Georgia Referendum A, Timber Equipment Exempt from Property Taxes Measure (2022)

Georgia Referendum A
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic Taxes
Status a Approved
Type State statute	Origin State legislature

Georgia Referendum A, the Timber Equipment Exempt from Property Taxes Measure, was on the ballot in Georgia as a legislatively referred state statute on November 8, 2022. The measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported exempting timber equipment from property taxes.

A "no" vote opposed exempting timber equipment from property taxes.

Election results

Georgia Referendum A
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		2,222,571	59.00%
No		1,544,431	41.00%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did the measure change about timber equipment taxes?

See also: Text of measure

The ballot measure exempted timber equipment from ad valorem property taxes, set to begin on January 1, 2023.

Timber equipment to be exempted from taxes includes equipment owned or held under a lease-purchase agreement by a commercial timber producer that is used for timber harvesting or production. Off-road equipment and attachments used to sever a tree until the point that a tree has been loaded into a field or vehicle for transport are exempt from taxes under the measure. Off-road equipment includes skidders, feller bunchers, debarkers, delimbers, chip harvesters, tub-grinders, wood cutters, chippers, loaders, dozers, mid-motor graders, equipment attachments. The tax exemption does not apply to motor vehicles.

Timber is still taxed under the measure. In Georgia, timber (softwood and hardwood pulpwood, chip-and-saw logs, saw timber, poles, posts, and fuel wood) is assessed at fair market value and taxed at the county millage rate at the time of harvest or sale.

Why was this measure on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot and Forestry, conservation, and natural resources legislation, 2022

The Georgia Constitution requires legislation exempting property from taxes to be approved by a two-thirds vote in each chamber of the legislature, signed by the governor, and approved by a majority of voters at a statewide election.

The measure was referred to the ballot through approval of House Bill 997. The state House approved the bill on March 15, 2022, by a vote of 171-0. The Senate approved the bill on March 30, 2022, by a vote of 50-1. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed House Bill 997 on May 10, sending the measure to the ballot for voter approval.

In addition to HB 997, Kemp signed multiple bills on May 10 concerning natural resources. Kemp said, “The bills I signed into law will help us treat the forestry industry the same way that we do agriculture as well as protect hunting, fishing, and conservation land, and more.” Agricultural equipment is currently exempt from property taxes.

How has Georgia voted on property tax exemption measures in the past?

See also: Property tax exemption measures in Georgia

From 2000 through 2020, 20 property tax exemption measures appeared on the statewide ballot, of which, 17 were approved and three were defeated. Two measures that were approved concerned exemptions for certain farm products and equipment.

The state legislature referred two property tax exemption measures to the 2022 ballot. In addition to the timber equipment tax exemption measure, the legislature referred a a measure to the ballot that was designed to expand certain property tax exemptions provided for agricultural equipment and certain farm products (a) to allow any entity that is a merger of two or more family-owned farms to qualify for the exemption, and (b) to extend the exemption to include dairy products and eggs.

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Shall the Act be approved which grants a state-wide exemption from all ad valorem taxes for certain equipment used by timber producers in the production or harvest of timber?

”

Full text

The full text of the ballot measure is below:

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

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 14, and the FRE is 47. The word count for the ballot title is 30.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 16, and the FRE is 5. The word count for the ballot summary is 14.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• Gov. Brian Kemp (R)
• State Sen. Larry Walker (R)
• State Rep. Debbie Buckner (D)
• State Rep. Jon G. Burns (R)
• State Rep. Terry England (R)
• State Rep. Gerald Greene (R)
• State Rep. Matt Hatchett (R)
• State Rep. Sam Watson (R)

Arguments

• Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R): "Georgia's agriculture assets, beautiful natural wonders, and great outdoors have given both my family and many others a livelihood and good memories. We're not only proud to be champions of our state's thriving agriculture and related industries and natural resources, we're also dedicated to ensuring future generations are able to enjoy them as well. The bills I signed into law will help us treat the forestry industry the same way that we do agriculture as well as protect hunting, fishing, and conservation land, and more. I want to thank those in the Georgia General Assembly who carried these measures, as well as the Department of Natural Resources for their continued efforts to conserve our wild places and the Georgia Forestry Association for their work to support Georgia’s number one forestry industry."

Opposition

If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Georgia ballot measures

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Ballotpedia has not identified political action committees registered to support or oppose this measure. If you are aware of one, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Property tax exemption measures in Georgia

The measure required a two-thirds vote in the Georgia State Legislature since it was designed to create a property tax exemption. Under Section 2 of Article VII of the state constitution, property tax exemption bills require a two-thirds supermajority vote (rather than a simple majority vote) in the state legislature and must be approved by a majority of statewide voters. From 2000 through 2020, 20 property tax exemption measures appeared on the statewide ballot, of which, 17 were approved and three were defeated.

2020: One property tax exemption measure was on the 2020 ballot. The measure, which was approved by a vote of 73% to 27%, exempted from property taxes property owned by a 501(c)(3) public charity (such as Habitat for Humanity) if the property is owned exclusively for the purpose of building or repairing single-family homes and the charity provides interest-free financing to the individual(s) purchasing the home.

