Georgia House Bill 92, on the desk of Gov. Brian Kemp, would give the Oconee County Board of Education until the end of April to decide to reverse its decision to opt out of the floating homestead exemption approved by voters last November.
If the Board decides to stay the course and not participate in the inflation-adjusted property tax exemption for homeowners, it will have to renew that decision again in 2027, after holding three public hearings, if the governor signs the bill.
In addition, Oconee County Schools will have to endure phone calls from Oconee County taxpayers who will be told when they receive their tax bills that the Board of Education voted to opt out of the exemption.
The phone number of someone to call at Oconee County Schools will be provided with the tax bill.
That last provision of House Bill 92–including the phone number on the bill with the advice to call that number “if you have concerns about” the opt-out decision–is a carry over from another bill authored by State House Rep. Houston Gaines.
Gaines, who represents parts of Oconee County, Athens-Clarke County, Jackson County, and Barrow County in the 120th House District, has been a critic of governing bodies that opted out of the exemption.
In his Thursday (March 27) newsletter, Gaines said he hoped the bill will lead governments that decided to opt out to reconsider their decisions.
In the 120th District, Barrow County and Clarke County school districts also have opted out, as have the three school districts in Jackson County and the city governments in Statham (Barrow County ) and Pendergrass, Talmo, Arcade, and Jefferson (Jackson County).
Floating Exemption And Opting Out
The Oconee County Board of Education, in a 4 to 1 vote on Feb. 3, opted out of the floating homestead exemption.
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| Vote To Opt Out 2/3/2025 |
The Board took this action after announcing its intent to opt out in early January, as required by law, and then holding three public hearings on that stated intent. The Board received little pushback on its stated intention to opt out at those hearings.
Adam Hammond was the sole no vote on the decision.
The exemption is referred to as “floating” because the amount of the exemption is not fixed, but it "floats" based on the rate of inflation.
The taxable part of increased assessments of homesteaded property that has not been improved will be limited by the inflation rate, with any increase in assessment beyond the inflation rate exempted from taxation.
Enactment of the exemption was dependent on passage of an amendment to the state’s Constitution.
Across the state, 62.9 percent of the voters approved the amendment. In Oconee County, the percentage of voters approving was 64.3 percent.
A copy of the resolution approving the opt out decision by a governing body had to be filed with the Georgia Secretary of State Office by March 1.
Oconee County Board of Education delivered its decision--by hand--on Feb. 5, according to the Secretary of State Office.
Only six other reports had been filed with the Secretary of State prior to that date.
Across the state, 324 Boards of Education, Boards of Commissioners, and City Councils voted to opt out of the floating homestead exemption.
HB 92
An earlier version of HB 92 would have required the Oconee County Board of Education and others governing agencies that opted out of the floating homestead exemption to vote again next year and every year thereafter to opt out.
The Senate changed HB 92 to require local governments that opted out of the statewide floating homestead exemption in 2025 to state their intent to opt out and hold three hearings in 2027 to retain that status.
Exempted would be those governments that had a homestead freeze or a floating homestead exemption in place of their own.
The revised House Bill 92 would allow governing bodies such as Oconee County Schools that opted out by the March 1 deadline to rescind that decision by April 30 of this year or by March 1 of tax years 2026 through 2029.
The version of HB 92 passed by both the House and the Senate requires two statements on the tax bill sent out to home owners.
The first applies to any case where the taxing authority has not rolled back its millage rate to offset inflation. It reads:
“Such tax bill shall include a notice containing the name of such taxing authority and the following statement in bold print: 'The adopted millage rate exceeds the estimated roll-back rate as stated in the annual notice of assessment that you previously received for this taxable year, which will result in an increase in the amount of property tax that you will owe.'”
The second statement is for those authorities that opted out of the homestead exemption. It reads:
“Each ad valorem property tax bill issued by such political subdivision for homestead properties shall contain a notice in bold print that corresponds with the following statement: '[Name of the political subdivision] chose to opt out of property tax relief for homeowners related to HB 581 (2024). If you have concerns about that decision, please call [the main telephone number for the levying or recommending authority of the political subdivision].'"
The revised House Bill 92 passed the Senate by a vote of 52 to 2 (on March 25) and the House 165 to 0 (on March 27).
Other Governments Opting Out
Gaines, in his March 27 electronic newsletter, said “HB 92 now includes taxpayer transparency language from a bill I worked on and have previously mentioned (HB 370).”
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| Gaines Official Photo |
“It includes a provision that would notify taxpayers on their tax bill that their local government opted out of the homestead tax exemption that passed last year and gives the contact number for the locality for citizens to use and express concerns (as I've previously shared, I had worked to stop any opt-out option in the first place),” Gaines wrote.
“Furthermore, the bill provides a mechanism for local governments to rescind their opt-out and requires another vote in 2027 to remain opted out. My hope is that this bill will encourage local governments to reconsider their decision to go against what was widely supported by the voters of Georgia,” the newsletter statement continues.
Among the 13 school districts, including Oconee County, that make up the Northeast Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), only the Morgan County School District did not opt out of the floating homestead exemption.
Oconee County Schools Chief Finance Officer Peter Adams made the case for opting out of the floating homestead exemption at each of the hearings held by the Board of Education to get citizen input on the decision.
Adams said what opting out means is “local control, customized for our community,” while what opting in means is “state control, one size fits all.”
Adams also said that the floating homestead exemption “would significantly impact property tax revenues for the Oconee County School system,” and “would impact flexibility to meet local needs and maintain competitive salaries and benefits.”
Only Madison and Walton counties of the 10 county governments in the Northeast Georgia RESA opted out of the floating homestead exemption.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners and the Councils of Bishop, Bogart, North High Shoals, and Watkinsville did not opt out.
1 comment:
Atlanta needs to leave local matters to the affected people.
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