# Georgia HB 1203: Chatham County; school district ad valorem tax; homestead exemption; provisions

Georgia HB 1203, Chatham County; school district ad valorem tax; homestead exemption; provisions, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Carl Gilliard (Democrat), Bill Hitchens (Republican), Jesse Petrea (Republican) and 2 others; status signed, last action 2026-05-11 (House Date Signed by Governor); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1203-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 1203
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Chatham County; school district ad valorem tax; homestead exemption; provisions
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-05
- Last action: 2026-05-11, House Date Signed by Governor
- Sponsors: Carl Gilliard (Democrat), Bill Hitchens (Republican), Jesse Petrea (Republican), Ron Stephens (Republican), Anne Allen Westbrook (Democrat)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Intragovernmental Coordination, State and Local Governmental Operations, Local Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (211 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Chatham homeowners get new school-tax application rules: mixed, low. Chatham County homeowners must apply to the county tax commissioner or a designee, unless they qualify automatically. The commissioner supplies forms that request information to check initial and ongoing eligibility. Automatic eligibility covers homeowners who, as of December 31, 2026, have applied…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Carl Gilliard (Democrat), House
- Sponsor: Bill Hitchens (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Jesse Petrea (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Ron Stephens (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Anne Allen Westbrook (Democrat), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR | pass | 53 | 0 | 2 |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Local Calendar | pass | 158 | 0 | 14 |

## Actions (13)

- 2026-05-11: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-11: Act 549
- 2026-05-11: Effective Date
- 2026-04-06: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-02-24: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-02-12: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-02-12: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-02-09: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-02-06: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-02-05: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 1203/AP* (v4): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/243595)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [HB 1203/AP* (v4) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/243595)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
- [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills)
- [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1203-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-11).