Revenue and taxation; require certain high resource use facilities to provide disclosures regarding community impact and energy and water usage
Summary
HB 528 would add a new disclosure requirement for “high resource use facilities,” defined as facilities with a peak energy load of 30 megawatts or greater. The bill requires owners or operators of existing facilities to file annual disclosure reports beginning December 31, 2025, and requires proposed or planned facilities to file before seeking tax incentives or certain permits, approvals, or licenses. The report must include detailed information about the facility’s identity, purpose, size, expansion plans, energy sources and usage, water usage and discharge, waste heat, air quality permits, ad valorem taxes paid, and nearby noise levels.
The bill also directs the Department of Revenue to receive and publish the reports on a public website, and it makes the reports nonconfidential. State and local governments, as well as related agencies and authorities, must verify that a report has been filed before entering into a tax incentive agreement. A facility that fails to submit the required disclosure report would be ineligible for tax incentives.
Impact
HB 528 would amend Georgia’s revenue and taxation code by creating a new reporting regime tied to tax incentives and permitting for large energy-intensive facilities. It would affect owners and operators of existing and proposed high resource use facilities, and it would impose a new administrative duty on the Department of Revenue to collect and publicly post the disclosures. The bill would also condition eligibility for state and local tax incentives on compliance with the reporting requirements, effectively linking transparency obligations to economic development benefits.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be framed as a transparency and accountability bill rather than a direct regulatory restriction. Its structure suggests support for public disclosure of environmental and community impacts associated with large facilities, especially those with significant energy and water demands. No formal vote history or transcript is available here to show broader legislative sentiment, but the bill’s sponsors indicate an interest in increased public oversight of large industrial or data-center-type projects.
Contention
The main points of contention likely center on the breadth of the disclosure requirements, the public release of potentially sensitive operational information, and the condition that tax incentives be denied if reports are not properly filed. Facility owners and operators may view the reporting burden as extensive, particularly because it requires detailed projections for planned projects and includes energy sourcing, water discharge, and noise data. Supporters are likely to emphasize community impact, environmental transparency, and informed decision-making before public incentives are granted. No committee transcript or vote record is provided to identify specific legislators or groups taking those positions.
Provides a definition for "Zero-emission resource" includes nuclear energy resources and large-scale hydro electric facilities and provides that such resources may be used to meet certain clean energy compliance requirements.