--- title: HB 1360. Revenue and taxation; refunds of taxes and license fees by counties and municipalities; prohibit class action suits collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1360 cite_as: HB 1360, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1360 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1360.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1360/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73335 date: 2026-02-19 status: introduced 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1359.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1361.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1360.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1360 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-02-18 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Mike Cheokas - Charles Cannon - Bill Yearta - Gerald Greene - Josh Bonner - Darlene Taylor text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1360/2025 upstream_id: 2119508 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - property taxes - local government - tax refunds - class action lawsuits --- # HB 1360. Revenue and taxation; refunds of taxes and license fees by counties and municipalities; prohibit class action suits ## Text House Bill 1360 By: Representatives Cheokas of the 151st, Cannon of the 172nd, Yearta of the 152nd, Greene of the 154th, Bonner of the 73rd, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 48-5-380 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to refunds of taxes and license fees by counties and municipalities, time and manner of filing claims and actions for refund, and authority to approve or disapprove claims, so as to prohibit class action suits; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Code Section 48-5-380 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to refunds of taxes and license fees by counties and municipalities, time and manner of filing claims and actions for refund, and authority to approve or disapprove claims, is amended by adding a new subsection to read as follows: "(h) A claim for refund may not be submitted by the taxpayer on behalf of a class consisting of other taxpayers who are alleged to be similarly situated." SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval. SECTION 3. 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. A Georgia House bill would bar taxpayers from filing class action claims to recover overpaid county or municipal taxes and license fees, requiring each refund claim to be filed individually. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380) lets taxpayers seek refunds from counties and cities when they have overpaid taxes or license fees, and it sets rules for how and when those refund claims and lawsuits must be filed. This bill adds a new provision to that law saying a taxpayer cannot file a refund claim on behalf of a class of other taxpayers who claim to be in the same situation. In practice, this means each taxpayer seeking a refund of local taxes or fees would have to file their own individual claim rather than joining or leading a group claim that covers many similarly affected taxpayers at once. The bill would take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without the Governor's signature, and it repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Adds a new subsection (h) to Georgia's local tax refund law (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380) barring taxpayers from filing refund claims on behalf of a class of similarly situated taxpayers. - Leaves the rest of the existing refund process, including deadlines and county or municipal approval authority, unchanged. - Sets the effective date as immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon the bill becoming law without signature. - Repeals any existing laws that conflict with the new no-class-action rule. ### Who it affects Taxpayers who believe they were overcharged on county or municipal taxes or license fees, especially those who might otherwise band together in a group claim; county and municipal governments that process refund claims; and attorneys who represent groups of taxpayers in refund disputes. ### Why it matters Taxpayers who overpay local taxes or license fees would have to pursue refunds one by one instead of joining a single class claim, which could make it harder and more costly for groups of similarly affected people to recover money from counties or cities. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds subsection (h) to O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380, stating a refund claim may not be submitted by a taxpayer on behalf of a class of other taxpayers alleged to be similarly situated. - Section 2 sets the effective date as upon the Governor's approval or upon the bill becoming law without approval. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-02-18) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-19) - Sponsors: Mike Cheokas, Charles Cannon, Bill Yearta, Gerald Greene, Josh Bonner, Darlene Taylor - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73335 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1360.md?full=1