Georgia voters approve three new amendments to state constitution

Georgia voters approved three new amendments to Georgia’s constitution Tuesday by wide margins.

Here’s a look at what they do.

Next Generation 9-1-1 Fund

Voters approved a new fund to modernize the state’s 911 services by a vote of 78% to 22%.

The fund will support several changes to 911 technology, including allowing callers to send text messages, pictures and videos to emergency dispatchers.

The 911 fee Georgians pay on their phone bill will not immediately change. Future laws will decide how the fund will be managed and what money will be deposited into it. The current 911 cellphone fee is $1.50.

Property tax amendment

Owners of large farms and timberland may now receive a property tax break for up to 4,000 acres of land instead of the previous 2,000-acre limit.

Voters approved the amendment by a slimmer margin, 54% to 46%.

Land that qualifies under Georgia’s Conservation Use and Valuation Assessment (CUVA) program — including farming, timber production or conservation land — is currently taxed at 40% of its current use value instead of its full value. This amendment makes more acres — 4,000 instead of 2,000 — eligible for that property tax break.

Supporters say the amendment will help keep family farms in business, protect conservation land and update the state’s conservation use laws that have remained largely unchanged for decades.

There are some reservations that this will cost local government and schools property tax revenue or that it could expand to give corporate farms an unneeded tax break.

Nonpartisan probate judges

Georgia’s judiciary will soon be fully nonpartisan. This amendment, approved by a 68% to 32% margin, requires that probate judges be elected on a nonpartisan basis.