25 LC 47 3532
House Bill 731
By: Representatives Ballinger of the 23
rd
, Ridley of the 22
nd
, Byrd of the 20
th
, Thomas of the
21
st
, Scoggins of the 14
th
, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 2A of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
1
relating to homestead option sales and use tax, so as to provide for an alternative homestead2
option sales tax; to provide for a distribution of the proceeds from the levy of an alternative3
homestead option sales and use tax; to provide for the levy of a special purpose local option4
sales and use tax in certain counties; to provide for a referendum; to provide for procedures,5
conditions, and limitations; to provide for a short title; to provide for definitions; to provide6
for related matters; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other7
purposes.8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9
SECTION 1.10
Article 2A of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to11
homestead option sales and use tax, is amended by adding a new part to read as follows:12
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"Part 413
48-8-109.25.14
(a) This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Alternative Homestead Option Sales15
and Use Tax Act of 2025.'16
(b) As used in this part, the term:17
(1) 'Existing municipality' means a municipality created prior to January 1, 2026, lying18
wholly within or partially within a county.19
(2) 'Homestead' means homestead as defined and qualified in Code Section 48-5-40, with20
the additional qualification that it shall include only the primary residence and not more21
than five contiguous acres of land immediately surrounding such residence.22
(3) 'Qualified municipality' means a municipality created on or after January 1, 2026,23
lying wholly within or partially within a county.24
(c) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the proceeds of the alternative homestead25
option sales and use tax be distributed equitably to the counties and qualified municipalities26
such that the residents of a new incorporated municipality will continue to receive a benefit27
from that tax substantially equal to the benefit they would have received if the area covered28
by the municipality had not incorporated. The provisions of this part shall be liberally29
construed to effectuate such intent.30
48-8-109.26.31
(a) Pursuant to the authority granted by Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VI of the32
Constitution of this state, there are created within this state 159 special districts. The33
geographical boundary of each county shall correspond with and shall be conterminous34
with the geographical boundary of one of the 159 special districts.35
(b)(1) When the imposition of a local sales and use tax is authorized according to the36
procedures provided in this part within a special district, the county whose geographical37
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boundary is conterminous with that of the special district shall levy a local sales and use38
tax at the rate of 1 percent, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection. Except39
as to rate, the local sales and use tax shall correspond to the tax imposed and administered40
by Article 1 of this chapter. No item or transaction which is not subject to taxation by41
Article 1 of this chapter shall be subject to the sales and use tax levied pursuant to this42
part, except that the sales and use tax provided in this part shall be applicable to sales of43
motor fuels as prepaid local tax as such term is defined in Code Section 48-8-2 and shall44
be applicable to the sale of food and food ingredients and alcoholic beverages only to the45
extent provided for in paragraph (57) of Code Section 48-8-3.46
(2) Such sales and use tax levied on sales of motor fuels as defined in Code47
Section 48-9-2 shall be at the rate of 1 percent of the retail sales price of the motor fuel48
which is not more than $3.00 per gallon.49
(c) The proceeds of the sales and use tax levied and collected under this part shall be used50
only for the purposes of funding capital outlay projects and of funding services within a51
special district equal to the revenue lost to the homestead exemption as provided in Code52
Section 48-8-109.27 and, in the event excess funds remain following the expenditure for53
such purposes, such excess funds shall be expended as provided in subparagraph (c)(2)(C)54
of Code Section 48-8-109.27.55
(d)(1) Such sales and use tax shall only be levied in a special district following the56
enactment of a local Act which provides for a homestead exemption of an amount to be57
determined from the amount of sales and use tax collected under this part. Such58
exemption shall commence with taxable years beginning on or after January 1 of the year59
immediately following the first complete calendar year in which the sales and use tax60
under this part is levied. Any such local Act shall incorporate by reference the terms and61
conditions specified under this part. Any such local Act shall not be subject to the62
provisions of Code Section 1-3-4.1. Any such homestead exemption under this part shall63
be in addition to and not in lieu of any other homestead exemption applicable to county64
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taxes for county purposes within the special district. Notwithstanding any provision of65
such local Act to the contrary, the referendum which shall otherwise be required to be66
conducted under such local Act shall only be conducted if the resolution required under67
this part is adopted prior to the issuance of the call for the referendum under the local Act68
by the election superintendent. If such ordinance is not adopted by that date, the69
referendum otherwise required to be conducted under the local Act shall not be70
conducted.71
(2) Such sales and use tax and the associated homestead exemption shall terminate ten72
years after the date such sales and use tax is first collected; provided, however, that73
nothing in this subsection shall prevent subsequent sales and use taxes or homestead74
