Georgia Amendment 1: Local Option Homestead Property Tax Exemption Amendment (2024)
In 2024, voters in Georgia will be able to vote on changing the constitution in their state. The state constitution is a set of laws that say what the government can and cannot do. A change in the constitution is called an amendment. The constitution will change if enough people vote for the amendment.
This amendment is called Georgia “Local Option Homestead Property Tax Exemption Amendment.”
This amendment is about taxes for homes. If it passes:
The amendment would affect people who own homes and land.
The amendment would make it so the state government can change how property taxes are decided.
Property taxes are money that homeowners and landowners pay to the government based on the value of their property
Right now, without this amendment, the value of someone’s property is decided by how much competition there could be to buy that property.
The amendment would limit how much the value of homes can go up each year.
The amendment says that property taxes would change based on the inflation rate.
The inflation rate is how much the prices of goods and services have gone up.
This change in how property taxes are decided would come from the state government.
Local governments can choose not to change how property taxes are decided in their area.
Choosing not to change is called opting out.
To opt out, local governments would need to go through a process with the state government.
Voting “yes” for this amendment means you want it to become law.
Voting “no” for this amendment means you do NOT want it to become law.
Additional Context & Our Stance:
The goal is to help property owners by preventing big rises in property taxes. This is designed to give homeowners more stability in their property tax bills from year to year. Critics argue that slowing property tax growth could limit money for public services such as schools and local government programs, as property taxes fund these services. Many disabled people rely on public services, such as accommodations offered in public schools that are not offered in private schools.
Disabled voters and those who care about us should vote NO to Georgia Amendment 1: “Local Option Homestead Property Tax Exemption.”
Voting NO means you want people who own homes to still have to pay property taxes based on the value of their home to make sure public services stay funded.