O.C.G.A. § 48-5-344 (2019)
Conditional approval of digests
(a) If the commissioner determines that in any one or more of the counties that is in a digest review year the taxable values of property are not reasonably uniform and equalized in accordance with the requirements of subsection (a) of Code Section 48-5-343, he shall conditionally approve the digest and notify the county board of tax assessors in writing of his action.
(b) The written notification shall contain:
(1) A list of specific reasons that resulted in the digest being conditionally approved;
(2) A list of the statistical standards used by the commissioner when examining the digest; and
(3) Any other information the commissioner believes would be of assistance to the county board of tax assessors in correcting the deficiencies that resulted in the digest being conditionally approved or in otherwise making the digest reasonably uniform and equalized.
History
Code 1981, § 48-5-344, enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1763, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 728, § 3; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2494, § 5; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1683, § 6.
Annotations
Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 1992, p. 2494, § 10, not codified by the General Assembly, provided, in part: “County tax digests that were conditionally approved or disapproved by the commissioner for tax year 1991 in
accordance with Article 5A of Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated as it existed on January 1, 1992, shall be considered conditionally approved for each succeeding year beginning January 1, 1992, until such time as the first digest review year occurs for the county under the provisions of this Act.” Ga. L. 2000, p. 1683, § 11(c), not codified by the General Assembly, provides
that Sections 2 through 10 of the Act shall be applicable to the 2000 tax digests and any subsequent tax digests. JUDICIAL DECISIONS Editor’s notes. In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under Ga. L. 1966, p. 45, § 1 and former Code 1933, § 91A-1413 are included in the annotations for this Code section. Adjustments in the total digest are presumed not to disturb previously established uniformity and equality as between individual taxpayers since all who pay taxes on the class or classes of property to which the adjustments are applied remain in substantially the same relation to each other after the adjustments as the taxpayers were before the adjustments were made. Griggs v. Greene, 230 Ga. 257, 197 S.E.2d 116, 1973 Ga. LEXIS 880 (1973), overruled in part as stated in Rice v. Fulton County, 358 Ga. App. 1, 852 S.E.2d 860, 2020 Ga. App. LEXIS 681 (2020) (decided under Ga. L. 1966, p. 45, § 1). Commissioner may examine and adjust tax digest by class of property. - It is clear that the commissioner’s duty to examine the digest of a particular county extends no further than an examination of the digest as to particular classes of property as entities, and that the commissioner is authorized to make
percentage adjustments in the digests as to any particular class or classes of property with respect to the whole digest of that class and not with respect to segments of the class. Griggs v. Greene, 230 Ga. 257, 197 S.E.2d 116, 1973 Ga. LEXIS 880 (1973), overruled in part as stated in Rice v. Fulton County, 358 Ga. App. 1, 852 S.E.2d 860, 2020 Ga. App. LEXIS 681 (2020) (decided under Ga. L. 1966, p. 45, § 1). Millage rate based on disapproved tax digest. - No board of education should be required to determine a binding millage rate on a tax digest which is disapproved by order of the commissioner as being assessed at less than 40 percent of the fair market value. Board of Comm’rs v. Allgood, 234 Ga. 9, 214 S.E.2d 522, 1975 Ga. LEXIS 1003 (1975) (decided under Ga. L. 1966, p. 45, § 1). Ground for disapproval under former Code 1933, § 91A-1413 (former O.C.G.A. § 48-5-271). - See In re Board of Twiggs County Comm’rs, 249 Ga. 642, 292 S.E.2d 673, 1982 Ga. LEXIS 873 (1982), overruled in part, Duke v. State, 306 Ga. 171, 829 S.E.2d 348, 2019 Ga. LEXIS 406 (2019) (decided under former Code 1933, § 91A-1413).