exemptions from being adopted pursuant to this part in the same manner as provided in75
this part for the initial adoption of such sales and use tax and homestead exemption.76
(3) No sales and use tax shall be levied in a special district under this part in which a tax77
is levied and collected under Article 2 of this chapter.78
(e) Whenever the governing authority of any county whose geographical boundary is79
conterminous with that of the special district wishes to submit to the electors of the special80
district the question of whether the sales and use tax authorized by this part shall be81
imposed, any such governing authority shall notify the election superintendent of the82
county whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district by83
forwarding to the superintendent a copy of a resolution of the governing authority calling84
for a referendum election. Upon receipt of the resolution, it shall be the duty of the election85
superintendent to issue the call for an election for the purpose of submitting the question86
of the imposition of the sales and use tax to the voters of the special district for approval87
or rejection. The election superintendent shall issue the call and shall conduct the election88
on a date and in the manner authorized under Code Section 21-2-540. Such election shall89
only be conducted on the date of and in conjunction with a referendum provided for by90
local Act on the question of whether to impose a homestead exemption within such county91
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and based on the amount of proceeds from the sales and use tax levied and collected92
pursuant to this part. The election superintendent shall cause the date and purpose of the93
election to be published once a week for two weeks immediately preceding the date of the94
election in the official organ of such county. The ballot shall have written or printed95
thereon the following statement which shall precede the ballot question specified in this96
subsection and the ballot question specified by the required local Act:97
'NOTICE TO ELECTORS: Unless BOTH the alternative homestead exemption AND98
the retail homestead option sales and use tax are approved, then neither the exemption nor99
the sales and use tax shall become effective.'100
Such statement shall be followed by the following:101
'( ) YES102
103
( ) NO104
105
106
107
Shall a retail homestead option sales and use tax of 1 percent be levied
within the special district within _____________ County for the
purposes of funding capital outlay projects and of funding services to
replace revenue lost to an additional homestead exemption of up to 100
percent of the assessed value of homesteads from county taxes for
county purposes?'
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the statement, ballot question,108
and local Act ballot question referred to in this subsection shall precede any and all other109
ballot questions calling for the levy or imposition of any other sales and use tax which are110
to appear on the same ballot.111
(f) All persons desiring to vote in favor of levying the sales and use tax shall vote 'Yes,'112
and those persons opposed to levying the tax shall vote 'No.' If more than one-half of the113
votes cast are in favor of levying the tax and approving the local Act providing such114
homestead exemption, then the tax shall be levied in accordance with this part; otherwise,115
the sales and use tax may not be levied, and the question of the imposition of the sales and116
use tax may not again be submitted to the voters of the special district until after 24 months117
immediately following the month in which the election was held. It shall be the duty of the118
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election superintendent to hold and conduct such elections under the same rules and119
regulations as govern special elections. It shall be the superintendent's further duty to120
canvass the returns, declare the result of the election, and certify the result to the Secretary121
of State and to the commissioner. The expense of the election shall be borne by the county122
whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district holding the123
election.124
(g) If the imposition of the sales and use tax provided in this part is approved in a125
referendum election as provided by subsections (e) and (f) of this Code section, the126
governing authority of the county whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that127
of the special district shall adopt a resolution within 30 days after the certification of the128
result of the election imposing the sales and use tax authorized by this part on behalf of the129
county whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district. The130
resolution shall be effective on the first day of the next succeeding calendar quarter which131
begins more than 50 days after the adoption of the resolution. With respect to services132
which are billed on a regular monthly basis, however, the resolution shall become effective133
with the first regular billing period coinciding with or following the otherwise effective134
date of the resolution. A certified copy of the resolution shall be forwarded to the135
commissioner so that it will be received within five days after its adoption.136
(h) Within 30 days of the conclusion of a year in which the sale and use tax provided in137
this part is collected, the county shall post a report in a prominent place on its website138
detailing how much money was collected in the past year by such sale and use tax, the139
value of homesteads reduced by such sales and use tax collections, and any other140
information that may be required by the commissioner in rules adopted pursuant to141
subsection (d) of Code Section 48-8-109.28. The county shall also deliver a copy of this142
report to each member of the General Assembly whose district includes any part of the143
county.144
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48-8-109.27.145
(a) The sales and use tax levied pursuant to this part shall be exclusively administered and146
collected by the commissioner for the use and benefit of each county whose geographical147
