25 LC 47 3388/AP
House Bill 540 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Reeves of the 99
th
, Martinez of the 111
th
, Efstration of the 104
th
, Clark
of the 108
th
, Adeyina of the 110
th
, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend an Act to provide an additional homestead exemption from Gwinnett County
1
school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $2,000.00 of the2
assessed value of the homestead for residents of that school district who are certain public3
service employees, approved May 3, 2023 (Ga. L. 2023, p. 4346), so as to expand such4
exemption to disabled veterans and all employees of the Gwinnett County School District5
and the Buford City School District; to provide for compliance with constitutional6
requirements; to provide for a referendum, effective dates, and automatic repeal; to provide7
for mandatory execution of election and judicial remedies regarding failure to comply; to8
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:10
SECTION 1.11
An Act to provide an additional homestead exemption from Gwinnett County school district12
ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in the amount of $2,000.00 of the assessed value13
of the homestead for residents of that school district who are certain public service14
employees, approved May 3, 2023 (Ga. L. 2023, p. 4346), is amended by revising15
paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of Section 1 as follows:16
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"(3) 'Public service employee' means a person who is, on or before January 1 of the year
17
in which application for the exemption under subsection (b) of this section is made, a:18
(A) Firefighter, paramedic, certified peace officer, or other law enforcement officer19
employed by the government of the United States or any department, agency, authority,20
or bureau thereof or by the State of Georgia or any county, municipality, special21
district, county or independent school system, or other political subdivision thereof;22
(B) Person employed by the Gwinnett County School District or Buford City School23
District;24
(C) Person employed by or holding staff privileges at a hospital located within25
Gwinnett County;26
(D) Member of the armed forces of the United States, including any reserve or27
National Guard components and the United States Coast Guard; or28
(E) Disabled veteran as defined by Code Section 48-5-48 of the Official Code of29
Georgia Annotated."30
SECTION 2.31
In accordance with the requirements of Article VII, Section II of the Constitution of the State32
of Georgia, this Act shall not become law unless it receives the requisite two-thirds' majority33
vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.34
SECTION 3.35
The election superintendent of Gwinnett County shall call and conduct an election as36
provided in this section for the purpose of submitting this Act to the electors of the Gwinnett37
County school district for approval or rejection. The election superintendent shall conduct38
that election on the date of the general primary in 2026 and shall issue the call and conduct39
such election as provided by general law. The election superintendent shall cause the date40
and purpose of the election to be published once a week for two weeks immediately41
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preceding the date thereof in the official organ of Gwinnett County. The ballot shall have
42
written or printed thereon the words:43
"( ) YES44
( ) NO45
46
47
48
Shall the existing additional $2,000.00 homestead exemption from Gwinnett
County School District ad valorem taxes for education purposes for certain
public service employees be expanded to also apply to disabled veterans and
all employees of the Gwinnett County School District and the Buford City
School District?"
All persons desiring to vote for approval of the Act shall vote "Yes," and all persons desiring
49
to vote for rejection of the Act shall vote "No." If more than one-half of the votes cast on50
such question are for approval of the Act, Section 1 of this Act shall become of full force and51
effect on January 1, 2027. If the Act is not so approved or if the election is not conducted52
as provided in this section, Section 1 of this Act shall not become effective, and this Act shall53
be automatically repealed on the 365th calendar day following the election date provided for54
in this section. The expense of such election shall be borne by Gwinnett County. It shall be55
the election superintendent's duty to certify the result thereof to the Secretary of State. The56
provisions of this section shall be mandatory upon the election superintendent and are not57
intended as directory. If the election superintendent fails or refuses to comply with this58
section, any elector of the Gwinnett County school district may apply for a writ of mandamus59
to compel the election superintendent to perform his or her duties under this section. If the60
court finds that the election superintendent has not complied with this section, the court shall61
fashion appropriate relief requiring the election superintendent to call and conduct such62
election on the date required by this section or on the next date authorized for special63
elections provided for in Code Section 21-2-540 of the O.C.G.A.64
SECTION 4.65
Except as otherwise provided in Section 3 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon66
its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.67
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SECTION 5.
68
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.69
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