Georgia Amendment 5, School Sales Tax Referendums Amendment (2018)

Elections in Georgia, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: Oct. 15 - Nov. 2
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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Georgia Amendment 5
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Education and Taxes
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Georgia measuresGeorgia Amendment 1Georgia Amendment 2Georgia Amendment 3Georgia Amendment 4Georgia Amendment 5Georgia Referendum AGeorgia Referendum BSubmit

Georgia Amendment 5, the School Sales Tax Referendums Amendment, was on the ballot in Georgia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this amendment to allow a school district or districts with a majority of enrolled students within a county to call for a referendum to levy a sales tax for education purposes.

A "no" vote opposed this amendment to allow a school district or districts with a majority of enrolled students within a county to call for a referendum to levy a sales tax.

A majority vote of qualified voters within the county were required to pass the referendum.

Election results

Georgia Amendment 5
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		2,640,831	71.24%
No		1,065,878	28.76%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What was Amendment 5 designed to do?

Amendment 5 amended the Georgia Constitution to authorize a school district or group of school districts within a county to call for a sales and use tax referendum. The district or group of districts that have a majority of the students enrolled within the county based on the last full-time equivalent (FTE) count were authorized by Amendment 5 to call for a referendum to impose, levy, and collect a sales tax. The tax was set to be 1 percent and was set to last up to five years. Revenue from the sales tax would set to be divided between school districts within the county according to an agreement between the county school system and independent school district(s), or if such an agreement could not be made, the revenue would be divided based on the ratio of the student enrollment of all districts in the county under the amendment.

How did Amendment 5 get on the ballot?

On January 26, 2017, the amendment was introduced into the legislature as Senate Resolution 95. On February 14, 2017, the Senate approved the measure, 47 to 5 with three members excused. The House of Representatives rejected the amendment on March 14, 2017. The House took up and approved an amended version of the measure, 128 to 44 with eight members not voting, on March 22, 2017. The Senate passed the amended version, 41 to 6 with eight senators not voting, on March 30, 2017. The measure was enrolled on April 10, 2017. The following legislators sponsored the bill in the legislature:

• Sen. Ellis Black (R-8)
• Sen. Dean Burke (R-11)
• Sen. Frank Ginn (R-47)
• Sen. Freddie Sims (D-12)
• Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-37)
• Rep. Randy Nix (R-69)

Sales tax for education

Previously, sources of funding for renovation and construction of school facilities came about from one of two ways:

• The local board of education (LBOE) could ask the voters to approve issuance of General Obligation Bonds to be repaid from property tax revenues, or
• The LBOE could use ad valorem tax revenues levied for the maintenance and operation of schools to fund capital improvement projects.

The Georgia Sales Tax for Schools Amendment, also known as Amendment 2, was on the ballot in Georgia on November 5, 1996, as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. It was approved. It gave LBOEs the option to call for a referendum to ask voters to approve a SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax). The measure authorized county and independent boards of education to levy a one percent sales tax for education purposes.

Measure design

Amendment 5 amended the Georgia Constitution to authorize a school district or group of school districts within a county to call for a sales and use tax referendum. The district or group of districts that have a majority of the students enrolled within the county based on the last full-time equivalent (FTE) count would be authorized to call for a referendum to impose, levy, and collect a sales tax. Full-time equivalent (FTE) refers to "data collected for Quality Basic Education funding and is based on student enrollment and the education services provided by local school systems to students." The sales tax would be used for the educational purposes of the school districts. The referendum called by the school districts would need to be approved by a majority of the qualified voters residing within the limits of the county.

The tax would be 1 percent and would last up to five years. Revenue from the sales tax would be divided between school districts within the county according to an agreement between the county school system and independent school district(s), or if such an agreement could not be made, the revenue would be divided based on the ratio of the student enrollment of all districts in the county. The measure was designed to require the same procedure for reimposing the tax after five years, following the expiration of the initial tax.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize a referendum for a sales and use tax for education by a county school district or an independent school district or districts within the county having a majority of the students enrolled within the county and to provide that the proceeds are distributed on a per student basis among all the school systems unless an agreement is reached among such school systems for a different distribution?

