SB 584: Ad Valorem Tax; class action suits by taxpayers for refunds; prohibit

Under current Georgia law, taxpayers who believe they were charged property taxes or license fees illegally or by mistake can file a claim or lawsuit for a refund with their county or municipality, and current law allows courts to handle these disputes as class actions on behalf of groups of taxpayers. This bill would end that option for tax refund cases specifically. The bill amends Georgia's general class action rule (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-23) to carve out an exception for tax refund claims, and it rewrites the local tax refund law (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380) to add a new subsection stating that a refund claim, action, or suit cannot be submitted or maintained on behalf of a class of other taxpayers. The rest of the existing refund process, including filing deadlines, hearings before local governing authorities, and the five-year limit on filing suit, stays in place. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature.

• Adds a new subsection (h) to Georgia's local tax refund law (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380) barring class action claims, actions, or suits for property tax and license fee refunds.
• Amends Georgia's general class action statute (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-23) to exempt tax refund cases from the normal class action rules.
• Leaves in place the existing individual refund process, including the one and three year deadlines for filing claims and the five year cap on filing suit.
• Keeps the existing rule requiring counties and municipalities to reimburse property owners when a property's assessed value is later reduced on appeal.

Georgia property taxpayers who believe they were overcharged or wrongly assessed, along with county and municipal governments, county boards of education, and other local entities that collect and refund property taxes and license fees.

Taxpayers who think a tax was illegally or mistakenly collected would still be able to seek a refund on their own, but groups of taxpayers with similar claims could no longer join together in a single class action lawsuit, potentially making it costlier or harder for individuals to pursue smaller refund amounts.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 9-11-23(e) so the general class action rule no longer applies to tax refund claims covered by the new exception in § 48-5-380.
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380 and adds subsection (h), stating a refund claim, action, or suit cannot be submitted or maintained on behalf of a class of other taxpayers.
• Section 2 keeps existing subsection (g), which caps refund suits at five years from the date taxes were paid.
• Section 3 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.
• Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2026-02-25Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Max Burns (R, SD-023)Patrocinador principal
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)
• Brian Strickland (R, SD-042)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)

• property taxes
• tax refunds
• class action lawsuits
• local government taxation