HB 1100: Sales and use tax; new special purpose local option sales tax dedicated to healthcare purposes; provide

Georgia already allows several kinds of local option sales taxes for schools, transportation, and other purposes. This bill adds a new one aimed specifically at healthcare. It amends Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia (O.C.G.A.) to create a special purpose local option sales tax that a city or a county whose borders match its special tax district could put before voters. If approved in a referendum, the tax would be set at 1 percent and would run for a set number of years, not to exceed five, chosen by the local government before the vote. Money raised could only go toward what the bill calls healthcare enhancement purposes, such as hiring more doctors, nurses, and other licensed providers, building or upgrading healthcare facilities and equipment, and providing patient care. The state Department of Revenue would collect the tax, keep 1 percent to cover administrative costs, and send the rest to the local government. The bill also sets rules for elections, exemptions for goods delivered outside the taxing area, and penalties, including withholding the money, if a local government misuses the funds. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Creates a new local sales and use tax of up to 1 percent that cities and counties can put to voters specifically to pay for healthcare enhancement purposes.
• Requires voter approval through a referendum before the tax can be imposed, with the ballot language specifying the rate, duration, and purpose.
• Limits the tax to a maximum of five years per approval, though local governments can hold another referendum to renew it once it expires.
• Restricts how the money can be spent, covering things like hiring healthcare providers, buying or upgrading medical equipment and facilities, and direct patient examination or treatment.
• Requires local governments to keep the tax proceeds in a separate account, report spending in annual audits, and allows the state to withhold funds if the money is misused.
• Adds this new healthcare tax to the list of local sales taxes counted toward the state's overall 1 percent cap on combined local sales tax rates (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-6).

Consumers who pay sales tax within a participating city or county, local governing authorities that decide whether to seek the tax, healthcare providers such as doctors, nurses, dentists, and therapists who could be hired or supported with the funds, and hospitals or clinics eligible to receive facility upgrades.

Communities that approve this tax would gain a new, dedicated funding stream for hiring healthcare workers and upgrading medical facilities, potentially easing local healthcare shortages, but residents in those areas would also pay a higher sales tax rate for up to five years at a time.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 48-8-6 to fold this new healthcare tax into the existing 1 percent statewide cap on combined local option sales taxes.
• Section 2 adds a new Part 4 to Article 3 of Chapter 8, Title 48, creating new O.C.G.A. §§ 48-8-170 through 48-8-184 to establish the tax in full.
• New § 48-8-172 sets the tax rate at 1 percent, applying it the same way as the general state sales tax, including to motor fuel, food, and alcoholic beverages.
• New § 48-8-173 requires a local referendum, with ballot language stating the tax rate, time limit, and healthcare purpose, and a majority 'yes' vote needed to approve it.
• New § 48-8-177 directs the state to keep 1 percent of collections for administrative costs and send the remainder to the local government that imposed the tax.
• New § 48-8-183 restricts spending exclusively to healthcare enhancement purposes and bars using the funds to replace existing healthcare funding already in place.
• New § 48-8-184 allows the state to withhold tax proceeds from a municipality or county found misusing the funds, and to hold the money in trust if no fix is approved within 180 days.
• Section 3 states the law takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without a signature.

1. 2026-02-03House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-02House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-29House Hopper (House)

• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)Primary sponsor
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)
• Sheila Jones (D, HD-060)
• Patty Stinson (D, HD-150)
• Yasmin Neal (D, HD-079)

• sales tax
• healthcare funding
• local government finance
• hospital funding
• ballot referendums