Tax relief, mega-site investment among legislative highlights for Dublin-Laurens County

Pocketbook issues understandably were the major focus of the state Legislature this past session, as well as at last week’s Legislative Update 2026 event.

“We know the citizens of Georgia are struggling with inflation and high costs. We wanted to do everything we could to restore the American dream for the people of Georgia,” state Sen. Larry Walker told the crowd at Dublin-Laurens Chamber of Commerce.

Walker and state Rep. Matt Hatchett shared some of the highlights of the most recent General Assembly, headlined by $2 billion in state income tax cuts and another $850 million in tax relief for Georgia homeowners.

The state’s income tax rate was lowered from 5.19 percent to 4.99, with a path for it to gradually be lowered to 3.99 provided certain revenue parameters can be met. Also, Georgia’s standard tax deduction was raised from $24,000 to $30,000.

“This will essentially eliminate the state income tax for a lot of families,” Walker said.

The property tax relief also included a cap on property assessment increases at 3 percent per year. To offset concerns from school boards and local governments, the measure allows for a new one-cent sales tax to offset lost revenue and perhaps even lower millage rates.

“Everywhere I go people are really upset about property taxes,” Walker said. “We’ve seen housing prices skyrocket. It’s really kinda out of control.” 

Hatchett also noted that local legislation was passed last year for the Dublin City Schools, and approved by city voters last fall – that increases the homestead property tax exemption for senior citizens, eliminating it altogether for those 80 and older. Hatchett said the governor signed legislation last week that will allow Laurens County voters to consider a referendum to eliminate property taxes for homeowners 80 or older.

Another measure, House Bill 1164, seeks to improve financial transparency and reporting in K-12 schools. It requires school districts in financial stress have their audits performed by the state Department of Audits & Accounts. A number of school systems, including Dublin City and Twiggs County, fell years behind with their audits while using private firms. 

“Prior to this bill school boards had been able to have their audits outsourced and not done by the state,” explained Hatchett. “They can still do that, but they have to jump through a couple more hoops and have to be certified to be in a certain stability before they can do that.”

The Dublin City Schools’ dire financial crisis inspired another new law, Senate Bill 472, that gives the state more safeguards against fiscal mismanagement by school boards.

The bill “raises the oversight and also changes the metrics for whether a school board should be accredited if they’re not managing their finances properly,” said Walker.

“We realized after what we’ve seen with the Dublin City Schools situation here that we needed more guardrails – an earlier warning system – for schools that are getting into financial trouble. Nobody was raising red flags with us or anybody in the Legislature about the financial situation with the Dublin City Schools.”

Hatchett, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, noted lawmakers also allocated $70.4 million for early childhood literacy programs and literacy coaches for elementary schools and $409 million in mental health spending that includes a new state hospital.

“This will be first mental health hospital built in Georgia since the Sixties,” he said.

Walker said legislation also was passed to help the forestry industry to recover from the devastation left by Hurricane Helene. The storm led to the closing of three lumber mills in Georgia. The measure aims to stimulate investment and job creation through transferable state tax credits for forestry manufacturers.

“We’re the No. 1 forestry state in the country,” said Walker. “If you don’t have mills, then people are not going to be incentivized to grow trees.”

Dublin Mayor Joshua Kight and Laurens County Administrator Bryan Rogers joined the legislators on the event’s panel, and shared some of the things happening locally.

Rogers said the new mental health hospital and other recent efforts by the state to boost spending on mental healthcare is badly needed. The largest single expense at the county jail is medical costs for inmates, with about 90 percent of that mental health- or addiction-related, he said.

One of the county’s top challenges is keeping its tax rate low – the county commission’s is one of the state’s lowest – while continuing to provide the quality-of-life services that residents expect, said Rogers. “Finding a way to pay for those services is a challenge. We don’t want to put that on the backs of the taxpayers.”

Kight noted Laurens County has continued to grow, and not just because of its prime location at the Oconee River and Interstate 16.

“We have had population growth. All the counties around us are losing population. … You’ve got to have good leadership and vision, which this community has had for a long time.”

The mayor said a major issue in the city is affordable housing. The Dublin Housing Authority is working toward replacing old public housing with residential units, with 150 new ones slated for Vinson Village. City officials expect to see between 300 to 400 new single-family units added over the next year.

“We’re doing a lot of things right,” said Kight. “We should see growth in Dublin. It’s got to be good growth though.”

He also touted the city’s park revitalization efforts, with Springdale Park next up for a $9 million redo funded mainly through state grants. “It’s going to be amazing.”