FORSYTH, Georgia — Gov. Brian Kemp signed landmark legislation Thursday at the Georgia Forestry Association (GFA) headquarters delivering urgently needed relief to forest landowners and rural communities impacted by Hurricane Helene — a storm that caused more than $1.28 billion in timber losses across Georgia’s most productive forestlands. The legislation, passed with strong bipartisan support, delivers both immediate recovery tools and long-term support to ensure Georgia’s forestry sector can recover, replant, and remain a pillar of the state’s economy, the GFA said. …The package includes: — A refundable reforestation tax credit for planting and restoration efforts. — A state income tax exemption for federal disaster aid. — A sales tax exemption for certain farm rebuilding materials. — Ad valorem harvest tax relief for landowners in affected counties — paired with state reimbursements to protect local government budgets. These measures mirror the real-world needs voiced by landowners, loggers, and mills.

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