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New Administrative Rules Adopted

Amendments to Administrative Procedures

Amendments to the Georgia Land Conservation Act outlined in H.B. 1176 require changes to the administrative procedures of the Georgia Land Conservation Program (GLCP). The Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) formally adopted these rule changes on August 27, 2008. (2008 GLCP Rules Revisions)

House Bill 1176 to Amend the Georgia Land Conservation Act

House Bill 1176 (http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/fulltext/hb1176.htm) was approved on March 28, 2008 by the Georgia General Assembly. Part I of this bill would amend the Georgia Land Conservation Act and Part II would make corresponding changes to affected agencies and authorities. There are some added and revised definitions as part of the proposed amendments, but the primary purposes of this bill are to:

• Make non-governmental entities eligible to receive low interest loans from the GLCP;
• Make the Georgia Forestry Commission and other state agencies and authorities eligible to receive competitive grants from the GLCP (in addition to the DNR who is already eligible);
• Remove the Georgia Building Authority as an entity eligible to receive competitive grants from the GLCP

The Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority proposed this legislation after operating the GLCP since its April, 2005 inception.  These changes proposed in this bill would make the program more effective and result in more and better land conservation in Georgia.

House Bill 1274 to Amend the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit Act

House Bill 1274 (http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/fulltext/hb1274.htm) was approved on April 4, 2008 by the Georgia General Assembly. This bill would amend the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit Act and better align the implementation of the program with the federal Internal Revenue Code. More specifically, the primary purposes of this bill are to:

• Define the fair market value of qualifying donated real property as that established by a property appraisal meeting specific IRS requirements;
• Provide for penalties for donated property valuation misstatements on tax returns;
• Allow for sales of qualifying real property at less than fair market value to qualify under the program;
• Allow for the donation of qualifying real property to the federal government to qualify under the program; and
• Extend from 5 to 10 years, the period of time that a taxpayer can carry forward any unused credit under the program

The Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority and the Department of Natural Resources proposed this legislation after operating the conservation tax credit program since its April, 2006 inception as part of the Georgia Land Conservation Program (GLCP).  These changes will help clarify and strengthen the program, resulting in more effective and better land conservation in Georgia.