Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1316: Walker County; school district ad valorem tax; remove five year residency requirement for homestead exemption
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date
House Bill 1316 would remove a five year residency requirement from the school tax homestead exemption for Walker County residents age 75 and older, pending voter approval in a November 2026 referendum.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
In 2025 the Georgia General Assembly created a homestead exemption from Walker County school district property taxes, giving residents age 75 and older a full exemption on their home's assessed value, but only if they had lived there for at least five years. This bill amends that 2025 law to drop the five-year residency condition for the 75-and-older exemption, while keeping a separate $50,000 exemption for residents ages 70 to 74. The bill keeps the surviving spouse continuation provisions and the five-acre homestead limit unchanged. Because it changes a local tax exemption, Walker County voters must approve it in a referendum on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2026. If approved, the exemption change takes effect January 1, 2027; if rejected or the election is not held, the Act automatically repeals 365 days after the election date.
What the bill does
- Removes the requirement that Walker County school district residents age 75 or older must have lived there five years to qualify for the full homestead property tax exemption.
- Keeps the separate exemption of $50,000 of assessed value for residents ages 70 to 74, with no change to that group's rules.
- Preserves the surviving spouse provisions allowing an unremarried spouse age 70 or older to keep receiving the full exemption.
- Requires a countywide referendum in November 2026 before the change can take effect, with automatic repeal if voters reject it or no election occurs.
- Sets the change to take effect January 1, 2027 if approved by voters.
Who it affects
Walker County school district residents age 75 and older who apply for the homestead tax exemption, their surviving spouses, county election officials who must run the 2026 referendum, and local taxpayers whose school tax base is affected by the exemption.
Why it matters
Older homeowners in Walker County who have lived there fewer than five years would become eligible for a full exemption from school property taxes once they turn 75, rather than being excluded until they meet a residency threshold, provided voters approve the change at the polls.
Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites Section 1 of the 2025 Act to grant residents 75 or older a full assessed-value exemption from Walker County school taxes with no residency-length requirement.
- Section 1 keeps a $50,000 exemption for residents ages 70 to 74 and preserves surviving spouse eligibility rules (67 or older for the 70-74 group, 70 or older for the 75-and-older group).
- Section 2 sets the referendum date as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2026 and specifies the ballot question wording.
- Section 2 provides that the change takes effect January 1, 2027 if approved, or the Act automatically repeals 365 days after the election if rejected or not held.
- Section 3 requires a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers under the Georgia Constitution's tax exemption provisions.
- Section 4 makes the rest of the Act effective upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without approval.
From the bill
“Each resident of the Walker County school district who is 75 years of age or older on or before January 1 of the year in which the application for exemption under this Act is made or any year subsequent to the making of such application is granted an exemption on such person's homestead from Walker County school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of the full assessed value of that homestead.”
Discussed in meetings (8)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House floor session, March 10, 2026 (legislative day 30)
From 0:50:37 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2376
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read the local committee's recommendation to pass the Walker County bill. The House later included it in a group of 12 uncontested local bills. The chair said eight bills in the group concerned homestead exemptions and required a two-thirds vote. The group passed by 159 to 0, without separate presentation or debate.
Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee, March 24, 2026
From 1:45:45 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1316 would correct the ballot question for Walker County's school-tax exemption for residents age 75 and older by removing a five-year residency requirement. The sponsor explained that lawmakers intended to remove that requirement in the previous year's legislation, but it remained in the county's older-age exemption language. The sponsor said the county proposal would appear on the November ballot and that local parties agreed on the correction. The committee approved the bill unanimously.
Senate Rules Committee, March 25, 2026
From 0:38:01 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said HB 1316 was intended to correct a residency requirement left in school tax exemption legislation. The presenter explained that related measures for Walker County and City of Chickamauga schools had included residency requirements at local request, but the schools later wanted them removed. According to the presenter, the language had been removed in three of four places. The presenter said the bill had passed the House as a local bill but became a general bill in the Senate. The chair indicated support for moving it forward. It was included in the calendar package approved unanimously.
Senate floor session, March 27, 2026 (legislative day 38)
From 7:10:45 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Tabled)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1316 would remove the five-year residency requirement for a Walker County school property tax homestead exemption for residents age 75 or older. The sponsor explained that the measure was being handled outside the local-bill process because the area's Senate seat was vacant. The clerk described a referendum and related implementation provisions. No questions or opposition followed. The Senate passed the bill 48-0.
- Read aloud: House floor session, February 18, 2026 (legislative day 20), 0:18:30
- Read aloud: House floor session, February 19, 2026 (legislative day 21), 0:47:12
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 12, 2026 (legislative day 31), 0:23:51
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 25, 2026 (legislative day 37), 0:37:16
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 556
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
Show full history (17 actions)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Steve Tarvin (R, HD-2)
- Mike Cameron (R, HD-1)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
Votes
- House voteMarch 10, 2026
159 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 12 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 27, 2026
26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 27, 2026
48 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 5 excused)
Topics
- property taxes
- homestead exemption
- Walker County
- school district taxes
- local referendum