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for Amendment 5 was as follows:

“

This proposal authorizes a county school district or an independent school district or districts within the county having a majority of the students enrolled within the county to call for a referendum for a sales and use tax for education and provides that the proceeds are distributed on a per student basis among all the school systems unless an agreement is reached among such school systems for a different distribution. it amends Article VIII, Section VI, Paragraph IV of the Constitution by revising subparagraphs (a) and CO. A copy of this entire proposed constitutional amendment is on file in the office of the judge of the probate court and is available for public inspection.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article VIII, Georgia Constitution

Amendment 5 amended subparagraphs (a) and (g), Paragraph IV, Section 6 of Article VIII of the Georgia Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Sales Tax for Educational Purposes

(a) The board of education of each school district in a county in which no independent school district is located may by resolution and the board of education of each county school district and the board of education of each independent school district located within such county may by concurrent resolutions impose, levy, and collect a sales and use tax for educational purposes of such school districts conditioned upon approval by a majority of the qualified voters residing within the limits of the local taxing jurisdiction voting in a referendum thereon. In addition, when a county school district has one or more independent school districts located within such county, the school district or combination of school districts that has a majority of the students enrolled within the county, based on the latest full-time equivalent count, shall be authorized to call for a referendum to impose, levy, and collect a sales and use tax for educational purposes of such school districts conditioned upon approval by a majority of the qualified voters residing within the limits of the county voting in a referendum thereon. This tax shall be at the rate of 1 percent and shall be imposed for a period of time not to exceed five years, but in all other respects, except as otherwise provided in this Paragraph, shall correspond to and be levied in the same manner as the tax provided for by Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the special county 1 percent sales and use tax, as now or hereafter amended. Proceedings for the reimposition of such tax shall be in the same manner as proceedings for the initial imposition of the tax, but the newly authorized tax shall not be imposed until the expiration of the tax then in effect.

(g) The net proceeds of the tax shall be distributed between the county school district and the independent school districts, or portion thereof, located in such county according to an agreement between the county school system and the independent school district or districts or, if no agreement can be reached, according to the ratio the student enrollment in each school district, or portion thereof, bears to the total student enrollment of all school districts in the county or upon such other formula for distribution as may be authorized by local law. For purposes of this subparagraph, student enrollment shall be based on the latest FTE full-time equivalent count prior to the referendum on imposing the tax.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 34, and the FRE is -11. The word count for the ballot title is 77, and the estimated reading time is 20 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 19, and the FRE is 26. The word count for the ballot summary is 114, and the estimated reading time is 30 seconds. In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Support

Supporters

The following officials sponsored the amendment in the state legislature:

• Sen. Ellis Black (R-8)
• Sen. Dean Burke (R-11)
• Sen. Frank Ginn (R-47)
• Sen. Freddie Sims (D-12)
• Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-37)
• Rep. Randy Nix (R-69)

Arguments

According to Sen. Ellis Black, the measure was designed to put provisions in place so that a school system with a majority of the full-time equivalent (FTE) students can place a renewal of an ESPLOST on the ballot before voters without having to ask all the systems within a county. Black also said the measure was designed to prevent a smaller school system from essentially blackmailing a larger school system within the county from passing a resolution to place an ESPLOST renewal on the ballot, and similarly, that it would stop a larger school system from preventing smaller systems from putting the issue before voters.

Opposition

Opponents

In the state legislature, 33 Republicans and 17 Democrats voted against referring Amendment 5 to the ballot.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Georgia ballot measures

Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in support of or in opposition to the measure.

Background

Sales tax for education

See also: School bond and tax elections in Georgia

Georgia has a constitutionally protected sales tax for education. Georgia uses the sales tax to fund capital outlays that are used for capital improvements and to retire previous debts and obligations. The voters in a county can vote to approve up to an additional one percent sales tax to fund educational projects. If an additional sales tax is approved, then the tax must discontinue after five years from when its first implemented.

