HB 846: Cherokee County; ad valorem tax; provide homestead exemption

Cherokee County currently offers homestead exemptions (breaks on property taxes for a primary home), but this bill would add another one specifically for county government taxes. The size of the exemption would be calculated each year based on how much money the county collects from a retail homestead option sales and use tax, a local sales tax whose proceeds fund homestead tax relief. Homeowners would need to apply once with the Cherokee County tax commissioner, and the exemption would then renew automatically each year as long as they still live in the home. The exemption would not reduce state taxes, school taxes, or city taxes, only county government taxes. It would only take effect if Cherokee County voters approved both this exemption and a related sales tax in a special election set for November 2025, and only if the General Assembly separately passed a related statewide law on alternative homestead sales taxes in 2025. If those conditions were not met, the bill would automatically repeal itself. The Governor vetoed the bill on May 14, 2025.

• Creates an additional homestead exemption from Cherokee County ad valorem taxes (property taxes) for county government purposes only, not school or city taxes.
• Ties the size of the exemption to the prior year's revenue from a retail homestead option sales and use tax, as calculated by the Cherokee County tax commissioner.
• Requires homeowners to file a one time application with the tax commissioner, after which the exemption renews automatically each year.
• Makes the exemption effective only if voters approve both it and a related sales tax at a November 2025 special election.
• Requires the state legislature to also pass a separate statewide law on alternative homestead sales taxes in 2025, or the bill automatically repeals on July 1, 2025.
• Sets an automatic repeal 365 days after the election if voters reject the measure or if the election is not properly held.

Homeowners in Cherokee County who claim a homestead exemption, the Cherokee County tax commissioner's office, which administers applications and calculates exemption amounts, and the Cherokee County election superintendent, who must conduct the required referendum.

If it had taken effect, eligible Cherokee County homeowners could have seen a reduction in the county portion of their property tax bill, with the amount shifting from year to year based on local sales tax collections. Because the Governor vetoed it, no exemption or referendum will move forward under this bill.

• Section 1 creates the homestead exemption, defines terms by reference to the state's Alternative Homestead Option Sales and Use Tax Act, and specifies it applies only to county purposes, not school, state, or municipal taxes.
• Section 1(f) makes the exemption contingent on voters separately approving a local option sales and use tax at the same special election.
• Section 2 requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate for the bill to become law, as mandated by the Georgia Constitution for local tax legislation.
• Section 3 sets a special election for the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2025, specifies the ballot language, and provides for automatic repeal 365 days later if voters reject it or the election fails to occur.
• Section 4 makes the Act's effectiveness contingent on the General Assembly separately enacting a 2025 law on alternative homestead sales taxes, with automatic repeal on July 1, 2025 if that law is not passed.
• Section 5 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-14Veto V5
2. 2025-05-14House Date Vetoed by Governor (House)
3. 2025-04-09House Sent to Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
5. 2025-04-02Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
6. 2025-03-31Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
7. 2025-03-31House Passed/Adopted (House)
8. 2025-03-31House Third Readers (House)

• Brad Thomas (R, HD-21)Primary sponsor
• Jordan Ridley (R, HD-22)
• Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-14)
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-11)
• Jan Jones (R, HD-47)
• John Carson (R, HD-46)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2025

   165 yea, 0 nay (10 not voting, 5 excused)

   Local Calendar Without HBs 851 & 852: House Vote #342

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   51 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 3 excused)

   LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #381

• property taxes
• homestead exemption
• Cherokee County
• local sales tax
• ballot referendum