05 LC 18
4041/AP
House
Bill 203 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By:
Representatives Royal of the
171st,
Williams of the
4th,
McCall of the
30th,
Hanner of the
148th,
Roberts of the
154th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 48-5-41.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to agricultural products and equipment exempt from ad valorem tax, so as to
expand the ad valorem exemption for farm equipment to include certain equipment
held under a lease purchase agreement; to provide for a referendum,
applicability, and effective dates; to provide for automatic repeal under
certain circumstances; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 48-5-41.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
agricultural products and equipment exempt from ad valorem tax, is amended by
striking subsection (c) and inserting in its place a new subsection (c) to read
as follows:
"(c)
Farm tractors, combines, and all other farm equipment other than motor vehicles,
whether fixed or mobile, which are owned by
or held under
a lease purchase agreement and directly
used in the production of agricultural products by family owned qualified farm
products producers shall be exempt from all ad valorem property taxes in this
state."
SECTION
2.
Unless
prohibited by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, the Secretary
of State shall call and conduct an election as provided in this section for the
purpose of submitting this Act to the electors of the State of Georgia for
approval or rejection. The Secretary of State shall conduct that election on
the date of the November, 2006, state-wide general election. The Secretary of
State shall issue the call and conduct that special election as provided by
general law. The Secretary of State shall cause the date and purpose of the
special election to be published in the official organ of each county in the
state once a week for two weeks immediately preceding the date of the
referendum. The ballot shall have written or printed thereon the
following:
|
"( ) YES
( ) NO
|
Shall
the Act be approved which expands the ad valorem tax exemption for agricultural
products and equipment to include certain additional farm equipment held under a
lease purchase agreement?"
|
All
persons desiring to vote for approval of the Act shall vote "Yes," and all
persons desiring to vote for rejection of the Act shall vote "No." If more than
one-half of the votes cast on such question are for approval of the Act, then
Section 1 of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2007, and shall apply
to all taxable years beginning on or after that date. If Section 1 of this Act
is not so approved or if the election is not conducted as provided in this
section, Section 1 of this Act shall not become effective and this Act shall be
automatically repealed on the first day of January immediately following that
election date.
SECTION
3.
Except
as otherwise provided in Section 2 of this Act, this Act shall become effective
upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such
approval.
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.