House Bill 1543 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representative Lumsden of the 12th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend an Act providing a $40,000.00 homestead exemption from certain ad valorem
taxes levied by, for, or on behalf of the Chattooga County School District for residents of that
district who are 70 years of age or older and whose gross income does not exceed
$20,000.00, approved April 23, 1998 (Ga. L. 1998, p. 4660), so as to increase the income cap
on such exemption; to increase the value of the exemption in steps over a two-year period;
to revise a definition; 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 providing a $40,000.00 homestead exemption from certain ad valorem taxes levied
by, for, or on behalf of the Chattooga County School District for residents of that district who
are 70 years of age or older and whose gross income does not exceed $20,000.00, approved
April 23, 1998 (Ga. L. 1998, p. 4660), is amended in Section 1 by revising paragraph (1) as
follows:
"(1) 'Income' means federal adjusted gross income determined pursuant to the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for federal income tax purposes of the resident of
the homestead and his or her spouse."
SECTION 2.
Said Act is further amended by revising Section 2 as follows:
"SECTION 2.
Each resident of the Chattooga County School District who is a senior citizen and whose
income for the immediately preceding taxable year does not exceed $38,000.00 is granted
an exemption on that person's homestead from Chattooga County School District ad
valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of:
(1) $41,150.00 of the assessed value of that homestead for tax year 2027;
(2) $55,000.00 of the assessed value of that homestead for tax year 2028 and subsequent
tax years.
The value of a homestead in excess of the amount exempted by this section shall remain
subject to taxation."
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.
The election superintendent of Chattooga County shall call and conduct an election as
provided in this section for the purpose of submitting this Act to the electors of the Chattooga
County School District 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 Chattooga County. The ballot
shall have written or printed thereon the words:
"( ) YES Shall the Act be approved which increases the income cap on the current
homestead exemption for senior citizens 70 years of age or older from
( ) NO Chattooga County School District ad valorem taxes for educational
purposes from $20,000.00 to $38,000.00, and for the exemption to increase
to $41,150.00 for tax year 2027 and to $55,000.00 for tax year 2028 and all
subsequent tax years?"
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, Sections 1 and 2 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, Sections 1 and 2 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 Chattooga
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 Chattooga 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 5.
Except as otherwise provided in Section 4 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon
its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.
SECTION 6.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.