--- title: HB 539. Gwinnett County; school district ad valorem tax; increase homestead exemption collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb539 cite_as: HB 539, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb539 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb539.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb539/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70576 date: 2025-05-13 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hb538.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb540.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb539.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 539 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-13 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 sponsors: - Matt Reeves - Chuck Efstration - Jasmine Clark - Segun Adeyina - Gabe Okoye - Dewey McClain text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB539/2025 upstream_id: 1978282 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - property taxes - homestead exemption - Gwinnett County schools - local referendum - school district funding --- # HB 539. Gwinnett County; school district ad valorem tax; increase homestead exemption ## Text 25 LC 47 3247/AP House Bill 539 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Reeves of the 99th, Efstration of the 104th, Clark of the 108th, Adeyina of the 110th, Okoye of the 102nd, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act to provide a homestead exemption of $4,000.00 f rom all county school1 district ad valorem taxation, except taxes levied to retire bonded indebtedness, which applies2 to the homestead of each resident of the Gwinnett County school district actually occupied3 by the owner as a residence and homestead, approved March 24, 1 988 (Ga. L. 1988, p.4 4199), so as to increase said homestead exemption to $10,000.00; to provide for compliance5 with constitutional requirements; to provide for a referendum, effective dates, and automatic6 repeal; to provide for mandatory execution of election and judicial remedies regarding failure7 to comply; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 SECTION 1.10 An Act to provide a homestead exemption of $4,000.00 from all c ounty school district ad11 valorem taxation, except taxes levied to retire bonded indebted ness, which applies to the12 homestead of each resident of the Gwinnett County school district actually occupied by the13 owner as a residence and homestead, approved March 24, 1988 (Ga . L. 1988, p. 4199), is14 amended by revising Section 2 as follows:15 H. B. 539 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3247/AP "SECTION 2.16 The homestead of each resident of the Gwinnett County school district actually occupied17 by the owner as a residence and homestead, and only so long as actually occupied by the18 owner primarily as such, is exempted from Gwinnett County schoo l district ad valorem19 taxation in the amount of $10,000.00 of the assessed value of t he homestead for the tax20 year beginning January 1, 2027, and for all tax years thereafter."21 SECTION 2.22 In accordance with the requirements of Article VII, Section II of the Constitution of the State23 of Georgia, this Act shall not become law unless it receives the requisite two-thirds' majority24 vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.25 SECTION 3.26 The election superintendent of Gwinnett County shall call and c onduct an election as27 provided in this section for the purpose of submitting this Act to the electors of the Gwinnett28 County school district for approval or rejection. The election superintendent shall conduct29 that election on the date of the general primary in 2026 and shall issue the call and conduct30 such election as provided by general law. The election superintendent shall cause the date31 and purpose of the election to be published once a week for two weeks immediately32 preceding the date thereof in the official organ of Gwinnett County. The ballot shall have33 written or printed thereon the words:34 "( ) YES35 ( ) NO36 37 38 39 Shall the Act be approved which increases the homestead exemption from Gwinnett County school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $10,000.00 of the assessed value of the homest ead for residents of that school district, which represents a $2,000.00 increase in such exemption?" H. B. 539 - 2 - 25 LC 47 3247/AP All persons desiring to vote for approval of the Act shall vote "Yes," and all persons desiring40 to vote for rejection of the Act shall vote "No." If more than one-half of the votes cast on41 such question are for approval of the Act, Section 1 of this Act shall become of full force and42 effect on January 1, 2027. If the Act is not so approved or if the election is not conducted43 as provided in this section, Section 1 of this Act shall not become effective, and this Act shall44 be automatically repealed on the 365th calendar day following the election date provided for45 in this section. The expense of such election shall be borne by Gwinnett County. It shall be46 the election superintendent's duty to certify the result thereof to the Secretary of State. The47 provisions of this section shall be mandatory upon the election superintendent and are not48 intended as directory. If the election superintendent fails or refuses to comply with this49 section, any elector of the Gwinnett County school district may apply for a writ of mandamus50 to compel the election superintendent to perform his or her duties under this section. If the51 court finds that the election superintendent has not complied with this section, the court shall52 fashion appropriate relief requiring the election superintenden t to call and conduct such53 election on the date required by this section or on the next da te authorized for special54 elections provided for in Code Section 21-2-540 of the O.C.G.A.55 SECTION 4.56 Except as otherwise provided in Section 3 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon57 its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.58 SECTION 5.59 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.60 H. B. 539 - 3 - ## 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 539 would raise the Gwinnett County school district's homestead property tax exemption from $4,000 to $10,000, but only if voters approve it in the 2026 general primary. ### Plain-language summary Since 1988, homeowners in the Gwinnett County school district have gotten a $4,000 exemption from county school district property taxes (not counting taxes used to pay off bonds) on their primary residence. This bill would raise that exemption to $10,000 of the home's assessed value. The change does not take effect automatically. Because it affects property tax exemptions, the Georgia Constitution requires the bill to pass both chambers of the General Assembly by a two-thirds vote, which it did, and then go to Gwinnett County voters in a referendum during the 2026 general primary. If more than half of voters say yes, the higher exemption starts with the tax year beginning January 1, 2027. If voters reject it, or if the election is not held as required, the whole bill is automatically repealed 365 days after the scheduled election date. ### What it does - Raises the Gwinnett County school district homestead property tax exemption from $4,000 to $10,000 of a home's assessed value, starting with the 2027 tax year. - Requires the higher exemption to be approved by Gwinnett County voters in a referendum held during the 2026 general primary before it can take effect. - Automatically repeals the entire Act 365 days after the referendum if voters reject it or if the election is not conducted as required. - Requires the Gwinnett County election superintendent to publish notice of the referendum weekly for two weeks before the vote and to certify results to the Secretary of State. - Allows any Gwinnett County school district voter to seek a court order (writ of mandamus) forcing the election superintendent to hold the vote if they fail to do so. ### Who it affects Homeowners in the Gwinnett County school district who occupy their homes as their primary residence, along with the Gwinnett County election superintendent, who must organize and certify the referendum, and the Gwinnett County school district's tax revenue base. ### Why it matters If approved, homeowners in the Gwinnett County school district would see $6,000 more of their home's value shielded from school district property taxes starting in 2027, lowering their tax bills. If voters reject the measure or the vote does not happen properly, the exemption stays at the current $4,000 level. ### Key provisions - Section 1 rewrites the 1988 law's Section 2 to set the new homestead exemption at $10,000 of assessed value, applying to tax years starting January 1, 2027. - Section 2 states the Act cannot become law unless it passes both the House and Senate by a two-thirds majority, as required for constitutional property tax measures. - Section 3 requires a countywide referendum at the 2026 general primary, specifies the ballot language, and sets automatic repeal 365 days after the election if voters reject it or no election occurs. - Section 4 sets the Act's effective date as upon the Governor's approval or becoming law without signature, except for the referendum-dependent provisions in Section 3. - Section 5 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Matt Reeves, Chuck Efstration, Jasmine Clark, Segun Adeyina, Gabe Okoye, Dewey McClain - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70576 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb539.md?full=1