---
title: HB 1316. Walker County; school district ad valorem tax; remove five year residency requirement for homestead exemption
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1316
cite_as: HB 1316, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1316
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1316.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1316/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73245
date: 2026-05-11
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
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.
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next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1317.md
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1232
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1316.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1316
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-11
last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-11
sponsors:
  - Steve Tarvin
  - Mike Cameron
  - Clint Dixon
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1316/2025
upstream_id: 2118565
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - property taxes
  - homestead exemption
  - Walker County
  - school district taxes
  - local referendum
---

# HB 1316. Walker County; school district ad valorem tax; remove five year residency requirement for homestead exemption

## Text

House Bill 1316 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Tarvin of the 2nd and Cameron of the 1st
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend an Act to provide a homestead exemption from Walker County school district ad
valorem taxes for educational purposes, approved May 13, 2025 (Ga. L. 2025, p. 3901), so
as to remove the five year residency requirement for the homestead exemption for residents
of such school district who are 75 years of age or older; to provide for definitions; to specify
the terms and conditions of the exemption and the procedures relating thereto; to provide for
applicability; to provide for compliance with constitutional requirements; to provide for a
referendum, effective dates, automatic repeal, mandatory execution of election, and judicial
remedies regarding failure to comply; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
An Act to provide a homestead exemption from Walker County school district ad valorem
taxes for educational purposes, approved May 13, 2025 (Ga. L. 2025, p. 3901), is amended
by revising Section 1 as follows:
"SECTION 1.
(a) As used in this Act, the term:
(1) 'Ad valorem taxes for educational purposes' means all ad valorem taxes for
educational purposes levied by, for, or on behalf of the Walker County school district,
including, but not limited to, any ad valorem taxes to pay interest on and to retire county
school district bonded indebtedness.
(2) 'Homestead' means homestead as defined and qualified in Code Section 48-5-40 of
the O.C.G.A., as amended, with the additional qualification that it shall include not more
than five contiguous acres of homestead property.
(b)(1) Each resident of the Walker County school district who is at least 70 years of age
but less than 75 years of age 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 $50,000.00 of
the assessed value of such homestead. The value of that property in excess of such
exempted amount shall remain subject to taxation. The unremarried surviving spouse of
the person who has been granted the exemption provided for in this paragraph shall
continue to receive the exemption provided under this Act, provided that the unremarried
surviving spouse is 67 years of age or older and continues to occupy the home as a
residence and homestead.
(2) 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. The
unremarried surviving spouse of the person who has been granted the exemption provided
for in this paragraph shall continue to receive the exemption provided under this Act,
provided that the unremarried surviving spouse is 70 years of age or older and continues
to occupy the home as a residence and homestead."
SECTION 2.
Said Act is further amended by revising Section 3 as follows:
"SECTION 3.
The election superintendent of Walker County shall call and conduct an election as
provided in this section for the purpose of submitting this Act to the electors of the Walker
County school district for approval or rejection. The election superintendent shall conduct
that election on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 2026, and shall issue the
call and conduct that election as provided by general law. The election superintendent shall
cause the date and purpose of the election to be published once a week for two weeks
immediately preceding the date thereof in the official organ of Walker County. The ballot
shall have written or printed thereon the words:
"( ) YES Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from
Walker County school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in
( ) NO the amount of $50,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead for
residents of such school district who are 70 years of age or older and which
provides a homestead exemption from Walker County school district ad
valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of the full assessed
value of the homestead for residents of such school district who are 75 years
of age or older?"
All persons desiring to vote for approval of the Act shall vote "Yes," and all persons
desiring to vote for rejection of the Act shall vote "No." If more than one-half of the votes
cast on such question are for approval of the Act, Section 1 of this Act shall become of full
force and effect on January 1, 2027. If the Act is not so approved or if the election is not
conducted as provided in this section, Section 1 of this Act shall not become effective, and
this Act shall be automatically repealed on the 365th calendar day following the election
date provided for in this section. The expense of such election shall be borne by Walker
County. It shall be the election superintendent's duty to certify the result thereof to the
Secretary of State. The provisions of this section shall be mandatory upon the election
superintendent and are not intended as directory. If the election superintendent fails or
refuses to comply with this section, any elector of the Walker County school district may
apply for a writ of mandamus to compel the election superintendent to perform his or her
duties under this section. If the court finds that the election superintendent has not
complied with this section, the court shall fashion appropriate relief requiring the election
superintendent to call and conduct such election on the date required by this section or on
the next date authorized for special elections provided for in Code Section 21-2-540 of the
O.C.G.A."
SECTION 3.
In accordance with the requirements of Article VII, Section II of the Constitution of the State
of Georgia, this Act shall not become law unless it receives the requisite two-thirds' majority
vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
SECTION 4.
Except as otherwise provided in Section 2 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon
its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.
SECTION 5.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## 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.

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.

### Plain-language summary

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 it 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.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: Steve Tarvin, Mike Cameron, Clint Dixon
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73245

> The history, votes, and amendments (1,232 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1316.md?full=1