By Staff ReportMany Florida homeowners would see their property taxes eliminated or sharply reduced under a proposal unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis is calling on lawmakers to convene Monday for a special session to consider the proposal, which would go before voters in November if approved by the Legislature. The constitutional amendment would require support from at least 60 percent of voters to pass.
Under the plan, the homestead exemption would immediately increase from $50,000 to $250,000. The Legislature would later consider additional increases that could eventually eliminate taxes entirely on homesteaded properties.
“I want to get something done. I want to make sure people can go and vote for something, and then see something that’s going to be very, very meaningful in their lives,” DeSantis said during an appearance at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa Airport Westshore.
Lawmakers already completed one special session this year to approve new congressional districts and are currently in another special session to finalize a state budget after failing to complete it during the regular legislative session.
The governor’s formal proclamation and detailed legislative language had not been released Wednesday afternoon.
Current law allows homeowners to receive homestead exemptions on the first $25,000 of assessed property value and on the portion between $50,000 and $75,000 for non-school taxes.
Florida also offers the “Save Our Homes” program, which caps annual increases in taxable value for homesteaded properties at 3 percent.
DeSantis estimated the proposal would initially eliminate property taxes for roughly 60 percent of homesteaded homeowners. He said that if the exemption eventually rises to $500,000, about 92 percent of homesteaded properties would become tax-free.
Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, praised the proposal in a memo to senators, saying it would provide “meaningful relief for Florida families” while protecting funding for public safety, schools and water infrastructure.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, responded more cautiously, suggesting legislative leaders had not reviewed the plan before DeSantis announced it.
“The Florida House has already passed a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate homestead property taxes,” Perez said in a statement. “We are pleased the Governor has finally gotten around to share an actual proposal. We look forward to reviewing it once we have received the language.”
Property tax cuts have become one of several ongoing disagreements between Perez and DeSantis over the past year.
Perez initially pushed for a reduction in the state sales tax before the House shifted toward property tax proposals last fall in response to DeSantis’ calls for tax relief.
One House proposal would have gradually phased out non-school homestead taxes by increasing exemptions by $100,000 annually. State economists estimated that plan would cost local governments $4.4 billion in the first year, eventually rising to $13.3 billion annually.
The House approved a proposal in February to eliminate most non-school homestead taxes, but the measure failed to gain support in the Senate because of concerns about smaller counties losing major portions of their tax base.
Florida Association of Counties Deputy Executive Director Cragin Mosteller said county officials are open to discussions during the special session but warned the proposal must be “grounded in real budget math and the long-term needs of Florida’s communities.”
“Floridians want affordability, but eliminating property taxes does not eliminate the cost of infrastructure, emergency response, and other essential local services,” Mosteller said in an email. “Those costs do not disappear — they shift somewhere else, often onto businesses, renters, and working families.”
Under DeSantis’ proposal, remaining property tax revenue could only be used for schools, law enforcement, fire protection and other core services. The proposal would also create a trust fund to help rural counties with limited tax bases.
DeSantis and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia have spent much of the past year criticizing local government spending, arguing it has nearly doubled over the past seven years.
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, criticized the proposal Tuesday, calling it “a boneheaded move.”
“Any cut, even though it might seem small in the grand scheme of things, could be devastating. There is no plan to make our local governments whole on the back end,” Driskell said during a conference call with reporters. “Property taxes cover the costs of law enforcement and first responders. They make sure that you can visit the library without having to pay a fee. Once you start explaining these things, you start to understand that property taxes are not the real enemy here.”
AMBER PATINO 
Ali Moreland