--- title: SB 24. Ad Valorem Taxation of Property; extension of preferential assessment periods for certain historic properties; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb24 cite_as: SB 24, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb24 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb24.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb24/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69476 date: 2026-01-12 status: introduced 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/sb23.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb25.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 240 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb24.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 24 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-01-17 last_action: Senate Recommitted sponsors: - Max Burns - Chuck Hufstetler - Mike Hodges - John Kennedy - Matt Brass - Randy Robertson - Ben Watson - Billy Hickman - Drew Echols - Lee Anderson - Sally Harrell - Sonya Halpern - John Albers - Russ Goodman - Ricky Williams - Chuck Payne - Marty Harbin - Sam Watson - Clint Dixon text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB24/2025 upstream_id: 1929096 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - property taxes - historic preservation - county government - tax incentives --- # SB 24. Ad Valorem Taxation of Property; extension of preferential assessment periods for certain historic properties; provide ## Text 25 LC 44 2898 Senate Bill 24 By: Senators Burns of the 23rd, Hufstetler of the 52nd, Hodges of the 3rd, Kennedy of the 18th, Brass of the 6th and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Cod e of Georgia Annotated,1 relating to general provisions relative to ad valorem taxation of property, so as to provide for2 an extension of preferential assessment periods for certain historic properties; to provide for3 related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 Article 1 of Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Geor gia Annotated, relating to7 general provisions relative to ad valorem taxation of property, is amended in Code8 Section 48-5-7.2, relating to preferential assessment for rehab ilitated historic property, by9 revising paragraph (4) of subsection (h) as follows:10 "(4) The expiration of nine years during which the property was classified and assessed11 as rehabilitated historic property; provided, however, that any such property may qualify12 thereafter as rehabilitated historic property if such property is subject to subsequent13 rehabilitation and qualifies under the provisions of this Code section; provided, further,14 that, if approved by the governing authority of the county, the classification and15 S. B. 24 - 1 - 25 LC 44 2898 assessment under this Code section may continue for a period of up to an additional16 12 years for income-producing real property."17 SECTION 2.18 Said article is further amended in Code Section 48-5-7.3, relating to preferential assessment19 for landmark historic property, by revising subparagraph (e)(1)(E) as follows:20 "(E) The expiration of nine years during which the property was classified and assessed21 as landmark historic property; provided, however, that any such property may qualify22 thereafter as landmark historic property if such property is su bject to subsequent23 rehabilitation and qualifies under other portions of the historic properties tax incentive24 program contained within the provisions of this Code section; provided, further, that,25 if approved by the governing authority of the county, the classification and assessment26 under this Code section may continue for a period of up to an additional 12 years for27 income-producing real property."28 SECTION 3.29 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.30 S. B. 24 - 2 - ## 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. A Georgia Senate bill would let counties extend the special property tax assessment for rehabilitated historic buildings and landmark historic properties by up to 12 more years for income-producing properties. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law lets owners of rehabilitated historic properties and officially designated landmark historic properties get a preferential (lower) property tax assessment for nine years, under O.C.G.A. §§ 48-5-7.2 and 48-5-7.3. After that nine-year period ends, the special assessment currently expires. This bill would let county governing authorities approve an extension of that preferential assessment for up to an additional 12 years, but only for income-producing real property. The extension applies to both the rehabilitated historic property program and the landmark historic property program. The properties would still need to meet the other existing qualification rules. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a separate effective date beyond the standard process for bills becoming law. ### What it does - Amends Georgia's rehabilitated historic property tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.2) to allow county governing authorities to extend the nine-year preferential assessment period by up to 12 additional years for income-producing real property. - Amends Georgia's landmark historic property tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.3) with the same optional 12-year extension for income-producing landmark historic properties. - Keeps the original nine-year preferential assessment period as the default for both programs unless a county approves the extension. - Preserves the existing rule that a property can requalify for preferential assessment after subsequent rehabilitation. - Repeals any existing laws that conflict with these changes. ### Who it affects Owners of income-producing historic properties that are rehabilitated or officially designated as landmark historic sites, along with county tax officials and county governing authorities, who would decide whether to approve the longer assessment period. ### Why it matters Owners of income-producing historic buildings could pay reduced property taxes for a much longer stretch of time, up to 21 years total instead of nine, if their county approves it. This could affect county property tax revenue and shape decisions about restoring older commercial buildings. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises paragraph (4) of subsection (h) in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.2 so counties may approve up to 12 extra years of preferential assessment for income-producing rehabilitated historic property. - Section 2 makes the identical change to subparagraph (e)(1)(E) of O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.3 for landmark historic property. - Section 3 repeals all laws or parts of laws that conflict with the bill's changes. - The extension is discretionary, it only applies if 'approved by the governing authority of the county,' and only for 'income-producing real property.' ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-17) - Last action: Senate Recommitted (2026-01-12) - Sponsors: Max Burns, Chuck Hufstetler, Mike Hodges, John Kennedy, Matt Brass, Randy Robertson, Ben Watson, Billy Hickman, Drew Echols, Lee Anderson, Sally Harrell, Sonya Halpern, John Albers, Russ Goodman, Ricky Williams, Chuck Payne, Marty Harbin, Sam Watson, Clint Dixon - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69476 > The history, votes, and amendments (240 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb24.md?full=1