In October, a powerful Category 3 Hurricane Michael struck the panhandle of Florida and southwest Georgia. It devastated the agriculture and forestry industries, causing about $2.5 billion worth of damage. Because of this, the Governor saw the need to call a special session to help these two industries and the citizens who work in them.

During the course of the special legislative session, we passed two bills to help revitalize and recover losses sustained to the agriculture and forestry industries. These aid packages came in the form of House Bill 1EX and House Bill 4EX.

House Bill 1EX allocated $270.8 million in additional funds to recovery and cleanup efforts in southwest Georgia through the amended FY 2019 budget. Here are what some of the funds will go to: $20 million for forest debris cleanup, $55 million for row crop farmers and $25 million for local communities devastated by the storm for economic development projects that have an impact on the entire state.

Additionally, we passed HB 4EX which is an income tax credit for timberland owners who lost trees due to the hurricane. We hope that this bill will encourage them to keep their timber tracks instead of selling them, as these forests are vital for endangered species as well as our state’s forestry industry. This bill will hopefully help speed up the cleanup process, reducing the plots of land that will sit untouched or for sale and reduce our risk for devastating wildfires and invasive beetle species. The tax credit will be capped at $200 million overall and at $400 per acre damaged, applies to land with catastrophic or severe damage and cannot be applied until the land owner has replanted trees.

I know that many might wonder why these are the two industries have been singled out during the special session and why we are appropriating funds specifically to them. There are several good reasons for that. First, individuals whose homes have been destroyed have been approved for relief through the federal government and their own private insurance. However, crops are a little different. While crops are federally insured, the issues we are having is with loans that are taken out against crops to be harvested and issues with cleanup. And many farmers are in the unique position of having their yearly harvest, such as cotton, and their backup in case of poor yield, timber, both devastated. Additionally, timber is not federally insured and it is not harvested yearly. Rather, it is harvested approximately every 25 years and has very little return on investment. These are the industries that were impacted the most and the ones we have to address first and foremost. However, I am sure we will continue to address other needs in the upcoming session.

In addition to working on legislation, the majority caucus also held leadership elections and I am honored to announce that I was re-elected by my colleagues to serve as the Senate Majority Caucus Chairman. Finally, I want to extend a ‘thank you’ to everyone from Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Monroe, Peach and Upson who have given their time, money and prayers to those in need. I know that many of you have some connection to the parts of Georgia and Florida that were impacted and have given everything you can to these people. Your actions speak volumes and I am thankful I can represent such thoughtful individuals. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the caucus and Senate on legislation that will have a positive impact on all Georgians.