---
title: HB 445. Ad valorem tax; language required to be included in notices of current assessment; revise
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb445
cite_as: HB 445, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb445
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb445.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb445/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70317
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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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 2212
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb445.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 445
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-11
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
  - Charles Martin
  - Matt Brass
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB445/2025
upstream_id: 1970350
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - property tax appeals
  - business personal property tax
  - public utility definition
  - tax assessment hearing officers
---

# HB 445. Ad valorem tax; language required to be included in notices of current assessment; revise

## Text

House Bill 445 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representative Martin of the 49th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating revenue and taxation,
so as to add hearing officer review for tax reassessment of certain business personal property;
to revise a definition; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is
amended in Code Section 48-1-2, relating to definitions, by revising paragraph (21) as
follows:
"(21) 'Public utility' means all railroad companies, street and suburban railroads, or
sleeping car companies; persons or companies operating railroads, street railroads,
suburban railroads, or sleeping cars in this state; all express companies including railroad
companies doing express, telephone, or telegraph business (except small telephone
companies or persons operating a telephone business, the value of whose capital stock or
property is less than $5,000.00); all gas, electric light, electric power, <ins>private water
systems and sewage systems with at least 10,000 connections for services,</ins> hydroelectric
power, steam heat, refrigerated air, dockage or cranage, canal, toll road, toll bridge,
railroad equipment, and navigation companies; and any person or persons operating a gas,
electric light, electric power, hydroelectric power, steam heat, refrigerated air, dockage
or cranage, canal, toll road, toll bridge, railroad equipment, or navigation business,
through their president, general manager, owner, or agent having control of the
company's offices in this state."
SECTION 2.
Said title is further amended in Code Section 48-5-311, relating to creation of county boards
of equalization, duties, review of assessments, and appeals, by revising
subparagraph (e)(1)(A) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (e.1) as follows:
"(1)(A) Any taxpayer or property owner as of the last date for filing an appeal may
elect to file an appeal from an assessment by the county board of tax assessors to:
(i) The county board of equalization as to matters of taxability, uniformity of
assessment, and value, and, for residents, as to denials of homestead exemptions
pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection;
(ii) An arbitrator as to matters of value pursuant to subsection (f) of this Code
section;
(iii) A hearing officer as to matters of value and uniformity of assessment for a parcel
of nonhomestead real property with a fair market value in excess of $500,000.00 as
shown on the taxpayer's annual notice of current assessment under Code
Section 48-5-306, and any contiguous nonhomestead real property owned by the same
taxpayer, pursuant to subsection (e.1) of this Code section; <del>or
</del> (iv) A hearing officer as to matters of values or uniformity of assessment of one or
more account numbers of wireless property as defined in subparagraph (e.1)(1)(B) of
this Code section with an aggregate fair market value in excess of $500,000.00 as
shown on the taxpayer's annual notice of current assessment under Code
Section 48-5-306, pursuant to subsection (e.1) of this Code section; <ins>or
(v) A hearing officer as to matters of values or uniformity of assessment of one or
more account numbers of any taxable tangible personal property other than wireless
property as defined in subparagraph (e.1)(1)(B) of this Code section with an aggregate
fair market value in excess of $200,000.00 as shown on the taxpayer's annual notice
of current assessment under Code Section 48-5-306, pursuant to subsection (e.1) of
this Code section."
</ins> "(1)(A) For any dispute involving the value or uniformity of a parcel of nonhomestead
real property with a fair market value in excess of $500,000.00 as shown on the
taxpayer's annual notice of current assessment under Code Section 48-5-306, at the
option of the taxpayer, an appeal may be submitted to a hearing officer in accordance
with this subsection. If such taxpayer owns nonhomestead real property contiguous to
such qualified nonhomestead real property, at the option of the taxpayer, such
contiguous property may be consolidated with the qualified property for purposes of the
hearing under this subsection.
(B)(i) As used in this subparagraph, the term 'wireless property' means tangible
personal property or equipment used directly for the provision of wireless services by
a provider of wireless services which is attached to or is located underneath a wireless
cell tower or at a network data center location but which is not permanently affixed
to such tower or data center so as to constitute a fixture.
(ii) For any dispute involving the values or uniformity of one or more account
numbers of wireless property <del>as defined in this subparagraph</del> with an aggregate fair
market value in excess of $500,000.00 as shown on the taxpayer's annual notice of
current assessment under Code Section 48-5-306, at the option of the taxpayer, an
appeal may be submitted to a hearing officer in accordance with this subsection.
<ins>(C) For any dispute involving the values or uniformity of one or more account numbers
of any taxable tangible personal property other than wireless property as defined in
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph with an aggregate fair market value in excess
of $200,000.00 as shown on the taxpayer's annual notice of current assessment under
Code Section 48-5-306, at the option of the taxpayer, an appeal may be submitted to a
hearing officer in accordance with this subsection.
(2)(A)</ins> Individuals desiring to serve as hearing officers and who are either:
<ins>(i) State</ins> <del>state</del> certified general real property appraisers or state certified residential
real property appraisers as classified by the Georgia Real Estate Commission and the
Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board for real property appeals; or <del>are
</del> <ins>(ii) Designated</ins> <del>designated</del> appraisers by a nationally recognized appraiser's
organization for wireless property appeals
shall complete and submit an application, a list of counties the hearing officer is willing
to serve, <ins>a</ins> disqualification questionnaire, and <ins>a</ins> resume and be approved by the Georgia
Real Estate Commission and the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board to serve as a
hearing officer. <ins>The Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board</ins> <del>Such board</del> shall annually
publish a list of qualified and approved hearing officers for Georgia.
<ins>(B)(i) Any individual who is a former or current Appraiser IV or chief appraiser and
desires to serve as a hearing officer for taxable tangible personal property other than
wireless property as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection
shall complete and submit an application, a list of counties the hearing officer is
willing to serve, a disqualification questionnaire, and a resume to the Georgia Real
Estate Commission and the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board for review and
approval to serve as a hearing officer with respect to such taxable tangible personal
property appeals provided for in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of this subsection.
</ins>
<ins>(ii) The Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board shall annually publish a list of such
qualified and approved hearing officers and a list of counties such hearing officers are
willing to serve.
(iii) With respect to this subparagraph and subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of this
subsection, no Appraiser IV or chief appraiser shall be eligible to serve as a hearing
officer for any county for which such person served as an Appraiser IV or chief
appraiser."
</ins> 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.

