Lawmakers needed fiscal impact study before homestead vote

Gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, a former member of the Florida House, says legislators should have had more information on the homestead exemption increase question before they advanced it to the November ballot.

“They moved it very, very quickly. I think that they needed to have a fiscal impact study before it left Tallahassee, but that’s not how it works,” Donalds said on “This Week in South Florida.”

The question is salient in part because state economists from the Office of Economic and Demographic Research recently probed the issue.

June 13’s Revenue Estimating Conference revealed that if Florida voters opt to increase homestead exemptions to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with further increases contemplated should the constitutional amendment HJR 1-F pass, a total of $11.86 billion would eventually be extracted from local budgets per year, money that would likely come from services provided to residents.

Donalds, who noted that the question is now “in the hands of the voters,” also speculated that local governments could have avoided potential mandatory revenue cuts had they rolled back millage rates as property values increased in recent years.

Previously, Donalds said local governments likely could claw back revenue lost from a homestead exemption hike given loopholes in the proposed constitutional amendment, which allow for non-ad valorem assessments to be created or increased without limitation.

Special assessments fund a wide variety of projects, including street lighting, fire and rescue, stormwater and drainage, private security in some areas, landscaping, road and canal maintenance, beach renourishment and community development.

If approved by at least 60% of voters in November, the constitutional amendment would lift homestead exemptions for those who own primary residences in the state by the end of this year to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and tie further increases in the exemption to the consumer price index.

School taxes would not be subject to the increased exemption limit, and would stay at $25,000.

Newer residents would qualify for a $50,000 exemption to start. After five years, they would derive full benefit from the tax break.

The amendment would cap assessment increases for other property at 5% a year.