2018: Two property tax exemption measures— Referendum A and Referendum B— were on the statewide ballot in 2018. Both were approved; Referendum A by a vote of 57% to 43% and Referendum B by a vote of 77% to 23%. Referendum A provided for a homestead property tax exemption in certain municipalities equal to the difference between the home's assessed value for the current year and the adjusted base year value of the home. Referendum B provided that an existing tax exemption for nonprofit housing for the mentally disabled could be applied to housing constructed or renovated through financing from businesses.

2014: Referendum 1, which was approved by voters in 2014, extended a public property ad valorem tax exemption to privately held and operated student dormitories and parking decks that are obliged by contract to serve universities within the University of Georgia system. It was approved by a vote of 74% to 26%.

2010: Referendum A, approved by voters in 2010, provided that inventory of businesses is exempt from state property tax. It was approved by a vote of 54% to 46%.

2006: Six measures were approved in 2006 that expanded homestead tax exemptions and property tax exemptions for agricultural products and farming equipment, veterans organizations, and charitable organizations.

2002: Five property tax exemption measures were on the ballot in 2002, of which three were approved. The three measures that were approved increased the tax exemption on personal property, changed the income limit for school tax homestead exemptions for individuals 62 years of age and older, and extended certain ad valorem tax exemptions to surviving spouses of military personnel killed in armed conflict.

2000: Four property tax exemption measures were on the ballot in 2000, of which three were approved. The three measures that were approved exempted certain farm equipment of family-owned farms from ad valorem taxes, increased the ad valorem tax exemption for tools and trade implements of manual laborers, and provided for homestead exemptions for un-remarried surviving spouses of military personnel killed in conflict equal to the amount a disabled veteran is entitled.

Referred measures on the ballot in Georgia

• A total of 84 measures appeared on the statewide ballot in Georgia from 1996 to 2020.
• From 1996 through 2020, the number of measures on statewide ballots during even-numbered years ranged from two to 12.
• From 1996 through 2020, an average of seven measures appeared on the ballot in Georgia during even-numbered election years.
• Between 1996 and 2020, about 85.5% (71 of 84) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years were approved, and about 15.5% percent (13 of 84) were defeated.

Georgia statewide ballot measures during even-numbered election years, 1996-2020
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Annual average	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
84	71	84.5%	13	15.5%	7	2	12

Path to the ballot

Per Article VII, Section II, Paragraph II(a) of the Georgia Constitution, legislation for property tax exemptions requires a two-thirds vote of each chamber of the Georgia State Legislature and voter approval.

The ballot measure was introduced into the state Legislature as House Bill 997 (HB 997). On March 15, 2022, the Georgia House of Representatives voted 171-0, with eight members not voting or absent, to approve the bill. On March 30, 2022, the Georgia State Senate voted 50-1 with five members absent or not voting to approve the measure. To be placed on the ballot, the governor's signature was required. On May 10, 2022, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed House Bill 997.

Vote in the Georgia House of Representatives March 15, 2022
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	171	0	8
Total percent	95.00%	0.00%	4.44%
Democrat	74	0	3
Republican	97	0	5

Vote in the Georgia State Senate March 30, 2022
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 38  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	50	1	5
Total percent	89.29%	1.79%	8.93%
Democrat	18	0	4
Republican	32	1	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Georgia

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Georgia.

How to vote in Georgia

Poll times

In Georgia, polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Eastern Time. In cities with a population greater than 300,000 people, polls remain open until 8 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Georgia, one must be a citizen of the United States and a legal resident of their county. The voter must be at least 17.5 years of age at the time of registration and 18 at the time of the election, and not serving a sentence for a felony conviction.

The deadline to register to vote is 29 days prior to the election. Registration can be completed online, in person, or by mail.

Automatic registration

In Georgia, eligible voters are automatically registered to vote when they conduct transactions at the Department of Driver Services. This automatic registration program began in 2016.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Georgia has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Georgia does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Georgia, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

A Georgia state law, passed in 2009, required voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. However, as of June 2025, the law had not been implemented.

In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot require proof of citizenship with federal registration forms. That meant states would need to create a separate registration system for state elections in order to require proof of citizenship.

In Georgia, an individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who provides false information on a voter registration application is guilty of a felony.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The site My Voter Page, run by the Georgia Secretary of State's office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Georgia requires voters to present photo identification while voting in person or by mail/absentee.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of August 2024. Click here for the Georgia Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

“

Any valid state or federal government-issued photo ID, including a free ID card issued by your county registrar's office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services. A Georgia driver's license, even if expired Student ID from a Georgia public College or University Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state Valid U.S. passport ID Valid U.S. military photo ID containing a photograph of the voter Valid tribal photo ID containing a photograph of the voter

”

Voters can obtain a free voter ID card from any county registrar's office or Department of Driver Services Office. Click here for more information on obtaining a free voter ID card in Georgia.

See also

2022 measures

• 2022 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot
• Property 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

• House Bill 997