‘Allow the people of Florida the ability to choose,’ House Speaker Perez stated.
Florida lawmakers debate property tax
A House panel began a review of property taxes as it examines potential changes that could have a significant impact on local governments.
Fox – 35 Orlando
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized the state House’s property tax cut proposals as a “political game.”
- House Speaker Daniel Perez defended the multiple proposals, stating voters should have the ability to choose.
- The proposed constitutional amendments would require legislative approval to be placed on the 2026 ballot, but not the governor’s signature.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has seen the Florida House’s property tax cut proposals and he’s not a fan.
In a late-night social media post on Oct. 22, DeSantis panned the eight bills released by the House earlier this month.
“Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes,” DeSantis posted on X. “It’s a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people.”
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, detailed the bills in a memo to members on Oct. 16, saying lawmakers should have “faith” in voters to decide which ballot measures to approve.
“It is our position that the House does not need to limit itself in presenting one single plan, but instead allow the people of Florida the ability to choose some, all, or none of the proposals on the 2026 ballot,” Perez wrote.
The dispute is an indication the clash between DeSantis and Perez earlier this year over tax cuts, which led to an extended regular session, will linger into next year’s legislative session.
The next 60-day session is scheduled to begin Jan. 13. The proposals from the House offer a potpourri of property tax cuts, but they all fall short of DeSantis’ stated goal of eliminating property taxes completely for homesteaded properties.
All of the proposals have an exemption for the portion of property taxes that fund K-12 schools.
DeSantis aggressively pushing priorities for last legislative session
While DeSantis is entering his last year of his second term, he’s attempting to resist lame duck status by pushing aggressively on property tax cuts and other ambitious measures.
They include removing vaccine mandates for children, regulating artificial intelligence and asking lawmakers to conduct an unprecedented mid-decade redraw of congressional districts.
The form of the property tax dispute, however, gives DeSantis less sway over the Legislature than on other issues.
Because property taxes are part of the state constitution, the reduction proposals come as constitutional amendments that must be placed on the November 2026 ballot. They have to get at least 60% approval from both chambers of the Legislature, but they do not require DeSantis to sign them into law.
Here are the House bills:
- HB 215 – Any vote to increase a property tax rate would require a two-thirds vote.
- HB 201 – All non-school property taxes for those with homestead exemptions would be eliminated starting Jan. 1, 2027.
- HB 203 – Non-school property taxes for homestead properties would be phased out over 10 years. The exemption would increase $100,000 in assessed property value each year.
- HB 205 – Non-school property taxes for residents over 65 with a homestead exemption would be eliminated.
- HB 207 – The current homestead exemption for non-school taxes would be increased to 25% of the assessed value of the home.
- HB 209 – Those with a homestead exemption who also have property insurance will see their exemption increased by $100,000.
- HB 211 – The $500,000 cap on transferring the homestead exemption from one property to another would be eliminated.
- HB 213 – The current 3% cap on the annual growth in assessed value for homestead properties and 10% cap on non-homestead properties would be lowered to 3% over three years for homestead properties and 15% over three years for non-homestead properties.
Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.
