ATLANTA — Georgia voters will have three proposed constitutional amendments to consider on their ballots during the November midterm elections, addressing property tax breaks, probate judge elections and emergency response systems.
The first proposal would increase the maximum tax break available to farmers, forest owners and other large landowners whose properties are designated for conservation.
Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie says the amendment could encourage landowners to preserve more property.
“It benefits people who are large land holders. You might argue that it could possibly incentivise some people setting aside large lots of lands for conservation purposes,” Gillespie said.
However, Gillespie also raised concerns about who would benefit from the additional tax breaks.
“The con of it is that it’s giving tax breaks to people who probably can afford to have thousands of acres of land,” Gillespie said.
The second proposed amendment would make elections for probate judges nonpartisan, meaning candidates’ political party affiliations would no longer appear on ballots.
Probate judges handle matters including wills and marriage licenses.
“The basic job of a probate judge is to help people who are reading wills, doesn’t matter if the judge is a Democrat or Republican,” Gillespie said.
The third proposal would allow state lawmakers to establish dedicated funding for upgrades to aging 911 infrastructure across Georgia.
Gillespie says some emergency response systems have not kept up with changes in how people communicate.
“There are parts of the state where the 911 system really doesn’t accommodate the fact that most people are using cellphones,” Gillespie said.
Georgia voters will decide whether to approve the three proposals in the November 3 election.
WSB Radio’s Ashley Simmons & Austin Eller contributed to this story.
