Q: What does Amendment 1 do?
A: It raises the limit on how much land a single owner can qualify as “bona fide conservation use property” from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acres. That category covers working agricultural and timber land.
Q: What exactly will the ballot say?
A: “Shall the Constitution of Georgia, for the purpose of protecting family farmland, be amended so as to increase the maximum acreage to qualify for assessment and taxation as a bona fide conservation use property from 2,000 acres to 4,000 acres?”
Q: What is conservation use property?
A: Normally, property is taxed on its fair market value, meaning what it would sell for. Land in the conservation use program is taxed on its current use instead. The value is set by a formula based on how the land is used, its ability to produce crops or timber. For farmland near growing suburbs, as an example, that can mean a much lower tax bill than one based on what a developer might pay.
Q: What’s the catch for landowners?
A: Owners have to sign a covenant, a binding promise to keep the land in qualifying use. If they break it within 10 years, they must pay back the tax savings and may face other penalties. Amendment 1 doesn’t change any of those rules. It only changes the acreage cap.
Q: Why does this need a constitutional amendment?
A: The 2,000-acre limit is written directly into Georgia’s constitution, in the article on taxation (Article VII, Section I, Paragraph III). The legislature can’t change the constitution by passing a regular law. Changing that limit requires a constitutional amendment approved by voters..
Q: Who would benefit?
A: Owners of qualifying agricultural and timber land larger than 2,000 acres. Under the current cap, acreage above 2,000 cannot receive conservation use treatment under this program. If Amendment 1 passes, they could apply for it on up to 4,000 acres, as long as the land qualifies and they sign the covenant. Supporters say this helps keep larger family farms and timber tracts in production instead of selling off land for development.
Q: Are there any downsides?
A: If more acreage gets the lower assessment, the counties and school districts that tax that land would collect less from it. That could shift some of the tax burden to other property owners or require budget adjustments. The resolution includes no estimate of how much land would newly qualify or how much revenue would be affected.
Q: Does it change anything else?
A: No. The separate five-acre limit for “residential transitional property” stays the same, as do the covenant and penalty rules.
Q: How did lawmakers vote?
A: The proposal, House Resolution 32, passed the House 168–5 on March 3, 2025, and the Senate 50–1 on March 18, 2025. Rep. Chuck Efstration was the lead author, and Sen. Sam Watson carried it in the Senate.
Lawmakers also passed House Bill 90 to implement the higher limit beginning January 1, 2027, if voters approve the amendment.
Q: What does a yes or no vote mean?
- Yes: The cap rises to 4,000 acres per owner.
- No: The cap stays at 2,000 acres.
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