Previously, sources of funding for renovation and construction of school facilities came about from one of two ways:

• The local board of education (LBOE) could ask the voters to approve issuance of General Obligation Bonds to be repaid from property tax revenues, or
• The LBOE could use ad valorem tax revenues levied for the maintenance and operation of schools to fund capital improvement projects.

The Georgia Sales Tax for Schools Amendment, also known as Amendment 2, was on the ballot in Georgia on November 5, 1996, as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. It was approved. It gave LBOEs the option to call for a referendum to ask voters to approve a SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax). The measure authorized county and independent boards of education to levy a one percent sales tax for education purposes.

Counties and school systems

Georgia has 159 counties with school systems and 21 city school systems, as of 2018. The ten largest school systems in Georgia ranked by total number of students enrolled in the district are as follows:

• Gwinett County Public Schools in Lawrenceville, GA
  • 136 schools; 176,052 students
• Cobb County Schools in Marietta, GA
  • 111 schools; 112,708 students
• Dekalb County Schools in Stone Mountain, GA
  • 135 schools; 101,389 students
• Fulton County Schools in Atlanta, GA
  • 106 schools; 95,641 students
• Clayton County Schools in Jonesboro, GA
  • 62 schools; 54,136 students
• Atlanta Public Schools in Atlanta, GA
  • 101 schools; 51,500 students
• Forsyth County Schools in Cumming, GA
  • 35 schools; 44,286 students
• Henry County Schools in Mcdonough, GA
  • 52 schools; 41,820 students
• Cherokee County Schools in Canton, GA
  • 37 schools; 41,291 students
• Chatham County Schools in Savannah, GA
  • 56 schools; 38,323 students

2016 proposed amendment

In 2016, the Georgia Legislature proposed an amendment to assure that the sales and use tax for education is distributed fairly on a per-student basis among all the school systems within a county unless an agreement is reached among such school systems for a different distribution. The measure did not make it to the ballot. The Georgia House of Representatives approved the amendment on March 11, 2015, with 164 representatives voting yea and eight voting nay. It was referred to committee by the Senate on March 13, 2015. The amendment did not pass the Georgia Senate before the end of the 2016 legislative session, which was projected to begin on January 11, 2016, and run through March 31, 2016.

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1996 through 2016, the Georgia State Legislature referred 46 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 36 and rejected 10 of the referred amendments. All of the amendments were referred to the ballot during even-numbered election years. The average number of amendments appearing on the ballot during an even-numbered election year was 4. The approval rate at the ballot box was 78.26% during the 20-year period from 1996 through 2016. The rejection rate was 21.74%.

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments, 1996-2016
Years	Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Annual average	Annual median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
Even years	46	36	78.26%	10	21.74%	4.18	4.00	2	7

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Georgia Constitution

In Georgia, a constitutional amendment must be passed by a two-thirds vote in each house of the state legislature during one legislative session.

On January 26, 2017, the amendment was introduced into the legislature as Senate Resolution 95. On February 14, 2017, the Senate approved the measure, 47 to 5 with three members excused. The House of Representatives rejected the amendment on March 14, 2017. Rep. Randy Nix (R-69) motioned for the House to reconsider the measure, which the House agreed to on March 15. The House took up and approved an amended version of the measure, 128 to 44 with eight members not voting, on March 22, 2017. The Senate passed the amended version, 41 to 6 with eight senators not voting, on March 30, 2017. The measure was enrolled on April 10, 2017.

The 2017 legislative session ran from January 9, 2017, through March 30, 2017.

Vote in the Georgia State Senate March 22, 2018
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 37  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	41	6	8
Total percent	87.23%	12.77%	14.54%
Democrat	10	2	6
Republican	31	4	2

Vote in the Georgia House of Representatives March 22, 2018
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 120  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	128	44	8
Total percent	74.42%	25.58%	4.44%
Democrat	43	15	4
Republican	85	29	4

State profile

Demographic data for Georgia
	Georgia	U.S.
Total population:	10,199,398	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	57,513	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	60.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	30.9%	12.6%
Asian:	3.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	9.1%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	85.4%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	28.8%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$49,620	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	21.1%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Georgia

Georgia voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Georgia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Georgia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Georgia coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Georgia
• United States congressional delegations from Georgia
• Public policy in Georgia
• Endorsers in Georgia
• Georgia fact checks
• More...

