# Georgia HB 1543: Chattooga County; school district ad valorem tax; homestead exemption; increase income cap

Georgia HB 1543, Chattooga County; school district ad valorem tax; homestead exemption; increase income cap, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Eddie Lumsden (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-05-11 (House Date Signed by Governor); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1543-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 1543
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Chattooga County; school district ad valorem tax; homestead exemption; increase income cap
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-03-12
- Last action: 2026-05-11, House Date Signed by Governor
- Sponsor: Eddie Lumsden (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Intragovernmental Coordination, State and Local Governmental Operations, Local Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (202 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Bigger school tax break for Chattooga seniors: benefit, high. The law expands the school tax break for Chattooga County School District homeowners age 70 or older. It raises the income cap from $20,000 to $38,000, using the homeowner’s and spouse’s combined prior-year federal adjusted gross income. The current $40,000 exemption rises to $41,150 of assessed ho…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Eddie Lumsden (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Clint Dixon (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-31 | Senate | PASSAGE | pass | 44 | 0 | 4 |
| 2026-03-23 | House | Local Calendar | pass | 158 | 0 | 16 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-05-11: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-11: Act 585
- 2026-05-11: Effective Date
- 2026-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-03-31: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-03-27: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2026-03-27: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-03-23: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-03-23: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-18: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-03-16: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-03-12: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 1543/AP* (v4): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/248547)

## 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 1543/AP* (v4) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/248547)

## 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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1543-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).