The Florida House of Representatives approved a joint resolution on Thursday to put in motion a possible constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would completely end non-school property taxes for homesteaded properties beginning on Jan. 1, 2027.
The final vote was 80-30, with all Republicans supporting the proposal and all Democrats opposing it.
The chances of Floridians actually voting on the amendment are long, however. The Florida Senate has yet to propose any bill during this legislative session addressing property taxes. Joint resolutions can only be placed on the ballot if they are approved by a three-fifths majority in both the House and Senate. They do not need the approval of the governor.
Republican Sen. Ed Hooper, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Wednesday night that his chamber will introduce its own measure, although “it won’t be as generous.”
“We will come out with a proposal,” Hooper added, saying that it could be during this regular session or perhaps in a special session. “Whatever we send to the voters has to be agreed upon, totally, and that may be where the difficulty begins.”
The proposal introduced Thursday by Rep. Monique Miller, R-Palm Bay, was dramatically amended from her initial proposal (HJR 203), which would have gradually increased the homestead exemption for non-school-related property taxes by $100,000 each year for 10 years, beginning on Jan. 1 — if it were to actually get on the ballot this November and receive 60% support.
“After looking at the numbers, it became incredibly clear that we have the ability to do this without putting undue burdens on local government, and I believe that it can be done,” Miller told the chamber.
The state’s Revenue Estimating Conference has estimated that HJR 203 would cost local governments $13.3 billion annually. The House’s staff analysis estimates that approval of the amendment would have a negative cash impact of $4.8 billion and a negative recurring impact of $14.7 billion on local non-school property tax revenues in Fiscal Year 2027-28.
The discussion about the state becoming the first in the nation to outright eliminate property taxes has been led by Gov. Ron DeSantis over the past year. However, he has been AWOL in proposing any of his own ideas on a plan to present to voters. The governor finally weighed in before Thursday’s floor discussion — sort of.
“Regarding a property tax proposal for the 2026 ballot: we’ve been working with members of the Senate who have been great partners,” DeSantis said on X. “Given that it can’t be voted on by the people before November, it’s better to do it right than do it quick!”
After members of the GOP-controlled House introduced a suite of proposals to significantly reduce property taxes last fall, the governor dismissed them all, saying, “There’s not one proposal that would get people excited about. Not one. So they’re total half measures. Which is not what people are asking for. People want to be bold.”
Although he has never been explicit in saying so, it appears that DeSantis and the Senate would rather focus on a property tax proposal in a special legislative session — thus the fact that the Senate hasn’t produced one property tax proposal throughout the entire session, which is scheduled to end in three weeks.
Could the session again go into overtime?
House Speaker Daniel Perez hinted Thursday that the session might extend longer than its scheduled ending date of March 13, however. He addressed the chamber before the property tax proposal debate began, saying the Legislature had “arrived at the turning point of our session; where this road we have been traveling together narrows, and our choices ever more sharply shape our future.
“What happens in the days ahead will decide if we will be here another three weeks or another three months,” he added.
On the floor, Miller defended against criticism that if her proposal would bankrupt local governments, which rely on property taxes to fund law enforcement, parks, infrastructure, and other essential services. Citing reports that local government budgets had ballooned in recent years, she said they would simply need to learn to do “more with less.”
That comment fired up Democrats, such as Rep. Rita Harris of Orlando. She said it was all a “ruse” to not take care of the “real issues that we’re struggling with.”
“We are defunding the police,” Harris said. “We are defunding the fire. We are defunding the garbage. We are defunding the schools. We are defunding the waste management. We are defunding people cutting your trees during storm season. We are defunding the state of Florida.”
Republicans insist that removing property taxes is a way to address the state’s affordability crisis.
“I believe that even our colleagues on the back rows would agree that rent has gotten too high, homeowners and small businesses are in an affordability crisis, and the price of homeownership is nearly out of reach for an entire generation,” said Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview. “The answer is simple: Cut property taxes, then eliminate them and let the tourists and the new movers pay for it.”
But Chamberlin acknowledged that the House’s passage of the proposal means nothing right now.
“Now is the time for the colleagues in the Senate to step up to the plate, and while I appreciate the governor’s rhetoric on the issue, we need his support as well,” he said.
Democrats countered that, if approved, the measure would in effect “defund” the police (as well as fire and first responders).
“Just doing the numbers, there are over 100 cities that after you do this will not even have enough money to maintain the local level of enforcement,” said Broward County Democratic Rep. Robin Bartleman.
That prompted a fiery response from Jacksonville Republican Rep. Dean Black, who said Democrats were engaging in “shrill debate” because the resolution does protect funding for the police.
“There’s really only one party that has historically supported defunding the police,” he said, adding that the Democrats’ rhetoric “emanate from a guilty conscience.”
Two other joint resolutions on property taxes the have cleared their committee assignments and are ready for floor votes — but that seems unlikely.
“I don’t want to say that this is the only bill that we’re going to pass off the House floor because at some point if the Senate wants to play ball, obviously, we’ll have that conversation,” Perez told reporters earlier this week.
Folliwing the House vote, former St. Petersburg Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes blasted DeSantis’ inaction on the issue.
“No research, no public plan. He was never going to produce his own plan and be attacked/criticized. Making the Legislature take the heat was always the strategy. When the flaws in the proposal get exposed, he will say it’s not ‘my plan’…it’s theirs,” he wrote on X.
Regressive tax policy
The Florida Policy Institute denounced the vote.
“Our state already has the most upside-down tax code in the nation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, and so the wealthiest Floridians pay the least in state and local taxes as a share of household income. Instead of addressing inequities in the tax code, HJR 203, along with the other property tax reforms that Florida lawmakers are considering, would further entrench them.