Related measures

Taxes measures on the ballot in 2018
State	Measures
Virginia	Virginia Question 1: Property Tax Exemption for Flood Abatement Amendment a
Nevada	Nevada Question 4: Medical Equipment Sales Tax Exemption Amendment a
Oregon	Oregon Measure 101: Healthcare Insurance Premiums Tax for Medicaid Referendum a
Georgia	Georgia Amendment 3, Forest Land Conservation and Timberland Properties Amendment a
Virginia	Virginia Question 2: Remove Restriction on Residence for Surviving Spouse of Disabled Veteran Tax Exemption Amendment a
Oklahoma	Oklahoma State Question 801: Allow Certain Voter-Approved Property Taxes to Fund School District Operations Amendment d
Maine	Maine Question 1: Payroll and Non-Wage Income Taxes for Home Care Program Initiative d
Georgia	Georgia Referendum A: Homestead Municipal Property Tax Exemption a
South Dakota	South Dakota Initiated Measure 25, Tobacco Tax Increase Initiative d
Washington	Washington Advisory Vote 19, Non-Binding Question on Oil Spill Tax Repeal d
Missouri	Missouri Proposition D: Gas Tax Increase, Olympic Prize Tax Exemption, and Traffic Reduction Fund Measure d
Georgia	Georgia Referendum B: Include Business-Financed Properties in Existing Non-Profit Mentally Disabled Housing Tax Exemption a
Louisiana	Louisiana Amendment 6: Phase-In of Tax Increases from Property Reappraisal Amendment a
Utah	Utah Constitutional Amendment B: Tax Exemption for Property Leased by a Government Entity d
Montana	Montana LR-128: Property Tax for State University System Measure a
Utah	Utah Nonbinding Opinion Question 1, 10 Cents per Gallon Gas Tax Increase for Education and Local Roads d
Arizona	Arizona Proposition 126: Prohibit New or Increased Taxes on Services Initiative a
Florida	Florida Amendment 5: Two-Thirds Vote of Legislature to Increase Taxes or Fees Amendment a
Colorado	Colorado Proposition 110, "Let's Go Colorado" Transportation Bond and Sales Tax Increase Initiative d
Colorado	Colorado Amendment 73, Establish Income Tax Brackets and Raise Taxes for Education Initiative d
Montana	Montana I-185, Extend Medicaid Expansion and Increase Tobacco Taxes Initiative d
California	California Proposition 72: Rainwater Capture Systems Excluded from Property Tax Assessments Amendment a
Florida	Florida Amendment 2: Permanent Cap on Nonhomestead Parcel Assessment Increases Amendment a
California	California Proposition 5: Property Tax Transfer Initiative d
Washington	Washington Initiative 1631, Carbon Emissions Fee Measure d
California	California Proposition 6: Vote on Future Gas and Vehicle Taxes and 2017 Tax Repeal Initiative d
Oregon	Oregon Measure 103: Ban Tax on Groceries Initiative d
Washington	Washington Initiative 1634: Prohibit Local Taxes on Groceries Measure a
Utah	Utah Constitutional Amendment A: Active Military Property Tax Exemption a
North Carolina	North Carolina Income Tax Cap Amendment a

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Education on the ballot
• Taxes on the ballot

Georgia

• Georgia ballot measures
• Georgia ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Georgia Senate Resolution 95 full text
• Georgia Senate Resolution 95
• 2018 Proposed Constitutional Amendments and Statewide Referendum Questions

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Georgia 2018 School District Tax Referendum Amendment. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Georgia Amendment 5, School Sales Tax Referendums Amendment (2018) - Google News