HB 874: Georgia Taxpayer Privacy Protection Act; enact

Georgia property tax records are largely public under the state's open records law, but this bill targets one specific piece of information in those records: taxpayers' telephone numbers. The bill finds that phone numbers included in bulk property tax data sales serve no real public transparency purpose and can be misused for solicitation, fraud, and identity theft. The bill adds a new section to Georgia's tax code barring anyone from including a taxpayer's phone number in a tax roll, assessment record, or other publicly accessible property tax document, whether physical or electronic, including data sold to third parties or released through open records requests. Exceptions apply for internal government use in tax collection, court-ordered disclosures, and cases where the taxpayer gave written consent. Violators face a civil penalty up to $5,000 and the violation also counts as an unfair or deceptive practice under Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act. The state tax commissioner and county tax commissioners must adopt policies to carry out the law.

• Bans including a taxpayer's telephone number in any property tax roll, assessment record, or other publicly accessible tax document, whether on paper or electronic.
• Extends the ban to phone numbers shared through data sales, open records requests, or agreements with third parties.
• Creates exceptions for internal government tax collection use, court-ordered disclosures, and cases with the taxpayer's written consent.
• Sets a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for anyone who recklessly or knowingly discloses a taxpayer's phone number in a public tax record.
• Classifies violations as unfair or deceptive practices under Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. Title 10), opening the door to that law's enforcement tools.
• Directs the state tax commissioner and county tax commissioners to adopt policies and procedures to implement the new rule.

Georgia property owners whose phone numbers currently appear in tax records; county tax commissioners and the state revenue commissioner, who must adopt new policies; companies that buy or use bulk property tax data for marketing or other purposes; and anyone who requests property tax records under Georgia's open records law.

If enacted, Georgia taxpayers' phone numbers would no longer show up in property tax records sold or shared with outside parties, reducing a source of unwanted solicitation calls and potential fraud. Data brokers, marketers, and others who rely on public tax records for phone numbers would lose access to that information.

• Section 1 names the law the 'Georgia Taxpayer Privacy Protection Act.'
• Section 2 lays out legislative findings that phone numbers in tax records are unnecessary for transparency and can be misused for solicitation, fraud, or identity theft.
• Section 3 adds new Code Section 48-5-35, banning taxpayer phone numbers from tax rolls, assessment records, and data shared with third parties, in both physical and electronic form.
• Section 3 exempts internal government use, court-ordered disclosures, and taxpayer written consent from the ban.
• Section 3 sets a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for reckless or knowing violations and ties violations to the Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. Title 10).
• Section 3 requires the commissioner and county tax commissioners to adopt implementing policies and procedures.
• Section 4 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-19Senate Read Second Time (Senado)
2. 2026-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senado)
3. 2026-03-09Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
4. 2026-03-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2026-03-06House Third Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2026-02-18House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
7. 2025-04-02House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
8. 2025-03-31House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)

• David Huddleston (R, HD-072)Patrocinador principal
• Johnny Chastain (R, HD-007)
• Tim Fleming (R, HD-114)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• Derrick McCollum (R, HD-030)
• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes6 de marzo de 2026

   166 a favor, 1 en contra (4 sin votar, 6 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #661

• taxpayer privacy
• property tax records
• open records law
• consumer protection
• data privacy