--- title: HB 103. Troup County; ad valorem tax; educational purposes; increase homestead exemption collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb103 cite_as: HB 103, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb103 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb103.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb103/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69458 date: 2025-05-14 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb102.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb104.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 883 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb103.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 103 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-14 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 sponsors: - Vance Smith - David Huddleston - Debbie Buckner text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB103/2025 upstream_id: 1929228 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - property taxes - homestead exemption - senior citizens - Troup County - school funding --- # HB 103. Troup County; ad valorem tax; educational purposes; increase homestead exemption ## Text 25 LC 61 0016/AP House Bill 103 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Smith of the 138th, Huddleston of the 72nd, and Buckner of the 137th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act to provide a homestead exemption from Troup County school district ad1 valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $10,000.00 of the assessed value of2 the homestead for certain residents of that school district who have annual incomes not3 exceeding $22,000.00 and who are 65 years of age or over, appro ved March 24, 19944 (Ga. L. 1994, p. 3844), as amended; so as to increase the existing homestead exemption; to5 increase the income cap; to provide for compliance with constit utional requirements; to6 provide for a referendum, effective dates, automatic repeal, mandatory execution of election,7 and judicial remedies regarding failure to comply; to provide for related matters; to repeal8 conflicting laws; and for other purposes.9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:10 SECTION 1.11 An Act to provide a homestead exemption from Troup County schoo l district ad valorem12 taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $10,000.00 of t he assessed value of the13 homestead for certain residents of that school district who hav e annual incomes not14 exceeding $22,000.00 and who are 65 years of age or over, appro ved March 24, 199415 H. B. 103 - 1 - 25 LC 61 0016/AP (Ga. L. 1994, p. 3844), as amended, is amended by revising subs ection (a) of Section 2 as16 follows:17 "(a) Each resident of the Troup County school district who is 6 5 years of age or over is18 granted an exemption on that person's homestead and not more than two contiguous acres19 of homestead property from Troup County school district ad valorem taxes for educational20 purposes in the amount of $100,000.00 of the assessed value of that homestead, if that21 person's annual income, together with the annual income of the spouse of such person who22 resides within such homestead, does not exceed $50,000.00 for the immediately preceding23 taxable year. Annual income shall include retirement benefits, disability, pension, and24 Social Security benefits. The value of that property in excess of such exempted amount25 shall remain subject to taxation. Any exemption granted under this Act shall cease on26 December 31 of the taxable year in which the person claiming such exemption dies, sells,27 or otherwise transfers the homestead."28 SECTION 2.29 In accordance with the requirements of Article VII, Section II of the Constitution of the State30 of Georgia, this Act shall not become law unless it receives the requisite two-thirds' majority31 vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.32 SECTION 3.33 The election superintendent of Troup County shall call and conduct an election as provided34 in this section for the purpose of submitting this Act to the e lectors of the Troup County35 school district for approval or rejection. The e lection superintendent shall conduct that36 election on Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 2025, and shall issue the call and37 conduct that election as provided by general law. The election superintendent shall cause the38 date and purpose of the election to be published once a week fo r two weeks immediately39 H. B. 103 - 2 - 25 LC 61 0016/AP preceding the date thereof in the official organ of Troup Count y. The ballot shall have40 written or printed thereon the words:41 "( ) YES42 43 ( ) NO44 45 46 Shall the Act which provides for a homestead exemption from Tro up County school district ad valorem taxes for educational purpose s for residents who are 65 years of age or over be amended so as to increase the exemption amount from $40,000.00 to $100,000.00 and the income cap from $40,000.00 to $50,000.00?" All persons desiring to vote for approval of the Act shall vote "Yes," and all persons desiring47 to vote for rejection of the Act shall vote "No." If more than one-half of the votes cast on48 such question are for approval of the Act, Section 1 of this Act shall become of full force and49 effect on January 1, 2026. If the Act is not so approved or if the election is not conducted50 as