Confused about the Georgia First Amendment on your ballot?
Many Georgians say one of the measures on everyone’s ballot is causing confusion. Particularly problematic is the complex language on the ballot labeled Georgia’s First Amendment.
Confusion among simple voters is evident regarding the complex language of Georgia’s First Amendment, which deals with property tax law. The amendment proposes capping property tax increases for homeowners to the statewide inflation rate, leaving local governments with the option to opt out. Critics argue that: The language on the ballot was unclear and did not adequately communicate the meaning of the proposed amendment to voters. Opponents such as the Georgia Budget Policy Institute are concerned about the potential negative impact on public funding, particularly education. The proposed amendment includes an opt-out clause. However, the opt-out process can be difficult and must be completed by the March 1 deadline.
ATLANTA – With less than two weeks until Election Day and early voting in full swing, some Georgia voters are grappling with confusion. Every Georgian will have the Georgia First Amendment on their ballot this election season.
This measure uses a lot of legalese to address property taxes.
“Shouldn’t the Georgia Constitution be amended to give the General Assembly the authority to provide by general law a statewide homestead exemption to limit increases in homestead assessed values? This does not apply to local authorities or local schools. Can the system opt out upon completion of certain steps?”
Republican state Rep. Beth Camp, who supports the amendment, told FOX 5, “The terminology is not something I would write. I’m not a lawyer, so it would have been very plain.”
Stacey Fox, president and CEO of the Georgia Budget Policy Institute (GBPI), which opposes the amendment, said, “The language on the ballot alone is insufficient to explain the impact of this change.” Not,” he said.
We submitted this amendment to John Carbo, a senior attorney at Whigham Law, an Atlanta-based tax law firm.
“Effectively, what you are voting for is to cap the increase in home property tax rates by the statewide inflation rate, which applies strictly to homeowners,” Kirbo said.
The attorney provided voters with an edited version of the amendment as follows:
“Amend the Georgia Constitution to allow Georgia to limit annual property tax increases for homeowners to the statewide inflation rate, while leaving local governments with the option to opt out and instead should set their own limits on property taxes for homeowners.”
While Congressman Camp acknowledged that the text of the amendment may be ambiguous, he hopes the amendment will provide “some level of transparency” to Georgia homeowners.
“Unfortunately, many taxing agencies in our state do not conduct assessments as regularly as the Department of Revenue suggests. “Counties and other taxing agencies aren’t as responsive as they should be when it comes to value. The Consumer Price Index is a great way to measure that,” Camp said.
He also wants to “provide some property tax relief to property owners in the state.”
At GBPI, President and CEO Stacey Fox is concerned about what the bailout will mean for public funds.
“It’s about what the problem is, not the why. It’s not that property taxes don’t matter. It’s an approach we don’t support. We have to see a domino effect of property taxes. “Property taxes are used to fund schools, but without this money, schools would have to find another way,” Fox said.
Camp points to a variable local sales tax (FLOST) that counties and cities may enact to offset the impact. “It’s going to be a penny sales tax increase. It’s going to be for everyone who lives in the county and buys goods and services. That will offset some of the losses,” Camp told FOX 5. ” he said.
“The sales tax could be increased and the burden could be spread out to people who don’t have a home… Should homeowners pay more, or should people who pay sales tax pay more? I think it’s good for voters to think about whether they should do it,” Kirbo said. This is what he said about FLOST.
If passed, the amendment would allow counties, governments, local governments and local school systems to opt out of the exemption.
“If a school board or city or county is going to honestly look at the numbers and say we have too little population, we don’t have enough industry, there are a lot of different factors, but they have the flexibility to make choices. I’m out,” Camp said.
However, Kirbo noted that the opt-out process could be difficult because of the March 1 deadline and required notice and comment period.
“I think we’ll see some counties opt out and then enact the same exemptions. Counties will retain the power to change homestead exemptions in the future rather than being strictly tied to the state. “It will be,” he explained.
Herein lies another concern for Stacey Fox and the GBPI. “We do not believe that the Constitution is the place to implement our tax policy. Changes to our Constitution are permanent. It is very rare for us to reverse the changes we make. It’s very difficult to undo,” Fox told FOX 5.
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Original report from FOX 5 Atlatna
