Two pieces of legislation that would increase the homestead exemptions for both Columbia County and the Columbia County School District have advanced in the state legislature.
House Bill 784 and House Bill 783 both propose to increase the homestead exemption for Columbia County residents from $2,000 to $10,000 for both the county homestead and the school district homestead.
During the March 18 meeting, the Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution asking the local delegation to write a bill that would increase the homestead exemption.
The Columbia County Board of Education approved a resolution asking for the homestead exemption increase legislation during the March 11 meeting.
The sponsors for both bills are District 125 Rep. Gary Richardson, District 127 Rep. Mark Newton, District 131 Rep. Rob Clifton and District 123 Rep. Rob Leverett.
The requests for increases to the homestead exemptions come after both the Columbia County Board of Commissioners and Columbia County Board of Education both voted to opt out of House Bill 581.
According to the Georgia General Assembly website, the House of Representatives passed/adopted both bills on March 25 and the Senate passed/adopted both bills on March 28. The bills still need to be signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. If signed by Kemp, the items would then go on the ballot to go before voters in November. If approved, they would be effective Jan. 1, 2026, and apply to next year’s property tax bill.
