Four proposed constitutional amendments aimed at reducing property taxes for homeowners continued moving forward Tuesday in the Florida House, despite concerns about how they could hit funding for local services.
The Republican-controlled State Affairs Committee voted along party lines to approve the proposals, including a straight elimination of non-school homestead property taxes (HJR 201), which would be projected to cut local government revenue by $14.1 billion in the first year of implementation.
“If we took $14 billion away from local governments, we would still be $3 billion above spending levels from 2020,” said Rep. Monique Miller, a Palm City Republican who is a sponsor of the proposal. “We have a huge spending problem.”
The four measures were among seven proposed constitutional amendments and a separate property-tax bill that House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, released in October. The package came as Gov. Ron DeSantis has made a priority of putting property-tax cuts on the 2026 ballot — though he has disagreed with the House’s approach.
State Affairs Committee Chairman Will Robinson, R-Bradenton, said after Tuesday’s meeting the other three proposed constitutional amendments and the separate bill could still be “brought up at some point.” He did not explain why the committee didn’t take up the other measures.
On Monday, House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, suggested the House was whittling down its proposals as talks continue with the Senate, which has not released tax proposals..
“I think throwing eight proposals out there, in a way, was a kind of razzle dazzle and a bit of, let’s be honest, a bit of politics, because the governor is the one who initiated this conversation on property taxes,” Driskell said during a conference call with reporters.
DeSantis has called for a single proposal to go on the November 2026 ballot and has described the series of House proposals as an attempt to “create confusion.”
But Rep. Toby Overdorf, a Palm City Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on Property Taxes, said that “it’s been 300 days since the governor actually said that he wanted to deal with property taxes. We’re still waiting on his proposal.”
The measures advanced Tuesday would need approval from the House Ways & Means Committee before they could go to the full House during the legislative session that will start Jan. 13.
Local governments continue to raise concerns about potentially reduced funding for schools, infrastructure, recreation programs, water management and emergency services, such as fire-rescue services.
“With less revenue, we face daunting choices,” South Pasadena Vice Mayor Thomas Reid told the committee. “We will need to cut or scale back vital services such as road infrastructure, park upkeep, emergency services and, yes, very likely, law enforcement. That doesn’t just mean fewer amenities, it means fewer protections, less maintenance, and overall, a reduced quality of life for our residents.”
Critics also contend that costs will be shifted to owners of rental properties and businesses.
An economic analysis posted Monday by a team from Realtor.com projected that elimination of homesteaded property taxes would raise property values in Florida by 7 percent to 9 percent, a windfall for existing property owners that could also hinder entry into the market for first-time buyers.
In addition to the straight elimination of non-school homestead property taxes, measures advanced Tuesday would eliminate non-school homestead taxes for homeowners 65 years and older (HJR 205); create an additional $100,000 homestead exemption on non-school taxes for insured properties (HJR 209); and allow people to transfer the full value of accumulated “Save Our Homes” benefits to new homes (HJR 211).
Save Our Homes places a 3 percent cap on annual increases in taxable values of homesteaded property.
Rep. Angie Nixon, R-Jacksonville, questioned the proposal to provide a tax break to homeowners with property insurance.
“This bill seems to somewhat incentivize these insurance companies,” Nixon said. “You’re basically looking out for them when you should be looking out for working class families.”
If passed during the upcoming legislative session, the proposals would need approval from at least 60 percent of voters next year.
The proposals that were not taken up Tuesday would phase out non-school homestead taxes over 10 years (HJR 203); increase the homestead exemption on non-school taxes (HJR 207); limit the allowed Save Our Homes increase in taxable values to 3 percent over three years, instead of 3 percent each year (HJR 213); and require two-thirds votes by local governments to increase tax rates (HB 215).
