In November voters will have their say on whether a homestead exemption passed in the Georgia State House will apply to Bryan County homeowners.  

Georgia House Bill 476, which was signed into law in May 2025, will be put to a county-wide referendum on Nov. 4 and if passed, would provide a specific homestead tax exemption for educational purposes in Bryan County.

“This bill is the better option for taxpayers,” said Rep. Jesse Petrea, Republican state representative for the 166th District, which covers parts of Bryan and Chatham counties. “It basically ensures that there is no CPI increase every year, which means they're going to have a true frozen valuation.”

The aim of HB 476 is to get House Bill 581, a bill enacted in January to limit annual increases in property tax values by tying them to inflation, approved and enacted in Bryan County.

“What we’re hearing is that property taxes keep increasing exponentially,” explained Petrea. “People’s taxes keep going up because the valuation of their home keeps going up beyond their control. They’re paying more and paying more, and this [bill] is a way to protect people from that.”

Rapid growth in Bryan County -- the sixth-fastest growing county in the nation as of the 2020 U.S. Census -- has led to a subsequent rise in property tax valuations for homeowners. 

House Bill 581, which became effective Jan. 1, 2025, created a statewide floating homestead exemption for all counties in Georgia, but some cities, counties, and school districts decided to opt out, fearing dents in their budgets. 

Initially, Bryan County Schools was one of the districts that decided to opt out, but board members reversed course in April 2025.

Nevertheless, Petrea, alongside colleagues Ron Stephens (R-164), Lehman Franklin (R-160), and Sen. Ben Watson (R-1st) teamed up to draft House Bill 476, dubbed the Petrea-Stephens-Franklin-Watson Tax Relief Act. 

School officials did not respond for comment on this article.

Signed into law on May 9, House Bill 476 is a referendum specific to Bryan County, where the homestead exemption passed by the state will not be effective in the county unless voters approve in the ballot box on Election Day. 

The ballot language will read: 

( ) YES Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from Bryan County school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes in an amount equal to the amount by which the current year assessed value of a homestead exceeds the adjusted base year assessed value, including any final determination of value on appeal pursuant to Code Section 48-5-311 of the O.C.G.A., as amended, of such homestead?"

( ) NO

Petrea says that the upcoming referendum gives voters in Bryan autonomy over what taxes they pay, saying that many jurisdictions try to skirt around winning the consent of the voters. 

“If the school board needs more tax revenue, all they have to do is raise the millage rate, right? But when they do that, there's transparency with the people that elected officials raise taxes. Right now, they're being raised without them [voters] asking."

Stephens believes that the passage of HB 476 and the homestead exemption will encourage all -- from, young families to senior citizens, to buy homes in Bryan County. 

“This [also] helps those senior citizens that want to retire and stay in an amazing place here in Richmond Hill and Bryan County without being taxed out of their homes,” said Stephens.