Proposed Constitutional Amendment - 1

Cobb County, Georgia · November 3, 2026

Increases the maximum qualifying acreage for assessment and taxation as bona fide conservation use property.

House Resolution 32; Ga. L. 2025, p. 1081

Full ballot text

“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?"

What it does

This amendment would double the maximum acreage a landowner may enroll under Georgia's bona fide conservation use valuation, from 2,000 to 4,000 acres. Enrolled land is taxed on its current farm, forest, or conservation use rather than full market value, in exchange for a covenant keeping it in that use. Approval would lower property tax bills for very large landholders and shift a small share of the local tax base to other payers.

How it lines up with you

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Dossier

Researched 2026-09-22 · Claude Code research agent with web search

A yes vote raises the CUVA farmland/timber tax-assessment acreage cap from 2,000 to 4,000 acres per owner; a no vote keeps the 2,000-acre limit unchanged since 1990. The legislature passed it nearly unanimously and Georgia Farm Bureau supports it; no organized opposition campaign was found, though the AJC reports general concerns about reduced local tax revenue and benefits flowing to large corporate farms.

For

Georgia Farm Bureau (Adam Bellflower) source

Against

None found.

What it does

A "yes" vote raises the Conservation Use Valuation Assessment (CUVA) acreage cap from 2,000 to 4,000 acres per owner, letting larger farm and timber tracts qualify for the preferential tax assessment — land taxed at 40% of its current-use value rather than full market value — if the owner signs a 10-year covenant to keep it in agricultural or timber use (Ballotpedia). A "no" vote keeps the existing 2,000-acre limit, unchanged since CUVA was created by a 1990 constitutional amendment (Ballotpedia News, Mar. 21, 2025).

Why it's on the ballot

The legislature referred it as House Resolution 32, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) and introduced Jan. 16, 2025; the House passed it 168-5 on March 6, 2025, and the Senate 50-1 on March 18, 2025 (Ballotpedia News). The AJC's ballot guide also links Sen. Sam Watson (R-Moultrie) to the measure (AJC, Aug. 10, 2026). Supporters say it modernizes a farmland-tax program that hasn't kept pace as agricultural operations have grown larger to stay profitable (AJC).

Who supports it and why

Georgia Farm Bureau backed the concept; the group's Adam Bellflower said it would mainly affect row-crop producers and help keep farmland in production (Citizen Portal). Both chambers passed it by lopsided bipartisan margins (Ballotpedia News).

Who opposes it and why

No organized opposition campaign was found; Ballotpedia reports it located no arguments filed in opposition (Ballotpedia). The AJC's coverage notes a general concern — not tied to a named group — that a higher cap could reduce local government and school property-tax revenue and could extend the tax break to large corporate agricultural operations rather than only family farms (AJC). Five House Democrats and one Senate Republican voted no, without public rationale reported (Ballotpedia News).

Money

No campaign committee, PAC spending, or ballot-measure fundraising specific to this amendment turned up in the sources checked.

What to watch

The AJC flags possible reduced property-tax collections for counties and schools as more acreage shifts into the lower conservation-use valuation, and raises the question of whether the benefit mainly reaches family farms or large corporate landholders (AJC). No dollar fiscal-note estimate was located.

What we couldn't find

A published state fiscal note with a dollar estimate of lost county or school tax revenue; a named opposition campaign; and clarification of Sen. Sam Watson's exact role alongside House sponsor Rep. Efstration.

Sources (4)