HR1503: HR1503 General Assembly; expend or authorize expenditure of public funds for Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund; provide by law - CA

This House resolution proposes changing the Georgia Constitution to let the General Assembly spend public money on a new Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund without requiring anything in return, which the state constitution otherwise generally requires for public expenditures. The fund would be paid for using tax collections from high-technology data centers and the insurance premium tax, and would give refundable income tax credits to people living in 'qualifying homes' (a term lawmakers would define later by general law), meaning the credit could exceed what a person actually owes in income tax. The resolution also rewrites the existing Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment clause of the Constitution, raising the cap on the homestead exemption benefit from $18,000 to $150,000 of a home's assessed value, and lets the legislature authorize local governments and school systems to fund their own local versions of this tax relief. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it must go before Georgia voters for ratification, with ballot language included in the resolution itself.

• Amends the Constitution to let the General Assembly spend or authorize spending public funds on the Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund without needing anything in return.
• Creates a Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund funded by high-technology data center and insurance premium tax collections, generating refundable income tax credits for residents of qualifying homes.
• Exempts fund money from certain constitutional debt limits, from being treated as state property, from being commingled with state funds, and from the state's usual claim on funds beyond administrative fees.
• Raises the cap on the Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment benefit from $18,000 to $150,000 of a home's assessed value or the taxpayer's actual property tax bill, whichever is lower.
• Authorizes local governments and school systems to fund their own local homeowner tax relief adjustments alongside the state program.
• Requires the proposed amendment to be submitted to Georgia voters for ratification, with specific ballot language written into the resolution.

Georgia homeowners who qualify under the future definition of 'qualifying homes' would see reduced income and property tax bills. County and local school system governments could adopt local versions of the tax relief. High-technology data center operators and insurance companies whose tax payments fund the program, and state agencies that would administer the fund, are also affected.

If ratified by voters, homeowners could see a much larger property tax break, up from a $18,000 exemption cap to $150,000, plus new income tax credits that can exceed what they owe. Local governments would gain new authority to offer their own tax relief funded by data center and insurance tax revenue.

• Section 1 amends Article III, Section VI, Paragraph VI to let the General Assembly spend public funds on the Georgia Property Tax Fairness Fund without the constitutional requirement of receiving something in return, and shields the fund from state debt limits and claims on its money.
• Section 2 amends Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI to create the fund itself, financed by high-technology data center and insurance premium tax collections, providing refundable income tax credits to residents of 'qualifying homes' as later defined by general law.
• Section 2 specifies that money appropriated to the fund will not lapse under the usual constitutional rule and is exempt from a specific state budget appropriations limit.
• 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 or the taxpayer's ad valorem tax bill, whichever is lower.
• Section 3 also authorizes local governments and school systems to use local tax funds to support their own homeowners' incentive adjustments.
• Section 4 sets the ballot question voters would see, asking whether to create the fund and revise the Homeowner's Incentive Adjustment clause, with the amendment taking effect only if ratified.

1. 2026-03-03House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-26House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-25House Hopper (House)

• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)Primary sponsor

• property taxes
• homestead exemption
• constitutional amendment
• tax credits
• data center taxation