House Bill 445 would let owners of business personal property worth more than $200,000 appeal county tax assessments to a hearing officer, and would add large private water and sewer systems to the definition of a public utility for tax purposes.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia law already lets property owners appeal county tax assessments to a hearing officer instead of the local board of equalization, but only for high-value real estate and wireless communications equipment. This bill extends that option to owners of other business personal property, such as equipment and machinery, when the combined value shown on the tax notice exceeds $200,000.

The bill also updates who can serve as a hearing officer. Former or current county Appraiser IV staff or chief appraisers can now apply to review personal property appeals, but they cannot serve as a hearing officer for a county where they previously worked as an appraiser. Separately, the bill revises the definition of 'public utility' in Georgia's tax code to include private water systems and sewage systems with at least 10,000 connections, subjecting them to public utility tax treatment. The changes take effect once signed into law, with no other stated delay.

### What it does

- Creates a new appeal option letting owners of business personal property (other than wireless equipment) worth over $200,000 request review by a hearing officer instead of the county board of equalization.
- Allows former or current county Appraiser IV employees and chief appraisers to apply to serve as hearing officers for these personal property appeals.
- Bars a former Appraiser IV or chief appraiser from serving as a hearing officer for any county where they previously worked in that role.
- Requires the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board to publish an annual list of approved personal property hearing officers and the counties they will serve.
- Adds private water systems and sewage systems with at least 10,000 connections to the legal definition of a 'public utility' under Georgia tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-1-2).

### Who it affects

Owners of business personal property such as equipment and machinery valued over $200,000, county tax assessors and boards of equalization, current and former county chief appraisers and Appraiser IV staff who may serve as hearing officers, and operators of large private water and sewage systems now classified as public utilities.

### Why it matters

Business owners with valuable equipment or machinery would gain a faster, more specialized appeal route for contested tax assessments rather than going only through the local board of equalization. Counties would also need to recruit and vet a new pool of qualified hearing officers to handle these disputes.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises the definition of 'public utility' in O.C.G.A. § 48-1-2 to include private water systems and sewage systems with at least 10,000 service connections.
- Section 2 adds a new appeal path (subparagraph (e)(1)(A)(v)) letting taxpayers send disputes over personal property valued above $200,000 to a hearing officer.
- Section 2 creates a new hearing officer category for taxable tangible personal property other than wireless property, requiring an aggregate value over $200,000 as shown on the annual assessment notice.
- Section 2 allows former or current Appraiser IV employees or chief appraisers to apply to serve as personal property hearing officers, subject to Georgia Real Estate Commission and Real Estate Appraisers Board approval.
- Section 2 prohibits a former Appraiser IV or chief appraiser from serving as a hearing officer in any county where they previously held that appraiser role.
- Section 2 requires the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board to annually publish a list of qualified personal property hearing officers and the counties they serve.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting state laws.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: Charles Martin, Matt Brass
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70317

> The history, votes, and amendments (2,212 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb445.md?full=1