DeSantis Plan to Cut Florida Property Taxes Heads to Ballot—With Schools Removed

Florida lawmakers have approved a stripped-down version of a proposal from Gov. Ron DeSantis to slash property taxes, removing local school districts from the plan.

The Florida House and Senate on Tuesday passed joint resolutions (HJR 1F/SJR 2F) that will permit voters to consider cuts to residential property taxes through an amendment to the state constitution. The resolutions authorize a referendum vote on the constitutional question in the Nov. 3 general election.

The House passed its version of the joint resolution 75-26. The Senate quickly followed with a 30-9 vote. The Republican-controlled House and the Senate also approved legislation (HB 3F/SB 4F) establishing a framework for implementing the constitutional revision—assuming more than 60% of voters support the ballot proposal in November.

If approved, the tax cutting strategy will likely remove $13 billion from the coffers of local governments in its first two years—a revenue shift that, “would fundamentally reshape the relationship between counties and the state,” said Jeff Brandes, a former Republican state senator who runs the Florida Policy Project, a non-profit research institute.

Few studies appear to exist showing how lower property taxes may affect homeowners’ purchase of property insurance.

“I don’t know of anything that looks at changes in property tax structure and its impact on insurance purchases. I am not sure it would have an effect,” said Charles Nyce, professor of risk management and insurance at Florida State University.

If voters approve the constitutional amendment, it would raise the current $50,000 exemption on homesteads to $150,000 of the assessed value in 2027. The exemption would rise to $250,000 in 2028, and float higher in subsequent years under a rule indexing it for inflation. That 2028 exemption level would equal about two-thirds of the average home value in Florida, according to the real estate site known as Zillow.

By that measure, the scaled-back amendment could reduce property taxes for the average Florida homeowner by roughly $1,000 by 2028. That’s less than a third of the average HO annual insurance premium in the state, Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and Insurance Journal calculations show.

But critics of the tax cut have suggested that local governments will likely make up some of the lost revenue by raising fees and sales taxes for residents, reducing the overall fiscal impact for homeowners. It’s possible that with lower tax burden, some homeowners would decide to pay off their mortgages early, giving them less incentive to maintain insurance coverage on the property.

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“Nobody in all of Florida understands how this is going to play out,” he added. “We have no models, no math, nothing. It’s budget chaos.”

The enabling legislation now goes to DeSantis for his signature. The joint resolution is “self executing” and doesn’t require approval from DeSantis, said H. French Brown, a tax partner with law firm Jones Walker LLP in Tallahassee.

“What we’re doing here today is we’re giving our residents an opportunity not only to get immediate property tax relief, but really to let our local governments know whether they’re doing a good job or not,” said Sen. Bryan Avila (R), who chairs the Senate Finance and Tax Committee.

The action came during a two-day special legislative session to address property tax cuts. Lawmakers finished a similar special session last Friday that approved a $114.5 billion budget for fiscal 2027.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers said the constitutional shift would saddle local governments with dangerous revenue gaps that will undermine critical community services. They warned a feel-good vote on property tax relief today would end with a local government revenue crisis for the legislature to solve in a few years.

“A yes vote tells your constituents that you believe this is smart policy that can actually help them. And we don’t know that,” Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman (D) said during the floor debate. “We can still vote this down and show we are serious about governing, and serious about fully funding our police, our firefighters, our roads, our animal control, and everything else communities expect of government.”

The resolution asks voters to amend the constitution by raising the current $50,000 exemption on homesteads, or primary residences, to $150,000 of the assessed value in 2027. The exemption would rise to $250,000 in 2028, and float higher in subsequent years under a rule indexing it for inflation.

DeSantis’s initial proposal was amended during committee meetings Monday to spare local school districts from the tax-cutting formula.

The decision to carve school districts from the formula came after lawmakers examined a fiscal analysis of the proposal. It estimated the plan would reduce property tax revenue to school districts by $3.4 billion in 2027 and $5.6 billion in 2028. The same analysis projected the tax losses to local governments would total $4.6 billion in 2027 and $8.4 billion in 2028.

DeSantis didn’t immediately comment on the adjustments to his property tax proposal, but Brandes said he will likely embrace the package as an important final achievement after eight years in the governor’s mansion. The property tax measure comes amid speculation DeSantis will run for president again in 2028. DeSantis lost in the 2024 Republican primary to President Donald Trump.

“It’s all for him to run on in ’28. DeSantis doesn’t have to eat his own cooking here,” Brandes said, adding DeSantis’ successor as governor will have to “deal with the dumpster fire.”

—Article by Michael J. Bologna with assistance from Anna Kaiser, Bloomberg News