boundary is conterminous with that of a special district. Such administration and collection148
shall be accomplished in the same manner and subject to the same applicable provisions,149
procedures, and penalties provided in Article 1 of this chapter except that the sales and use150
tax provided in this part shall be applicable to sales of motor fuels as prepaid local tax as151
such term is defined in Code Section 48-8-2; provided, however, that all moneys collected152
from each taxpayer by the commissioner shall be applied first to such taxpayer's liability153
for taxes owed the state. Dealers shall be allowed a percentage of the amount of the sales154
and use tax due and accounted for and shall be reimbursed in the form of a deduction in155
submitting, reporting, and paying the amount due if such amount is not delinquent at the156
time of payment. The deduction shall be at the rate and subject to the requirements157
specified under subsections (b) through (f) of Code Section 48-8-50.158
(b) Each sales and use tax return remitting sales and use taxes collected under this part159
shall separately identify the location of each retail establishment at which any of the sales160
and use taxes remitted were collected and shall specify the amount of sales and the amount161
of taxes collected at each establishment for the period covered by the return in order to162
facilitate the determination by the commissioner that all sales and use taxes imposed by this163
part are collected and distributed according to situs of sale.164
(c) The proceeds of the sales and use tax collected by the commissioner in each special165
district under this part shall be disbursed as soon as practicable after collection as follows:166
(1) One percent of the amount collected shall be paid into the general fund of the state167
treasury in order to defray the costs of administration; and168
(2) Except for the percentage provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the remaining169
proceeds of the sales and use tax shall be distributed to the governing authority of the170
county whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district. As171
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a condition precedent for the authority to levy the sales and use tax or to collect any172
proceeds from the tax authorized by this part for the year following the first complete173
calendar year in which it is levied and for all subsequent years except the year following174
the year in which the year in which the sales and use tax is terminated, the county whose175
geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district shall, except as176
otherwise provided in subsection (c) of Code Section 48-8-109.26, expend such proceeds177
as follows:178
(A) A portion of such proceeds shall be expended for the purpose of funding capital179
outlay projects as follows:180
(i) Prior to the beginning of each calendar year, the governing authority of the county181
whose geographical boundary is conterminous with that of the special district shall182
establish the capital factor which shall not exceed .250;183
(ii) Capital outlay projects shall be funded in an amount equal to the product of the184
capital factor multiplied by the net amount of the sales and use tax proceeds collected185
under this part during the previous calendar year, and this amount shall be referred to186
as capital outlay proceeds;187
(iii) The total portion, if any, to be paid to existing municipalities from the capital188
outlay proceeds shall be determined as follows:189
(I) If the sales and use tax provided for in Part 1 of Article 3 of this chapter is190
currently levied and collected within such county, such portions shall be determined191
for each existing municipality by applying the percentage used for that192
municipality's portion of the proceeds of such sales and use tax received by such193
county from the commissioner in each month to the capital outlay portion of the194
proceeds of the sales and use tax provided for by this article received from the195
commissioner in the same month;196
(II) If a new municipality is incorporated within the county, such newly197
incorporated municipality shall receive a portion of each month's capital outlay198
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proceeds that is equal to the population of such municipality within such county as199
a percentage of the total population of the county, as such populations are200
determined based upon the most recently published decennial United States Census,201
and the portion of such capital outlay proceeds received by the county and the202
existing municipalities shall be reduced in proportion to their populations within203
such county; or204
(III) If the sales and use tax provided for in Part 1 of Article 3 of this chapter is not205
levied or collected within such county, the capital outlay portion of the sales and use206
tax provided for in this article shall be distributed to the municipalities located207
wholly or partially within the county based upon the populations of such208
municipalities that are located within the county as a percentage of the total209
population of such county, as such populations are determined based upon the most210
recently published decennial United States Census; and211
(iv) Capital outlay projects funded by this part undertaken by the county shall be212
limited to road improvement projects; provided, however, that nothing in this division213
shall limit the scope of capital outlay projects undertaken by a qualified municipality;214
and215
(B) A portion of such proceeds shall be expended for the purpose of funding services216
within the special district equal to the revenue lost to the homestead exemption as217
provided in this Code section as follows:218
(i) Within 30 days of the end of the calendar year, the governing authority of such219
county shall calculate the homestead factor for that period by multiplying the quantity220
1.000 minus the capital factor for that period, and then dividing by the taxes to be221
levied in the current tax year for county maintenance and operations on only that222
