HR1178: HR1178 General Assembly; provide by general law for local grant and adjustment programs; authorize

Georgia's Constitution currently sets rules for a statewide property tax break called the Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment, which reduces what homeowners owe based on their homestead exemption. This resolution proposes amending that section of the Constitution (Article VII, Section IIA, Paragraph I) so the General Assembly can pass general laws letting local governments and local school systems set up their own grant programs and use local tax money to add to the statewide adjustment. The revised text sets the maximum benefit at the equivalent of an $18,000 homestead exemption or the homeowner's actual property tax bill, whichever is lower, and lets the General Assembly appropriate money each year for grants to local governments and school districts. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it must be approved by voters in a statewide referendum before it takes effect, with the exact ballot language spelled out in Section 2 of the resolution.

• Amends Article VII, Section IIA, Paragraph I of the Georgia Constitution covering the Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment, a property tax relief mechanism tied to the homestead exemption.
• Authorizes the General Assembly to pass general laws letting local governments and local school systems create their own local grant programs funded by local tax dollars to support homeowner tax adjustments.
• Sets the maximum benefit at the equivalent of an $18,000 homestead exemption or the homeowner's actual property tax liability on the home, whichever is lower.
• Allows the General Assembly to appropriate (set aside state funding for) annual grants to local governments and school districts as homeowner tax relief grants.
• Requires the proposed amendment to be submitted to Georgia voters for ratification or rejection in a statewide referendum, with specified ballot wording.

Georgia homeowners who claim the statewide homestead exemption, local governments and local school systems that could create new local grant programs, and Georgia voters, who would decide whether to approve this constitutional change in a referendum.

If voters approve this amendment, cities, counties, and school districts could start their own local property tax relief programs on top of the state's homeowner adjustment, potentially changing how much local tax money goes toward reducing individual homeowners' tax bills.

• Section 1 revises Paragraph I of Article VII, Section IIA to authorize local grant and adjustment programs funded by local tax dollars, alongside the existing statewide adjustment.
• Subparagraph (b) caps the benefit at the equivalent of an $18,000 homestead exemption or the homeowner's actual tax liability, whichever is lower, and allows annual state appropriations for grants to local governments and school districts.
• Subparagraph (c) states that adjustments and grants will follow procedures and conditions set by general law, whether already enacted or enacted in the future.
• Section 2 requires the amendment to be published and submitted to voters under the Constitution's amendment process (Article X, Section I, Paragraph II), with specific ballot language asking whether to authorize local grants and remove the current benefit cap.

1. 2026-02-18House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2026-02-04House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-03House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-02House Hopper (House)

• Gary Richardson (R, HD-125)Primary sponsor
• Mark Newton (R, HD-127)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Rob Clifton (R, HD-131)
• Vance Smith (R, HD-138)
• Shaw Blackmon (R, HD-146)

• property taxes
• homestead exemption
• constitutional amendment
• local government funding
• homeowner tax relief