the 2018 amendments to subsections (b), (c), (d), and (v) of this Code section shall become effective on January 1, 2019, only if an amendment to the Constitution of Georgia is ratified at the November, 2018, general election modifying constitutional prescriptions for forest land conservation use property and related assistance grants, permitting the withholding of a portion of assistance grants to provide for certain state administrative costs, and establishing qualified timberland property as a subclassification of tangible property for purposes of ad valorem taxation. The constitutional amendment was approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting at the general election held on November 6, 2018.
For application of this statute in 2020, see Executive Order 03.31.20.03.
A listing of Executive Orders issued in 2020 can be found at https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/executive-orders/2020-executive-orders.
Administrative rules and regulations.
Forest land protection, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Department of Revenue, Local Government Services Division, Chapter 560-11-11.