Page 22 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 1 - Winter 2022

YOUR VOICE
Under the Gold Dome
The Georgia Forestry Association’s 2022 legislative session policy priorities focus on driving bottom-line value to forest landowners and forestry businesses.
By Matt Hestad
F or the last 18 months, the Georgia Forestry Association’s (GFA)
Government Affairs team has been
honing its strategy for the 2022 session of the Georgia General Assembly. GFA’s policy priorities include three main focus areas that aim to protect landowners from illegal actions that erode land value, and to support fairness with how land and equipment are taxed.
“For the past five years, we have advocated for and successfully passed more than 12 pieces of legislation to increase the competitiveness of our entire sector by reducing supply chain inefficiencies and removing barriers to healthy markets,” said GFA President and CEO Andres Villegas. “A key to our success is strong support from our members through our Forest Resource Teams and ForestPAC, which allow us to ensure that our issues are front and center with all Georgia legislators.”
Why It Matters:
Georgia is the number-one forestry state in the nation and widely recognized as a global leader in forestry. Maintaining this leadership position depends on advancing policies that ensure investments in forest land and manufacturing are competitive and profitable.
Dig Deeper:
For more than 100 years, GFA has served as the voice for working forests, protecting private property rights, encouraging sensible taxes and regulation, and promoting healthy markets for forest products. This year’s priorities, as outlined below, represent a continued commitment to laws and policies that support forest landowners, forest product manufacturers and forest-based businesses.
20 | GEORGIA FORESTRY