A House of Representatives proposal that would ask Florida voters to phase out property taxes on non-school homes was advanced Thursday as lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis tried to reach an agreement on a November ballot measure.
The Republican-controlled House State Affairs Committee voted along party lines to support a proposed constitutional amendment (HJR 203) that would increase the homestead exemption by $100,000 annually for the next ten years, with a full exemption for non-school taxes in 2037.
The proposal, which would require approval from 60 percent of voters, also would seek to prevent cuts to local funding for law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders.
While cities and counties have raised concerns about potentially reduced funding for services, Rep. Monique Miller, R-Palm Bay, said local officials should consider sharing services and “living within their means.”
“By lowering taxes over the years, we give local governments time to adjust to new revenue levels and enable them to find responsible solutions,” said Miller, the bill’s sponsor.
But cities and counties warned the proposal would lead to billions of dollars a year in lost property tax revenue.
“This is really not a tax break,” Charles Chapman, legislative counsel for the Florida League of Cities, told the committee. “It will ultimately be a tax shift, where the costs will not go away. The burden will shift to businesses, the tenants, because fees, assessments and higher rates for non-residential properties could replace the residential tax credit.”
Democrats also raised concerns about the loss of local services and cost shifting.
“Governance requires us to think about consequences, not just concepts,” said Rep. RaShon Young, D-Orlando.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has made it a priority to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot to reduce property taxes. The House of Representatives released eight proposals in October, but Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, said this week he expects one proposal to come up for a vote.
“I fully expect that there will be something on the ballot that our voters will ultimately be able to vote on,” Perez told reporters. “I do expect that it will be one proposal that they can vote on.”
Perez added that it is “somewhat up in the air” as to what final proposal will emerge.
“We have no position from our friends across the room (in the Senate) or from the executive branch on the details they are proposing for our voters to ultimately vote on,” he said. “We took the initiative.”
A proposal (HJR 209) ready to go to the full House would expand the homestead exemption for residents who have property insurance.
In December, the State Affairs Committee also supported measures to eliminate property taxes on non-school housing (HJR 201), eliminate the tax on non-school housing for homeowners age 65 and older (HJR 205), and allow people to transfer the full value of accrued Save Our Homes benefits to new housing (HJR 211). Miller’s proposal and these three measures would require approval from the Ways & Means Committee before reaching the House floor.
Save Our Homes applies a 3 percent limit on the annual increase in the taxable value of private real estate.
Currently, homeowners can qualify for exemptions from local government and school district taxes on the first $25,000 of their property’s assessed value and from local government taxes on values between $50,000 and $75,000.
DeSantis suggested Wednesday that a special legislative session might be needed to resolve the property tax issue, because “I don’t know if anything will be passed during the regular session.”
“I think you have until August 1 to get that done,” DeSantis said during an appearance at a Florida Chamber of Commerce fly-in event in Tallahassee. “I think it will be done before then, but we’re working on that with people in both chambers (the House and Senate).”
In his proposed budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, DeSantis set aside $300 million to support rural “fiscally strapped” counties that would be affected by efforts to reduce or eliminate property taxes.
Jeff Scala, deputy director of the Florida Association of Counties, told the State Affairs Committee that under Miller’s proposal, 40 counties would still face a $2.9 billion impact in the first year if the measure is approved by voters.
“We have to figure out who we want to be as a state,” Scala said. “Do we want to be a state that attracts residents because of our world-class infrastructure, because of the amenities we provide in our communities. The math doesn’t work. This is, by definition, a budget crisis.”
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