Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SR811: SR811 Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund; General Assembly shall be authorized to provide by law to expend or authorize the expenditure of public funds; provide -CA

Last action February 19, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred

A Senate resolution would ask Georgia voters to amend the state constitution to create a Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund and raise the cap on the state's Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment property tax break from $18,000 to $150,000 of home value.

In plain language

Georgia's constitution currently limits how the state can spend public funds and caps a homestead-related tax adjustment at $18,000 of a home's assessed value. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would let the General Assembly create and fund a new Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund, financed partly by taxes collected from high-technology data centers and insurance premiums, to give refundable income tax credits to people living in 'qualifying homes.' The fund's money would be kept separate from the state treasury and shielded from normal debt and lapsing rules. The amendment would also raise the cap on the Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment, a benefit tied to the homestead exemption (a break on property taxes for a primary home), from $18,000 to $150,000 of assessed home value, and would let the legislature authorize local governments and school systems to fund their own homeowner tax relief grants. If passed by the legislature and approved by voters in a statewide referendum, these changes would become part of the Georgia Constitution.

What the bill does

Creates a Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund that the General Assembly could fund and spend from without receiving anything in return, an exception to normal constitutional public-spending rules.
Allows income tax credits from the fund, financed by data center and insurance premium tax collections, to be refundable and to exceed a homeowner's actual income tax liability.
Exempts money placed in the fund from the state's normal budget lapsing requirement and from a constitutional debt limitation provision.
Raises the cap on the Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment benefit from $18,000 to $150,000 of a home's assessed value or the homeowner's tax bill, whichever is lower.
Authorizes the General Assembly to let local governments and school systems create their own local homeowner tax relief grant and adjustment programs.
Requires the proposed amendment to go before Georgia voters in a statewide referendum before it can take effect.

Who it affects

Georgia homeowners who qualify for the homestead exemption, state and local government budgets, county and city governments, local school systems, high-technology data center operators, and insurance companies whose premium tax collections would help fund the new program.

Why it matters

If ratified, the amendment could substantially lower property and income tax bills for qualifying Georgia homeowners by expanding a existing benefit nearly eightfold and creating a new dedicated fund, while also letting local governments add their own relief programs funded by local tax dollars.

Key provisions

Section 1 amends Article III, Section VI, Paragraph VI to let the state spend public funds on the Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund without requiring the state to receive any benefit in return, and shields the fund from state debt limits and commingling with general state funds.
Section 2 amends Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI to let the General Assembly create the fund using data center and insurance premium tax collections, providing refundable income tax credits that can exceed a taxpayer's liability, exempt from normal fund-lapsing and appropriations limits.
Section 3 revises Article VII, Section IIA, Paragraph I to raise the Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment cap from $18,000 to $150,000 of assessed home value and to let local governments and school systems fund their own local versions of the adjustment.
Section 4 requires the amendment to be submitted to Georgia voters as a ballot referendum, with specific ballot language describing the proposed changes.

From the bill

“of up to $18,000.00 $150,000.00 of the assessed value of a taxpayer's homestead”
Shows the proposed increase in the cap on the Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment benefit.

Status timeline

2026-02-19Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2026-02-18Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

property taxes
homestead exemption
constitutional amendment
tax credits
data center taxes