Tax breaks for farmers, higher weight limits for trucks, and reforming Georgia’s Gratuities Clause prohibiting gifts to individuals or businesses top a list of proposals a legislative study committee issued during Thanksgiving week.

The Georgia Conservancy environmental organization highlighted the trends and changes to Georgia's agriculture and land at the first meeting of the Senate Study Committee on Preservation of Georgia's Farmlands on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

The 2024 Georgia General Assembly Senate Study Committees are in session starting this week. Like bills, study committees are proposed during the legislative session but as resolutions the sponsor believes need further examining during the off-season.  This year's study committees will analyze several topics, including firearm safety, artificial intelligence, affordable child care, and more.

Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River, with eight million acres of prime farmland. Yet, there’s so much concern over the spread of solar farms eating up huge portions of that acreage with vast fields of solar panels that the state Senate has formed a study committee to explore what can be done to save the most fertile land for farmers.

Georgia has a new law that limits the ability of some Chinese citizens to buy land in the state. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed SB420 into law on Tuesday. The measure bans any "agent" of China from buying farmland in Georgia or any commercial land near military installations.

A bill aiming to prevent agents of foreign countries deemed hostile to the United States from buying farmland in Georgia is set to go to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk after passing the House along party lines Thursday.

Chinese companies and individuals own farmland across America. But lawmakers in Washington are pushing to block any purchases that could be connected to the Chinese Communist Party.