2021 Georgia Code
Title 12 - Conservation and Natural Resources
Chapter 6 - Forest Resources and Other Plant Life
Article 5 - Carbon Sequestration Registry
§ 12-6-228. Reporting of Results; Basic Unit of Participation in Registry; Filing of Reports

1. 1. Participants shall initially report their certified carbon sequestration results for the most recent year for which they have complete data as specified in this article. This shall include sequestration of carbon dioxide from standing trees. After establishing baseline results, participants shall report their certified carbon sequestration results in each subsequent year in order to show changes with respect to their baseline year. Participants may report carbon sequestration results without establishing a baseline for such results or for emissions. Certified carbon sequestration results reported to the registry by a participant shall be credited in carbon mass units to an account established for the participant in the registry.
   2. For the reporting of embodied carbon results arising from construction of buildings in this state, upon completion of the project, developers shall seek the review of a certified third-party organization that will verify the building embodied carbon from a baseline of standard buildings established by the advisory committee. The commission shall publish and maintain a list of approved certified third-party organizations. Only projects that have been completed after January 1, 2019, shall be considered. After such projects have been verified and validated by a certified third-party organization, the director shall be authorized to determine, charge, and retain an administrative fee from developers for awarding carbon credits to provide for the cost of administering the provisions of this article.
2. 1. Registry credits for certified carbon sequestration results may be sold, purchased, or otherwise transferred in whole or in part without any regard to or effect on or being affected by ownership of other personal property or any real property, and such credits may be retained in whole or in part without any regard to or effect on or being affected by any sale, purchase, or other transfer of other personal property or any real property.
   2. In addition to annual reports submitted pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section, participants shall report to the registry any sales, purchases, or other transfers of registry credits for certified carbon sequestration results, in whole or in part, within ten days after the completion of such transaction, and participants' registry accounts shall be updated to reflect such transfers.
3. The basic unit of participation in the registry shall be a natural person or a legal entity in its entirety such as a corporation or other legally constituted body, a city or county, or a state government agency.
4. Reports to the registry by participants may be filed in the office of the clerk of the superior court in any county of this state.

(Code 1981, §12-6-228, enacted by Ga. L. 2004, p. 343, § 1; Ga. L. 2021, p. 589, § 1/HB 355.)

The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, in subsection (a), designated the existing provisions as paragraph (a)(1), and, in paragraph (a)(1), added the second sentence, and deleted the former second sentence, which read: "Participants that have complete data for earlier years that can be certified may establish their baseline as any year beginning on or after January 1, 1990, or such other beginning date as may be established by rule or regulation of the commission.", and added paragraph (a)(2).