portion of the county's tax digest levied for maintenance and operations that223
represents net assessments on qualified homestead property after all other homestead224
exemptions have been applied, rounding the result to three decimal places;225
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(ii) If the homestead factor is less than or equal to 1.000, the amount of homestead226
exemption created for the current tax year under this part on qualified homestead227
property shall be equal to the product of the homestead factor multiplied times the net228
assessment of each qualified homestead remaining after all other homestead229
exemptions have been applied; and230
(iii) If the homestead factor is greater than 1.000, the homestead exemption created231
for the current tax year by this part on qualified homestead property shall be equal to232
the net assessment of each homestead remaining after all other homestead exemptions233
have been applied; and234
(C) If any of such proceeds remain following the distribution provided for in235
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph:236
(i) The millage rate levied for county maintenance and operation purposes shall be237
rolled back in an amount equal to such excess divided by the net taxable digest for238
county purposes after deducting all homestead exemptions including the exemption239
under this part; and240
(ii) In the event the rollback created by division (i) of this subparagraph exceeds the241
millage rate for county maintenance and operation purposes, the governing authority242
of the county whose boundary is conterminous with the special district shall be243
authorized to expend the surplus funds for funding all or any portion of those services244
which are to be provided by such governing authorities pursuant to and in accordance245
with Article IX, Section II, Paragraph III of the Constitution of this state.246
(d) For illustration purposes, a hypothetical example of the calculation is provided below.247
First, calculate the homestead factor in accordance with248
division (c)(2)(B)(i) of this Code section as follows:249
(A) Capital factor certified by county as required by250
subsection (c) of this Code section251
0.150
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(B) Net amount of sales and use tax collected in the252
special district pursuant to this part for the previous253
calendar year254
$ 50 million
(C) Taxes levied for county purposes on only that portion255
of the county tax digest that represents net assessments on256
qualified homestead property after all other homestead257
exemptions have been applied258
$100 million
(D) Calculation of homestead factor using figures above259
= [(1-.0150)($50 million/$100 million)]260
.425
48-8-109.28.261
(a) Where a local sales or use tax has been paid with respect to tangible personal property262
by the purchaser either in another local tax jurisdiction within this state or in a tax263
jurisdiction outside this state, the sales and use tax may be credited against the sales and264
use tax authorized to be imposed by this part upon the same property. If the amount of265
sales or use tax so paid is less than the amount of the use tax due under this part, the266
purchaser shall pay an amount equal to the difference between the amount paid in the other267
tax jurisdiction and the amount due under this part. The commissioner may require such268
proof of payment in another local tax jurisdiction as the commissioner deems necessary and269
proper. No credit shall be granted, however, against the sales and use tax imposed under270
this part for tax paid in another jurisdiction if the sales and use tax paid in such other271
jurisdiction is used to obtain a credit against any other local sales and use tax levied in the272
special district or in the county which is conterminous with the special district; and sales273
and use taxes so paid in another jurisdiction shall be credited first against the sales and use274
tax levied under this part and then against the sales and use tax levied under Article 3 of275
this chapter, if applicable.276
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(b) No sales and use tax provided for in Code Section 48-8-109.26 shall be imposed upon277
the sale of tangible personal property which is ordered by and delivered to the purchaser278
at a point outside the geographical area of the special district in which the sales and use tax279
is imposed under this part regardless of the point at which title passes, if the delivery is280
made by the seller's vehicle, United States mail, or common carrier or by private or contract281
carrier licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Georgia282
Department of Public Safety.283
(c)(1) As used in this subsection, the term 'building and construction materials' means284
all building and construction materials, supplies, fixtures, or equipment, any combination285
of such items, and any other leased or purchased articles when the materials, supplies,286
fixtures, equipment, or articles are to be utilized or consumed during construction or are287
to be incorporated into construction work pursuant to a bona fide written construction288
contract.289
(2) No sales and use tax provided for in Code Section 48-8-109.26 shall be imposed in290
a special district upon the sale or use of building and construction materials when the291
contract pursuant to which the materials are purchased or used was advertised for bid292
prior to approval of the levy of the sales and use tax by the county whose geographical293
boundary is conterminous with that of the special district and the contract was entered294
into as a result of a bid actually submitted in response to the advertisement prior to295
approval of the levy of the sales and use tax.296
(d) The commissioner shall have the power and authority to promulgate such rules and297
regulations as shall be necessary for the effective and efficient administration and298
enforcement of the collection of the sales and use tax authorized to be imposed by this299
part."300
SECTION 2.301
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.302
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