Politics
House panel approves resolution to slow property tax increases
While the House Ways and Means Committee signed off on the measure, dozens of local leaders assailed the proposal.
A proposed joint resolution designed to slow local property tax increases in Florida was approved by the House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday.
But the measure (HJR 213) drew sharp backlash from local government officials who complained the state was trying to strip away local control over tax rates.
The legislation sponsored by Panama City Republican Rep. Griff Griffitts would slow the growth in the assessed value of non-school homestead property taxes to 3% over three years for homestead property (currently 3% per year) and 15% over three years for non-homestead property (currently 10% per year) if approved by state voters.
“What we’re trying to stop is the exponential growth” in local municipal budgets, Griffitts said before the committee. “We’re trying to slow that growth. This isn’t about a tax cut … This will just slow the (tax) rate down.”
If approved by both chambers, the issue would go before to voters and clear 60% approval to make it into the Florida Constitution.
But the hearing quickly led to a steady stream of local government leaders from around the state who said the measure is misguided.
DeLand Mayor Chris Cloudman said his city has stayed on top of budget issues.
“We have diligently reduced our millage rate for each year … Costs have risen but we have held the line,” Cloudman said. “To do a one-size-fits-all for the entire state I don’t think is fair for those who’ve been doing it right.”
His sentiments were reflected by more than a dozen local leaders who spoke during the hearing which lasted for more than an hour in Tallahassee.
There was an amendment to the measure added by Coconut Creek Democrat Rep. Christine Hunschofsky that exempts homeowners from being assessed higher tax rates when their property value decreases or remains the same in that three-year-period.
The amended measure was approved by the committee in a 10-4 vote. Ways and Means was the resolution’s final stop and it is now heading to the full House. HJR 213 is one of a half-dozen or so joint resolutions addressing property taxes this year.
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Florida Politics reporter Jesse Scheckner contributed to this report.