provided in this section, Section 1 of this Act shall not become effective, and this Act shall51 be automatically repealed on the 365th day following the election date provided for in this52 section. The expense of such election shall be borne by Troup County. It shall be the53 election superintendent's duty to certify the result thereof to the Secretary of State. The54 provisions of this section shall be mandatory upon the election superintendent and are not55 intended as directory. If the election superintendent fails or refuses to comply with this56 section, any elector of the Troup County school district may apply for a writ of mandamus57 to compel the election superintendent to perform his or her duties under this section. If the58 court finds that the election superintendent has not complied with this section, the court shall59 fashion appropriate relief requiring the election superintenden t to call and conduct such60 election on the date required by this section or on the next da te authorized for special61 elections provided for in Code Section 21-2-540 of the O.C.G.A.62 SECTION 4.63 H. B. 103 - 3 - 25 LC 61 0016/AP Except as otherwise provided in Section 3 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon64 its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.65 SECTION 5.66 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.67 H. B. 103 - 4 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A local bill for Troup County would raise the school tax homestead exemption for residents 65 and older from its current level to $100,000 of a home's assessed value and raise the income limit to qualify to $50,000, pending voter approval in November 2025. ### Plain-language summary Troup County currently offers a special break on school district property taxes (a homestead exemption) for homeowners age 65 or older whose income falls below a set cap. This bill would rewrite that local law to raise the exempted amount of a home's assessed value to $100,000 and raise the income cap to $50,000 a year, counting retirement, disability, pension, and Social Security income. Because the change affects tax collection for education, the Georgia Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, which the bill notes it received. It also requires Troup County voters to approve the change in a referendum on the November 2025 general election ballot. If a majority vote yes, the new exemption takes effect January 1, 2026. If voters reject it or no election is held, the bill is automatically repealed 365 days after the election date, and the current exemption stays in place. ### What it does - Raises the Troup County school district homestead tax exemption for residents 65 and older to $100,000 of a home's assessed value. - Raises the household income limit to qualify for the exemption to $50,000 per year, including Social Security, pension, disability, and retirement income. - Requires the Troup County election superintendent to hold a referendum on the change during the November 2025 general election. - Sets the new exemption to take effect January 1, 2026 only if voters approve it, and automatically repeals the bill 365 days after the election if voters reject it or no election occurs. - Allows any Troup County school district voter to seek a court order (a writ of mandamus) forcing the election superintendent to hold the referendum if they fail to do so. ### Who it affects Homeowners age 65 or older who live in the Troup County school district and meet the income limit, Troup County election officials who must run the referendum, and the Troup County school district, which collects less property tax revenue from qualifying homeowners if the exemption passes. ### Why it matters If voters approve the referendum, eligible senior homeowners in Troup County would see a larger portion of their home's value shielded from school property taxes, lowering their tax bills, while more seniors with higher incomes would newly qualify for the break under the raised income cap. ### Key provisions - Section 1 rewrites subsection (a) of the 1994 Troup County homestead exemption law to raise the exemption to $100,000 of assessed value and the income cap to $50,000, counting retirement, disability, pension, and Social Security income. - Section 2 states the Act requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate under the Georgia Constitution, Article VII, Section II. - Section 3 requires a Troup County referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025, with the ballot asking whether to raise the exemption from $40,000 to $100,000 and the income cap from $40,000 to $50,000. - Section 3 makes Section 1 effective January 1, 2026 if approved, or automatically repeals the whole Act 365 days after the election if rejected or not held. - Section 3 lets any elector sue for a writ of mandamus if the election superintendent fails to call or conduct the referendum. - Section 4 makes the rest of the Act effective upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature. - Section 5 repeals conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-14) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 (2025-05-14) - Sponsors: Vance Smith, David Huddleston, Debbie Buckner - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69458 > The history, votes, and amendments (883 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb103.md?full=1