Sam Garrison opposes Governor’s pitch to subsidize fiscally-constrained counties if property tax axed

Could a rural versus urban divide complicate the upcoming Special Session to set up a November ballot initiative to let voters decide to eliminate homestead property taxes?

House Speaker-designate Sam Garrison is on record as being against what could be part of a proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis to pay the way for the state’s poorest counties in the event voters decide to eliminate property taxes in November.

Garrison also suggested that even Republicans who recognize the burden of millage may disagree on how to alleviate it.

On Thursday, he told members of the Jacksonville Bar Association that he is “very concerned that whatever we do be done uniformly.”

“I don’t want to get in the business, especially on a constitutional referendum, of having different rules for different counties,” he added.

Garrison noted that Clay County, the northern part of which is a functional suburb of Jacksonville, is in a “donut hole” between urban areas like Duval and 32 of Florida’s 67 counties designated as fiscally constrained.

Typically lower in population and property value, they include Baker, Bradford, Calhoun, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Okeechobee, Putnam, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla and Washington counties.

DeSantis has called the amount of money needed to make up for uncollected property tax revenue “budget dust.”

During the Legislative Session that concluded this month, the House did pass HJR 203, a proposed constitutional amendment by Rep. Monique Miller to phase out all non-school, non-emergency homestead taxes over 10 years. However, it was not taken up by the Senate.

DeSantis opposed the House process, saying its proposals were confusing and insufficient.

The House bill encountered significant opposition. Studies by the Florida League of Cities found that the change would slash municipal property tax revenues, cripple core services, weaken bond ratings, and widen disparities in local service levels across Florida.

Another study found that 116 municipalities — including relatively big cities like Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines and Hollywood — would not generate enough general revenue to cover their 2024 public safety expenditures.

DeSantis has delayed unveiling his language, saying it’s a matter of getting it right and being coy about specifics, maintaining that a Special Session is necessary and that he’s been working with partners in the Senate to get it done.

One highly-placed Republican in the House sees it differently, though, arguing the stall is because the Governor believes the proposal would get stale if voters had too much time to consider it.

Even as a concept, eliminating homestead property taxes wouldn’t pass at this point.

Recent polling from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) found that among likely Midterm voters in the Sunshine State, 56% are for gradually eliminating taxes on homesteaded property over 10 years, not counting taxes for schools and emergency services. That falls below the 60% threshold necessary to approve an amendment.

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Jesse Scheckner contributed reporting.