Georgia CommonsHB 1526: Early County; repeal a former local constitutional amendment
Last action May 12, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-05-12
House Bill 1526 would repeal an old Early County law that gave new or expanded manufacturing plants a five-year break on local property taxes, while letting current exemptions run out on schedule.
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 LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Since 1962, a local constitutional amendment let anyone who built, equipped, or expanded a manufacturing or processing plant in Early County skip local property taxes (ad valorem taxes, meaning taxes based on a property's value) for five years. Even though voters no longer vote on it as a constitutional amendment, it has stayed on the books as statutory law under a provision of the Georgia Constitution. This bill repeals that old tax break entirely. Anyone already receiving the exemption when the bill takes effect keeps it until their original five-year period runs out, but no new property in Early County can qualify for the exemption going forward. The bill also repeals any other laws that conflict with it.
What the bill does
- Repeals the 1962 local law that gave a five-year property tax exemption to new or expanded manufacturing plants in Early County.
- Ends the ability of any new manufacturing or processing plant in Early County to claim this property tax exemption going forward.
- Preserves the exemption for any property already receiving it, letting those breaks run out over their remaining unexpired term.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.
Who it affects
Manufacturing and processing businesses in Early County that might have built or expanded a plant, county tax officials who administer the exemption, and any property owners currently receiving the tax break, whose existing exemptions are unaffected until they expire.
Why it matters
Early County will no longer offer this decades-old tax incentive to new manufacturing plants, meaning future businesses that build or expand there will pay full local property taxes from the start, while property owners already benefiting keep their exemption until it naturally ends.
Key provisions
- Section 1 repeals the former 1962 local constitutional amendment (Ga. L. 1962, p. 808) that gave a five-year property tax exemption for manufacturing plants in Early County.
- Section 1 includes a grandfather clause: property already receiving the exemption on the bill's effective date keeps it for the rest of its original five-year term.
- Section 2 repeals any other laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.
From the bill
“which former local constitutional amendment was continued in effect as statutory law pursuant to Article VII, Section II, Paragraph IV of the Constitution of Georgia and which provided a five year exemption from local ad valorem property taxes”
“any property receiving such exemption on the effective date of this Act shall continue to receive such exemption for the remainder of the unexpired five year period”
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-05-12
- Act 669
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
Show full history (16 actions)
- Senate Withdrawn & Recommitted (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
- Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
Votes
- House voteMarch 20, 2026
153 yea, 0 nay (14 not voting, 9 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 31, 2026
47 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 7 absent)
Topics
- property taxes
- Early County
- manufacturing incentives
- local tax exemptions