Georgia lawmakers advance tax breaks to offset hurricane damage for timberland owners

A pair of hurricane-related tax relief bills largely aimed at helping farmers and timberland owners easily cleared both chambers Tuesday as lawmakers cobble together proposals meant to aid the hardest-hit areas of Georgia.

A House measure would create a $200 million program that would allow timberland owners to recover some of their losses through a tax credit – but only if they replant. This is like a program set up in the wake of Hurricane Michael in 2018. 

That proposal would also waive the income tax on federal disaster payments or crop insurance proceeds tied to Hurricane Helene, which devastated communities along the eastern side of the state and killed 34 people. And it would suspend the sales tax on materials to repair or replace livestock barns, greenhouses and other farm structures.  

“I have the first of what I hope to be many bills seeking to help in the relief of Hurricane Helene’s damage,” said Rep. James Burchett, a Waycross Republican.

Hurricane Helene caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damage to the state’s agriculture industry. The state is also in line to receive federal aid through a congressional package passed late last year.

Over in the Senate, lawmakers passed a companion bill that would lift the tax normally paid on timber that was harvested late last year through the rest of 2025 for dozens of counties. And it creates a grant program for local governments that would otherwise be missing out on an important revenue stream in some rural communities.  

To illustrate the toll the storm had on the forestry industry, the bill’s sponsor, Cogdell Republican Sen. Russ Goodman, said timber that would usually sell for about $25 per ton is going for as little as 50 cents.

“What this bill is going to do is it’s going to help those that have seen their timber destroyed, people’s retirements, their children’s college fund,” he said. “And it’s also going to help the communities who have been hit with this hurricane, who are going to see such a huge loss of revenue in rural counties like mine.”

Democrats in both chambers supported the bills but also pressed the sponsors for a reaction to the Trump administration’s recent decision to deny Gov. Brian Kemp’s request to extend the deadline for local governments to apply for federal disaster assistance.

Sen. Nikki Merritt, a Grayson Democrat, blasted the Trump administration’s conclusion that the extension was “not warranted.”

“Tell that to the families who lost their homes. Tell it to the local officials who are scrambling to cover costs. Tell it to every Georgian who believes in fairness, in the principle in times of need, that the federal government should step up and not step back,” Merritt said. 

Goodman said he encouraged the state’s congressional delegation to push for the extension but also said state lawmakers also have to focus on what they can control. 

“It’s our job to do what we can within this chamber, within the power that we have,” Goodman said. “And I think that’s what this bill does. It shows that we’re in good faith doing what we can to help our fellow Georgians.”

The governor and lawmakers are also tapping the budget to aid in the recovery. This year’s budget has been revised to include $811 million in hurricane-related spending, and that number could continue to grow as the Senate makes its changes to the spending plan.