Florida lawmakers should only be considering tax relief that is targeted to people who need it the most — households, including renters, with low to moderate income. At the same time, in order to balance the ledger, policymakers should be looking to new ways to raise revenue, like through closing corporate income tax loopholes or taxing transfers of high-value real estate and intangible property.”
–Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
Laurel says
Now, who do you figure will benefit the most? The wealthy, of course! They pay the largest property tax for the largest homes on the most desirable land.
You will still get an annual tax bill with school taxes on it that will go to private and religious schools, and home schooling, for those who can already afford that, continuing to deplete public schools.
You will also see non ad valorem assessments on your annual bill. Some, like the MSBU, which is a wholly unfair assessment, benefitting those who live directly on the beach. You will receive assessments for street lights and other needed features.
You will see an increase in fees, as something has to pay for services. You will also see an increase in sales tax. The current Florida sales tax is 6%. The additional 1% , or 1.5% that the counties add on, comes to 7% and 7.5%, respectively. So, realistically, your sales tax will actually be 9% or higher, depending on need and location. You deductions on property tax, on your income tax, will diminish.
Tourists are already here, so that does not pay the bill. That was a misleading statement.
Will there be a state income tax? Who knows yet. I see no plan to fill in the loss gap by these politicians.
That carrot, the Republican politicians are dangling in front of your noses is going to cost you. The ultra wealthy get yet another break.
JimboXYZ says
Part of me wants to think there is a way this would work. But my gut feel is everything else in life becomes inflated to a point of where we’ve been heading for Bidenomics & Covid anyway. Until they get inflation under control, it’s just the next line item of BS that anyone creates to pay for any of the services that are necessary. Police, water, sewage, fire department. Those costs aren’t ever disappearing. How does FL not avoid some type of income taxation at the State level ? FL would skim their cut to offset Federal income taxes like every state does.
Read an article, CA is so messed up conceptually, that Seattle Seahawks QB lost money playing in & winning a SB game in SF, CA. Gavin Newsom-nomics ?
Palm Coast likewise has such few line items for property taxes, everything GF’ed to become an internal budget for distribution of the county property taxes. How bout breaking that out for the property tax bill instead, so we can really see where the taxes are being collected & applied ?
FedUp says
Let’s be honest here, and look no further than the blue states. The Democrats oppose this because it would partially eliminate their private slush fund.
Deborah Coffey says
Yes, let’s be honest here. The Blue States are keeping your fellow Red States alive with the federal tax dollars they pay.
Top Donor States (Net Contributors)
Based on recent data (FY2024-2025), states that pay more than they receive include:
Top 5 (Total Dollars): New York ($89B), California ($78B), New Jersey ($70B), along with Virginia and Massachusetts.
Other Key Contributors: Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, and Washington.
Per Capita Top Contributors: Delaware ($10,505), Minnesota ($7,605), and New Jersey ($7,456).
Key Takeaways on Fiscal Flow
Donor vs. Taker: While 19 states were net contributors in 2024, many other states, particularly in the South and West, receive more federal money for programs like Medicaid and infrastructure than they contribute.
Regional Trends: Blue states are more likely to be donor states, with a 2025 analysis by TIME indicating they funded a significant portion of federal contributions over a five-year period.
Deborah Coffey says
This is just one more way that Republicans are completely destroying The United States of America. The list of their greed-bloated policies combined with their lust for total power is becoming endless. America FIRST becomes America ALONE becomes America LAST. We are an embarrassment to the world…that no longer likes us and certainly doesn’t trust us.
Jay Tomm says
I’m a starchy republican, however, his entire idea is just plain DUMB! Yes taxes suck for all of us…However without them, the states could not function without raising other income. I rather see a repeal of that very more dumb sale tax law. The one that double taxes on used items. A 20 year old car part on ebay was taxed already…why do I then again have to pay tax on it!
Pogo says
@God willing (and pieces be upon ewe)
… look for Sheik DeSantis to dissolve the legislature; and replace it with a “Consultive Council” — crammed full of favored bimbos and cronies from the restored CSA.
Floriduh — come on vacation, be paroled by the plantation…
Skibum says
If this ever makes it onto a ballot, people need to be intelligent enough not to bite off their noses to spite their faces! Essential, sometimes lifesaving services are funded from local property taxes. Amenities we all like and use are funded from local property taxes. Quality of life things in our communities are funded from property taxes.
Sure, we could all live in areas like those places where people suffer or just don’t have any services, and while they may have lower costs up front, they end up without the critical infrastructure, public safety and fire protection that keeps our homeowner insurance costs from skyrocketing even higher due to not having these public safety services available. That is NOT the type of community I want to live in here!
I have lived in rural areas before where services were severely limited. While it was a beautiful are in the foothills about an hour away from the nearest city, police protection was nonexistent and when a call to 911 was made, even for an emergency like when I found a burglar inside a building on my property, it took over 25 minutes for another deputy to arrive.
The manufactured home I owned at the time caught fire one night while i was sleeping due to an electrical issue behind the refrigerator in the kitchen, and 911 was called. The community only had a volunteer fire department, and although they tried to get to my property as soon as they could, my home and belongings were a total loss from the ensuing fire.
We had no library, no parks, no recreation facilities or anything for kids in the area, no public transportation for the elderly who could not drive, no social services, very limited public utilities, etc. That is what lower property taxes get you… LESS of everything!
Again, DON’T bite off your noses to spite your faces! Property taxes fund all of our local services, and the state doesn’t give a rat’s ass if people are dumb enough to vote for something a harmful as this proposal would be because it wouldn’t take one dime from the state… only local resources!