Property owners stunned by their tax assessments will be getting some additional rights under a bill awaiting the governor’s signature. House Bill 202 gives property owners appealing their assessments the right to interview county employees involved in assessments, to tape-record appeal proceedings and to pay lower court fees if they take their appeal to superior court.

One benefit may have been unintended. Wording in the bill should allow property owners to skip over their county board of assessment for appeals and get a quicker response, according to an investor who has studied the provisions.

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Derek Dooley speaks at a campaign stop next to Gov. Brian Kemp, second from left, and First Lady Marty Kemp, left, at a parking lot of Dawson Hall on the University of Georgia campus before Georgia’s season football opener against Marshall, Saturday, August 30, 2025, in Athens, Ga. Kemp endorsed Republican Derek Dooley in Georgia’s 2026 U.S. Senate race. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

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An aerial view captures a large area under construction for a new data center campus on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Developed by QTS, the data center campus near Fayetteville is one of the largest under construction in Georgia. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez