This ballot initiative asks voters whether to increase the amount of tax exemptions and deferrals on tangible personal property used in a business.
Ad valorem tax exemption covers all personal property such as furniture, machinery, equipment, inventory, digital assets, and other items necessary to run that business. However, personal property not included in this bill are motor vehicles, trailers, and mobile homes. Presently, the maximum exemption amount is $7,500 and this bill asks voters to raise it to $20,000. The last time Georgia voters were asked to raise the personal property exemption amount was in 2002 when the majority of Georgians voted to raise it from $500 to $7,500. Things to Consider When you Vote
The Deep Dive The 2024 Legislative Season saw a host of bills that aimed to deepen tax exemptions and tax cuts. The statewide referendum question asking Georgia voters whether to raise the amount of tangible personal property tax exemption from $7,500 to $20,000 is one such bill. Georgia House Bill 808 is an amendment to Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated which originally allows a maximum of $7,500 of personal property ad valorem tax exemptions. Six House Representatives and one Senator, all Republican, sponsored a bill that seeks to raise the maximum deferral amount to $20,000. Because this is an amendment to the official GA Code, in order to bring this to the ballot the bill needed to pass with ⅔ vote in the House and ⅔ vote in the Senate- which it did. In order for it to become an official amendment, Georgia voters need to vote “yes” by a majority vote. If passed, you will be able to use the increased exemption on your 2025 taxes. Hailed by groups such as the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and powerful Republicans such as Lt. Governor Burt Jones, some believe increasing the exemption amount will ease burdens placed on small businesses across Georgia. However, others disagree. Local House Representative Dr. Au and House Representative Becky Evans are two Democrats among many who voted “No” on HB808. Georgia’s 2024 budget has an unprecedented general fund reserve of $16.9 billion, ($11.6 billion undesignated) which the state legislature could either use to fund state-wide programs or provide tax relief to Georgia citizens. One example of a need-based program is to provide financial aid for college to those who cannot afford it. Alternatively, an example of tax relief to citizens is HB808 which passed through committee this legislative session, was voted through by ⅔ vote of the legislature, and is now a ballot initiative for Georgia voters to decide. Should this ballot initiative not pass, however, the funds will not necessarily go towards a needs-based program. The cash reserves would remain until the 2025 legislative season when our legislators vote on next year’s budget bills. 
You are voting to cap the year-over-year assessment value of homes for the purposes of calculating property taxes for Forsyth County School (FCS) at a maximum of 4% for a period of 10 years. If the Constitutional Amendment #1 is passed, the cap will become the lesser of CPI or 4% (see article on the Constitutional Amendment).
This is an attempt to keep increased valuations on homes from having an oversized influence on property taxes levied by FCS. This is accomplished by adjusting the exemption. Here an example of is the calculation for property taxes: 
If a $500,000 home is assessed with an 8% rise in valuation, or $40,000, it would be capped at 4% or $20,000 increase by adjusting the exemption.
Things to Consider When You Vote
The Deep Dive Based on House Bill 717. The actual cap is the lesser of the 4% Forsyth County cap or the Statewide cap which is set at the Consumer Price Index or CPI rate. The latter is contingent on approval on the Constitutional Amendment #1, which is also on the ballot. If approved it kicks in, see HB 581. While the bill limits the impact of increased valuations of your home to the property taxes you pay, it does not necessarily mean the FCS portion of your property taxes decreases. FCS could, based on its budget needs, request an increase in millage to make up any shortfall. Current FCS leadership felt that this exemption could be managed and would have minimal impact. Using the 2025 approved budget as an example, this ballot initiative would have had the following impact:
You are voting for a continuance of an existing 1% SPLOST that has been in existence since 1987, which has a term of 6 years. Estimated collection over the 6 years is $354,131,406, $22,009,621 to the City of Cumming, the remaining balance to Forsyth County.
Funds are used for capital expenditures and improvements, not the operating budget. It is estimated that 34% of the funds collected will come from purchases made from residents/entities outside Forsyth County. 
Things to Consider When You Vote
The Deep Dive Sales tax on most transactions in the County is 7%, 1% of which is the SPLOST for which a continuance is requested. SPLOSTs are the primary way the County funds its capital expenditures. Other ways would be the issuance of debt (General Obligation Bonds or Revenue Bonds) or property taxes. The County does not like to issue debt and has not increased its property taxes for a long time. The $354,131,406 is an estimate and collections could be more or less. If the SPLOST is not approved, the County would need to prioritize and delay projects, redirect funds from the General Operating Budget and cut. This would require that, for example, they would need to decide whether to expand a library or buy radios for the Sheriff's department. They may also need to raise property taxes. The Breakout of Budgeted Spending for this SPLOST Most of the items listed below are already part of the County’s capital budget and, in fact, may have been planned many years ago with some spending already taking place. While there are some dollars not specifically allocated, much are through the normal capital budgeting process. This information is readily available from the County. 
If passed, this ballot initiative gives Forsyth County the authority to create a Tax Allocation District (TAD) for the proposed development known as The Gathering at South Forsyth, the site of a potential National Hockey League team with an arena, retail and commercial space, hotels and apartments located on 100 undeveloped acres in south Forsyth County at the intersection of Union Hill and Ronald Reagan Boulevard.
The County is proposing to issue $225 million in bonds to help fund the building of the ice arena and the bonds are paid off by property taxes collected inside the development that would normally go to the County and Forsyth County School (FCS). Things to Consider When You Vote
The Deep Dive The TAD ballot initiative is backed by HB 1488. Georgia's Redevelopment Powers Law allows cities and counties to sell bonds to finance infrastructure and other redevelopment costs within a specially defined area also known as a tax allocation district (TAD). Forsyth County will provide $225 million funding via revenue bonds issued by the Development Authority, for the arena. Paydown of the bonds comes from the collection from the property taxes from the commercial and residential entities within the defined area of The Gathering, excluding the arena. The majority of property taxes collected to pay for the bonds come from what Forsyth County Schools (FCS) would normally receive, so it was important to get agreement from the school district which has its own set of terms. The Deal Negotiated with the County and the BOE/FCS In return for giving up the property taxes collected from residential and commercial property within The Gathering to pay for the bonds, the County and FCS agreed to the following:
Since we laid out in the previous Kicker the three alarming new rules created by the Georgia State Election Board (SEB), the SEB has created yet another rule that is sure to cause chaos this November and beyond.
Rule 183-1-12-.12 Tabulating Results, commonly referred to as the Hand Counting Rule, is cause for great concern for this election. Passed only 6 weeks before the General Election, the Hand Counting Rule requires three poll workers from each polling site to hand count all ballots at the end of each day during Early Voting and on Election Day. After working long 14 hour days, poll workers are instructed by the SEB to divide the day’s ballots into stacks of 50 and hand count until the three workers have arrived at the same total. If that number does not match the number from both the electronic voting machines and the scanner recap forms, the poll manager must figure out the reason behind the inconsistency and fix it, if possible. As noted in last issue’s Voter Protection article, there could be many reasons why these numbers do not match. This new process must start once the polls close, or, if there are more than 750 ballots, the poll manager has the option to wait until the next day to conduct the hand count. If the poll manager decides to count the next day, hand counting will occur at the county’s tabulation center. For Forsyth County, the tabulation center is the county’s election office. How voting in person works When you go to the polls to vote, after checking in and showing valid ID, you are handed a plastic card which you insert into the electronic voting machine. At this point you vote your choice for offices, make your selections on the screen, and the machine prints your paper ballot. You then bring your paper ballot over to the scanners and feed it in. Once the scanner accepts your ballot, your vote is cast and recorded. During the entire process, your hands are the only hands to have touched your ballot. Now, with the new rule passed by the SEB, many hands will touch a single ballot. This alone is concerning and could be ripe for conspiracy theories. Other concerns the Hand Counting Rule raises is the need for counties to hire more poll workers. With 159 counties, there are thousands of polling locations and the need for three poll workers to count at the end of a long day changes the calculation for elections offices around the state. Will they need additional staff? Will they divide staff into shifts? Who covers if someone gets sick and cannot work? Normal administrative questions become serious issues when changes are made only 6 weeks before a general election. The stakes are raised significantly and the added pressure on election workers seems more than just unfair. Countering dubious rule changes But pushback continues and the courts are considering the legality of the SEB’s actions. Almost immediately after passing the Hand Count Rule on September 20, the DNC and DPG filed a lawsuit saying that by enacting new rules after poll workers have been trained and after voting has begun (absentee ballots have begun being mailed to overseas military, government workers) - essentially too close to an election - means that this form of election administration is not “conducive to the fair, legal, and orderly conduct of primaries and elections.“ Their lawsuit also indicates how multiple studies have shown how ballot scanners are more accurate in tabulation than hand counting. The lawsuit asks for the entire Hand Count Rule to be thrown out. On Tuesday, October 8, Fulton County sued the SEB over the State Election Board’s attempt to appoint election monitors to Fulton County’s newly formed election monitor team. Fulton County recently hired an independent election monitoring team lead by a former general counsel to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to watch over their 2024 election process. But, the SEB wants to appoint an election denying, conspiracy theory believing monitor instead. At this time, it is unknown how this case will be settled and how its decision will affect the rest of the state’s election offices. Chaos and doubt in ballot counting aside, one issue that does seem closer to resolution is certifying Georgia’s election results. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney suggested in pretrial hearings last week that he seems willing to allow the SEB’s Reasonable Inquiry Rule to stand but will clarify Georgia’s law requiring county boards of elections to certify election results on November 12, 2024. While it is a relief to know that Georgia will certify election results, the remaining new SEB rules seem designed to disenfranchise Georgia voters and create chaos and new conspiracy theories around this election cycle. Protect your vote Vote in overwhelming numbers to make sure our voices are heard and our votes are counted. Vote early if possible to lighten the load on Election Day and to avoid unwelcome surprises to keep you from the polls on Election Day. Here are some important dates to remember: October 7: Absentee Ballots begin being mailed out to county residents October 15: Early Voting begins October 19 & 20: Early Voting Weekend for both Saturday and Sunday October 25: Last day to request an Absentee Ballot October 26: Saturday Early Voting November 1: Last day of Early Voting November 5: ELECTION DAY November 12: County Certification Day Check your voter registration often! If you don’t know where you can vote early or where your polling location is (remember they may be at different spots), this link will also provide that same information. These non-democratic groups will continue to push new and inventive ways to disrupt our democratic process of voting. It is up to us to not become disenfranchised, to instead stay engaged.
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When Georgia legislators, Forsyth’s Greg Dolezal chief among them, sought to institute a ban on abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy, doctors and women’s health advocates warned them that a ban would keep women from getting all kinds of needed healthcare, not limited to abortion. Now it has become apparent, in new reporting this week on the deaths of two young mothers, that those fears were well-founded.
Amber Thurman waited in a hospital for over 20 hours as she became septic, because doctors would not perform a routine D&C to remove unexpelled fetal tissue left from a legal medication abortion. The medical team feared running afoul of Georgia’s abortion ban, which would sentence a doctor to up to a decade in prison. By the time doctors judged Thurman’s life to be sufficiently endangered by her infection, she could not be saved, and died leaving a six year-old child. The official state Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) ruled that she should not have died of her treatable illness. Fear of Dealing with GA’s Compromised Medical System Candi Miller was a mother of three with a complicated and fragile medical history of lupus and diabetes, and was afraid that her unplanned pregnancy would endanger her life. She was also afraid to seek medical care in Georgia, and instead opted for a medication abortion, which left her needing a follow-up D&C. She died of septic shock at home, a death that was ruled “preventable” by the Georgia MMRC. In her appearance to discuss women’s healthcare in Atlanta on September 20, Vice President Harris said that deaths resulting from Georgia’s abortion ban were “not only preventable, but predictable,” because the law has created dangerous confusion for doctors about when they’re allowed to provide life-saving care. And that confusion costs precious time. Delay can be fatal, as it was for Thurman, Miller, and surely others. To those who defend Georgia’s ban, insisting that it allows for exceptions to save a woman’s life, be aware that in states with exceptions, the exceptions are rarely granted. These exceptions serve only to give a gloss of reasonableness to harsh and unreasonable restrictions. Further, it is no accident that both Candi Miller and Amber Thurman were women of color. Georgia has the worst racial maternal mortality ratio of any state in the country: Black women are 3.3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than White women in the state, and Black babies are twice as likely to die. The Choice in November is Clear and Drastic The positions of the two Presidential candidates are clear: Harris would codify the protections of Roe v. Wade. Trump has often said that overturning Roe is the thing he’s most proud of, and that abortion rights need to be decided by states. But a National Abortion Ban remains a possibility under a Trump presidency; he refuses to say whether he would veto one or not, twisting in the wind depending on his audience, often leaving JD Vance to reassure his extremist base that he is still with them. Project 2025 would enshrine a national ban, as well as increased surveillance for pregnancies and miscarriages. Also in Project 2025: A plan to end medication abortion, currently accounting for 60% of abortions, by enforcing the Comstock Act, a nineteenth-century anti-obscenity law, which they construe to forbid the mailing of abortion medication. It’s not only abortion that is under attack by Republicans, but your very right to choose how and when to become a parent. On birth control, Trump has indicated he would be open to laws banning or restricting contraception. What used to be a far fringe position--that contraception should be restricted or banned--is increasingly finding its way into mainstream Republican rhetoric, and we have previously examined the logic and tactics by which this could be accomplished. Georgia women already struggle with access to contraception, with nearly a third of women reporting they have faced barriers to getting birth control. And 60% of pregnancies in Georgia are unplanned. For those seeking to add to their families using advanced reproductive technologies, just last week, Republican Senators again blocked a bill that would have guaranteed access to IVF. This is all of a piece with the extreme conservative goal of enshrining “fetal personhood” as a life-begins-at-conception ideology. In Georgia, in 2021, the most recent year for which we have data, 2% of all births resulted from IVF, for 2,321 live births, resulting from 5,167 transferred embryos. State Senator Elena Parent proposed two bills protecting the right to contraception and the right to IVF in the most recent legislative session, but they did not advance. Clearly, in Georgia, pregnant women, infants, and women of childbearing age are dangerously vulnerable to bad healthcare policy and punitive Republican restrictions on reproductive health. What can you do? Know the facts. Inform yourself on what policies lead to better health outcomes for women and children and vote accordingly. Our local candidates for state legislature fully support the right of everyone to make choices, guided by their doctors, to determine their own reproductive futures. 
