Cobb County Board of Commissioners Votes to Opt-Out of HB581 Statewide Homestead Exemption

Marietta, GA – The Cobb County Board of Commissioners has voted to opt out of the HB581 Statewide Adjusted Base Homestead Exemption, which was approved by voters in the November 2024 election.

Cobb County’s existing floating homestead exemption—implemented decades ago—provides greater tax relief to homeowners by protecting against rising home values. The exemption freezes a homeowner’s taxable property value when they apply for it, ensuring that their tax burden does not increase as property values rise.

“The main reason I support opting out is because Cobb County’s current homestead exemption is far more beneficial than what is offered to residents in HB581,” said Commissioner Monique Sheffield. “We understand how this amendment can be beneficial to taxpayers in counties without a homestead exemption, but Cobb has one of the best, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

The 4-0 vote to opt out followed the third and final public hearing during Tuesday night’s meeting, where a majority of participants urged commissioners to vote to opt out of the measure. Although the amendment passed with 59% of the vote in Cobb County, many speakers admitted they were confused by the ballot language and struggled to discern the amendment’s long-term impact.

Chairwoman Lisa Cupid acknowledged residents’ frustrations. “We feel the pain of our citizens who are here,” she said. “While I recognize this bill was intended to provide relief to citizens across all of Georgia’s counties, we are very fortunate to already have a homestead in place here, which is what makes any change to this good thing we have difficult to receive and confusing if it is not clear.”

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell noted that the overwhelming number of emails her office received on the topic urged her to vote to opt-out.

Despite concerns from some speakers that opting in might jeopardize Cobb’s existing homestead exemption or the county’s senior school tax exemption, outgoing Chief Assessor Stephen White assured the board that the provision would not affect existing exemptions and would maintain whichever option is most beneficial to homeowners.