Political committee ramps up to oppose property tax amendment

Pushback is mounting to a proposed constitutional amendment that would increase homestead exemptions to $250,000.

The Stop Unfair Tax Shifts political committee, which is chaired by former Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge, urges Floridians to reject Amendment 3 this November.

“As a former county commissioner, I know first-hand the bills for public safety, roads and bridges, stormwater protection and even hurricane response don’t go away. The consequences of Amendment 3 will shift those bills, causing higher rent, more expensive everyday purchases, costlier first homes, and many small businesses that can’t absorb an increase in commercial property taxes,” Desloge said.

The committee argues that Floridians will be voting on a “complex package of tax changes that will have major consequences for the Sunshine State.” Its consequences are said to include “higher rent, more expensive everyday purchases, costlier first homes, and fewer small businesses that can’t absorb an increase in commercial property taxes.”

Desloge is confident that voters will choose to protect the revenue upon which their local governments count.

“As more Floridians recognize that the choices are to either cut the things our communities depend on, or shift the cost to someone else, I believe voters will choose to protect their local communities and defeat Amendment 3,” Desloge added.

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 be exempted from the proposal.

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.

Local governments would be limited in what they can fund under this proposal to public safety, infrastructure, schools, debt service and pensions. County constitutional officers like Elections Supervisors, Clerks of Court, Property Appraisers, and County and City Commissions would also be funded.

But for other spending not covered, local governments would be left with unappetizing options.

They could raise assessments and fees. Or they could rely on Tallahassee to backfill funds via the state budget process.

Help may be needed to maintain the current level of services.

The Office of Economic and Demographic Research estimates that 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.

Commuter counties with lower commercial development and more revenue derived from homestead property taxes would be most adversely affected in terms of proportion, according to some estimates. St. Lucie could be the hardest hit, with a 35% revenue loss. Clay, Baker, Citrus and Hernando counties could all face losses of more than 30%.

Flagler, Volusia, Hernando and Sumter counties all would see at least 2/3 of homes potentially impacted.

Larger urban counties would face the biggest hit in raw dollars, according to the Florida Association of Counties. Miami-Dade would experience a $445 million revenue decrease as soon as Fiscal Year 2028-29. Hillsborough could lose $353 million, Broward roughly $326 million, Duval $277 million, and Orange $253 million by the same point.

In addition to the political movement against the proposal, a suit has been filed against the amendment in Leon County Court, saying the language is misleading.