Top Row: Ashwin Ramaswami (SD 48), Hamza Nazir (SD 27), Elaine Padgett (HD 25), Jennifer Ambler (HD 100)
Bottom Row: Randye Dugan (HD 24), Kayla Hollifield (HD 11), Lakiea Bailey (HD 26), Michael Henson (HD 28) In the aftermath of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, Georgians have been left with a patchwork of confusing and contradictory laws and bills that leave even basic reproductive healthcare in chaos. For Republicans not quite satisfied with overturning Roe v Wade, there is now Project 2025–which would go even further to police and criminalize all aspects of women’s reproductive care–from conception, to abortion care and pregnancy loss. We are faced with a dystopia that not even Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale depicts. First, we must educate voters on the fact that “abortion” is an umbrella term and includes procedures that are used to save a woman's life and maintain her future ability to have children. Since most women do not know they are even pregnant at six weeks, Gov Kemp’s six-week abortion ban has made all women's lives unsafe. We need to trust women to know what is right for themselves in all aspects of their healthcare. These decisions are medical and personal between a woman, her loved ones, and her doctor. Second, we must know the dangers of Republicans’ Project 2025. Women will lose access to birth control, IVF, and basic bodily autonomy. Finally, we must elect more women and men who support and trust women with their own bodies. We need healthcare workers in the legislature. Many legislators--mostly men–do not understand the most basic aspects of human anatomy, and thus electing more women to the legislature will help remedy this knowledge gap. In summary, educate yourself on what have been taboo topics for too long. Spread the word on what reproductive healthcare truly comprises, and how Trump, the GOP, and Project 2025 threaten us all. Vote Democrat all the way up and down the ballot, and let's elect women who have first hand knowledge of their bodies, and men who understand the facts.
It is estimated that over 100 million Americans owe at least $220 billion in medical debt. In 2021, 23% of U.S. adults had one or more unpaid and past due bills from a medical service provider.
Medical Care is Far Too Complicated Medical coverage is complicated, as we are structured for more employer-based plans offered by private insurers. If you work independently, for a small business with less than 50 employees, work part-time, or are in between jobs, getting coverage can be costly. The dance we go through with changes in premiums, coverages, deductibles, total out-of-pocket maximums, in-network, out-of-network, pre-approvals, referral requirements, navigating care and claims is extraordinarily complex and with the ever-nagging thought, when will I get a surprise? The difference in the GOP-Trump-Project 2025 plan and the current and proposed changes by the Biden-Harris team is stark and a lot is at risk in this election. Key Takeaways
The GOP Wants to Eliminate the Affordable Care Act For those who work independently, work for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, work part-time or are in between jobs, the Affordable Care Act is the most utilized way to gain access to healthcare and take the bite out of healthcare costs. In 2024, this represented 45 million Americans, 1.3 million of them from Georgia. The Affordable Care Act has 3 primary components:
Consumer Protection Provisions that Apply to Us All No Discrimination Based on Pre-existing Conditions: Insurers cannot deny coverage or charge higher premiums based on pre-existing health conditions. Essential Health Benefits: The ACA requires that all health insurance plans sold on the Health Insurance Marketplace cover a set of ten essential health benefits, including emergency services, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, prescription drugs, and preventive services including contraceptive coverage. Limit on Out-of-Pocket Costs: The ACA places limits on out-of-pocket maximums for health coverage, which protects consumers from high medical costs. Preventive Services Coverage: Insurance plans are required to cover certain preventive services without charging a copayment or coinsurance, such as vaccinations and screenings. Ban on Lifetime and Annual Limits: Insurers cannot impose lifetime or annual limits on most benefits, ensuring that individuals do not lose coverage when they reach a certain amount of benefits. Clear and Transparent Information: The law mandates that insurers provide clear and concise information about health plans, including coverage details and costs, to help consumers make informed choices. Young Adult Coverage: Young adults can stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until they turn 26, providing extended coverage during early adulthood. No Gender Rating: Insurers cannot charge higher premiums based on gender, helping to reduce cost disparities. Grievance and Appeals Process: The ACA requires that health plans have a process for consumers to appeal coverage decisions, allowing individuals to challenge claims that are denied. Consumer Assistance Programs: The law provides for support programs to assist consumers in understanding their coverage, assisting with enrollment, and addressing issues with their insurers. Additional Resources: To see an updated comparison of health policy between Trump and VP Harris by KFF, click here. To see the impact of Medicaid and Medicaid expansion in Georgia, check out our May 30th edition of The Kicker.
