COLUMN: Walker: Cultivating Renewal – Helping Georgia Rebuild After Helene

By: Sen. Larry Walker, III (R-Perry)

When Hurricane Helene ripped across Georgia last September, the storm didn't just topple trees and barns. It cut into the heart of rural communities, upending farms, families and a way of life built over generations.

In the following weeks, I visited with farmers, foresters and small business owners who were still knee-deep in debris, wondering how they would start again. For many, recovery wasn't just about repairing buildings or replacing equipment. It was about saving a way of life passed down from grandparents to parents to children and protecting the economic foundation of our state.

From the fields of peanuts and cotton to the pine stands that cover our landscape, agriculture and forestry generate more than $70 billion annually. When storms like Helene devastate those sectors, it's not just rural Georgia that suffers. Every family depends on affordable groceries, every factory depends on raw materials and every community relies on steady jobs.

That's why, during the 2025 legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly made disaster recovery a top priority. We knew we couldn't undo the damage but could deliver the tools to help families rebuild.

This spring, I stood alongside Governor Brian Kemp, Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, Lt. Governor Burt Jones and fellow legislators as we signed into law three key bills: House Bill 223, Senate Bill 201, and House Bill 143. These aren't abstract policies or political talking points. They are real, practical lifelines for farmers and foresters still picking up the pieces.

Carried in the Senate by my friend Sen. Russ Goodman, HB 223 is as comprehensive as it is compassionate. It exempts federal crop loss and disaster payments from state income tax because when a family is depending on relief dollars to survive, the government doesn't need to take a cut. The bill also creates a reforestation tax credit to help timber landowners replant what was destroyed. Timber isn't like corn or cotton. It takes decades to mature. If we don't replant now, we risk losing a generation of growth in one of Georgia's most valuable industries.

The bill also allows local governments to temporarily pause harvest tax collections on storm-damaged timber. That may sound technical, but it's a lifeline in practice, giving landowners breathing room to clean up and replant without facing another bill in the mailbox. HB 223 expands the Georgia Agricultural Tax Exemption (GATE) to include building materials for storm repairs for poultry, livestock and greenhouse producers whose barns and housing were destroyed. That's money back in the hands of producers, helping them get back online faster.

Second, SB 201. This one was personal for me, because I carried it. In the aftermath of a disaster, families are desperate to rebuild. That desperation too often attracts dishonest contractors, people who demand cash up front and then vanish, or who cut corners at the expense of safety. SB 201 strengthens consumer protections for homeowners signing contracts after a natural disaster.

Having spent decades in the insurance industry, I've seen what happens when families make quick decisions under pressure. SB 201 sets more explicit rules for legitimate contractors while protecting families from those who would take advantage of them at their most vulnerable. It's a preventative measure that will save countless Georgians from heartbreak and financial ruin.

HB 143, carried in the Senate by Sen. Sam Watson, shifts the responsibility for installing and maintaining agricultural water meters back to the state. Farmers are already juggling crop losses, equipment damage, and skyrocketing costs. They don't need another unfunded mandate on their backs. HB 143 makes sure the state shoulders that responsibility, not families who are already stretched to the breaking point. Georgia's farmers and foresters are the backbone of our economy and deserve a government that fights just as hard as they do.

Gov. Kemp said it best at the bill signing: "Their commitment to moving forward after all they've faced is an inspiration to us all." He's right. Rural Georgia's resilience is remarkable, but this doesn't mean we go it alone. It means we stand shoulder to shoulder, neighbors helping neighbors and leaders stepping in when the storm is simply too big.

Recovery from Helene is far from over. Driving through parts of our state, you can still see twisted pines piled on the edges of fields, barns with tarps stretched across the roof, and communities working to piece life back together. Rebuilding after a storm like this takes time. With these new measures in place, we've taken meaningful steps to ease the burden, protect families and secure the future of Georgia agriculture.

I'm proud to represent a district that doesn't wait around for someone else to fix things. We show up. We dig in. We rebuild. As long as I'm serving you under the Gold Dome, I'll keep showing up for rural Georgia… because that's what neighbors do.

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Sen. Larry Walker serves as Secretary of the Majority Caucus and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Insurance and Labor. He represents the 20^th Senate District, which includes Bleckley, Dodge, Dooly, Laurens, Treutlen, Pulaski and Wilcox counties, as well as portions of Houston County. He may be reached by phone at (404) 656-0095 or by email at [email protected].

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