Bill would freeze property assessments for two years

The House voted Thursday to ban property assessment increases for the next two years in hopes of holding down taxes.

Supporters say the bill is necessary because Georgia is in a financial emergency.

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“If you let property taxes keep going up, and they (constituents) don’t have any income … they are going to be taxed out of their homes,” said House Speaker Pro Tem Mark Burkhalter (R-Johns Creek).

House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island), said there were twice as many home foreclosures in 2008 as there were in 2005.

“And yet property tax rolls continue to rise. Show me the fairness, show me the justice in that,” Keen said.

But opponents said the change would hamstring cities, counties and school districts in their efforts to fund services when Georgians need them most.

“Let’s don’t devastate local governments,” said Rep. Al Williams (D-Midway).

The 110-63 vote to cap property values came only a few hours after the House defeated a longer-term measure that would have kept property tax assessments from rising more than 3 percent a year.

The House voted 105 to 67 for the proposed assessment cap, short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass a constitutional amendment.

The freeze bill now goes to the Senate, which passed assessment cap legislation last year.

The measures, sponsored by Rep. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta), were aimed at holding down property assessments used in deciding how much taxes Georgians pay.

Under the freeze, assessments couldn’t rise above what they were on Jan. 1 for two years unless the property is improved or rezoned.

Assessments could be reduced, which some lawmakers say should happen because property values across Georgia have declined.

Many homeowners have complained that, in the past, counties unfairly jacked up the taxable value of their property. By increasing the assessments, property owners had to pay higher taxes even if millage rates remained the same.

Lindsey said freezing property assessments would eliminate such “back-door tax increases.”

“It’s time for us to look taxpayers in the eye and say, ‘we’re with you,’ ” Lindsey said.

Complaints about assessments may decline this year because home values have dropped across Georgia.

Rep. Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta), said the freeze sounds like a good idea, but, “Fundamentally, it doesn’t work.”

House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) said the assessment cap and freeze would mean less money for local governments, leading to layoffs for cities, counties and school districts.

“If you want to be part of laying off firefighters and police officers, vote for this bill,” Porter said.

But Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) said the same argument was made a decade ago when his area approved assessment limits. That never happened, he said.