Kitchen Table Did You Know
Voter Rights Did You Know
At worst, many consider it to be a weaponized, politicized version of a normally staid, administrative election body. And as of the publication of this issue, the SEB isn’t finished yet.
The SEB passed three rules in August with a 3-2 vote that threaten to delay or even deny election certifications, bog down election officials, and intimidate voters. And, these rules passed even after the requisite public comment period showed most Georgians are overwhelmingly against them. These rules are: Reasonable Inquiry, Examination Rule, and Drop Box Surveillance. The Reasonable Inquiry Rule is likely what you’ve heard about most in the news. This rule gives local elections board members the power to conduct “reasonable inquiry” into elections before certifying; however, the rule does not define “reasonable inquiry,” thus injecting confusion and varying standards into Georgia’s elections. It is important to note that Georgia law does not give local elections boards the power to challenge election results; it does require local election boards to certify election results 6 days after election day. Their role is not to verify the accuracy of an election but to confirm that the local officials completed tabulation and verification processes as the law indicates. If local elections boards do not certify, they are at risk of criminal indictment. The Examination Rule requires our county Board of Registration and Elections (BRE) to meet on Friday at 3pm following the election to determine whether to count provisional ballots or require additional verification to count those provisional ballots. Provisional ballots are used for situations where a piece of information about the voter's registration is still being verified, giving a voter several extra days to provide it and thus, have their votes count. This new rule would essentially nullify these votes from being counted. The new rule also requires investigation into any discrepancy between total ballots cast versus total persons voted. One might argue these sound like reasonable rules, right? No. These rules enable any BRE member with an intention to delay and cast doubt to access documents they normally wouldn’t have needed to access. Remember, their role is to verify that local officials completed the tabulation. Any investigation into any accusations of fraud occurs only after certification. Worth understanding is that there could be several reasons why the number of total ballots may not equal the total number of persons voting. Reasons include that some voters check in to vote but decide to leave before finalizing casting their vote, and the election system being slow to update the counting and recording of corrected provisional ballots. Drop Box Surveillance is the third rule recently enacted by the SEB. This rule requires every person who drops off an absentee ballot to show their ID and to sign an affidavit swearing they meet the requirements to drop off the ballot. While seemingly benign, this rule is primed to cause confusion as 159 counties across Georgia must quickly create or find the right form and train personnel on administering this new rule. What happens to your absentee ballot if an election worker makes an administrative error at this point of contact - will your vote no longer count when you’ve done everything correctly? This action illustrates again how the SEB--by creating new rules so close to the election– puts Georgia’s elections and your vote at risk. Many organizations and individuals across Georgia have already filed lawsuits (our own Forsyth BRE member, Anita Tucker is a signatory) and amicus briefs to stop the rules from being enacted. Concerns range from county boards not certifying their election results to new rules surrounding absentee ballot drop off, Even some Republican members of the Georgia Legislature have expressed concern. And the pushback continues as the DNC lawsuit has been scheduled for a hearing on October 1. As noted above, Georgia law requires election board members to certify the election and the law lays out consequences should they not do so. Under Georgia law if a board member refuses to certify, emergency court orders could be filed to compel officials to follow the law. If they do not, the court then has the right to replace the local official or press criminal charges. It is also important to note the law protects citizens’ right to vote and for our vote to count. Any citizen (or group of citizens) could file suit against the election board member for violating that right. There are several more rules very recently passed and many moving parts as we publish this issue. And as with the above, they are aimed at causing delay, chaos, and denying millions of Georgians their votes. We urge you to check your voter registration regularly and make a plan to vote in person during Advance Voting. Stay tuned for more updates in our next issue of The Kicker! |
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