House Bill 1491 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Scoggins of the 14th and Gambill of the 15th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend an Act to provide a homestead exemption from certain Bartow County ad valorem
taxes for county purposes in the amount of $5,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead
for certain residents of that county, approved March 24, 1994 (Ga. L. 1994, p. 4058), as
amended, particularly by an Act approved May 1, 2023 (Ga. L. 2023, p. 3891), so as to
increase the exemption to $30,000.00; 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 certain Bartow County ad valorem taxes for
county purposes in the amount of $5,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead for
certain residents of that county, approved March 24, 1994 (Ga. L. 1994, p. 4058), as
amended, particularly by an Act approved May 1, 2023 (Ga. L. 2023, p. 3891), is amended
by revising Section 2 as follows:
"SECTION 2.
Each resident of Bartow County is granted an exemption on that person's homestead from
Bartow County ad valorem taxes for county purposes in the amount of $30,000.00 of the
assessed value of that homestead. The value of that property in excess of such exempted
amount shall remain subject to taxation."
SECTION 2.
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 3.
The election superintendent of Bartow County shall call and conduct an election as provided
in this section for the purpose of submitting this Act to the electors of the Bartow County for
approval or rejection. The election superintendent shall conduct that election on the Tuesday
following the first Monday in November of 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 Bartow County. The ballot shall have written or
printed thereon the words:
"( ) YES Shall the Act be approved that provides for an amendment to the $15,000.00
homestead exemption from Bartow County ad valorem taxes for county
( ) NO purposes so as to increase the exemption to $30,000.00?"
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 Bartow 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 Bartow County 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 4.
Except as otherwise provided in Section 3 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.