The Brief
The Florida House is pitching eight property tax ideas that could go to voters if they garner enough support among lawmakers.
A referendum would be held on each of the proposals in November of 2026.
A bipartisan state house property tax commission has met five times to craft the proposals.
TAMPA – The State of Florida is taking a big step forward in its attempt to lower property taxes.
House leaders have submitted eight bills that would address the soaring costs homeowners face, in hopes that voters will get to weigh-in during the elections in November of 2026.
It follows a six-month push by the governor to see property taxes either reduced or eliminated altogether.
Florida House leaders say the old saw, about commissions being designed to block meaningful reform, doesn’t apply in this case.
“I think this commission has been very successful and you see that in the proposals here,” said State Rep. Toby Overdorf (R-Stuart).
The proposals
There are eight proposals house leaders are putting forward after a series of special meetings made up of 37 lawmakers.
They do everything from eliminating non-school property taxes outright, to phasing them out, to banning them for those over 65.
Others protect values built by the Save Our Home program, which Overdorf is spearheading.
“Many people are now trapped in their homes,” said Overdorf. “And even if they want to downsize, they aren’t able to do so because in in moving and from where they are now to the next place, their property taxes are likely going to go up.”
Big picture view
The plan is to see which of the eight proposals are supported by two-thirds of both houses of the legislature.
Those would be sent to the November 2026 ballot in the form of a referendum.
Each would then need sixty percent support of voters to become law.
“It’d be better as legislature to consider ideas that kind of fit together with a little bit more intention versus an array of diverse various concepts,” said State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando). “With that said, this is still a really early moment in the process.”
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The warning some on both sides of the aisle have sent is that property taxes provide $55 billion to local governments.
But the governor has insisted that some of the revenue funds reckless local spending, and that sales taxes are a better deal for Floridians, because out-of-towners pay them too.
The chief warning of property tax reform is that the revenue often goes to pay for schools and public safety, which are both slated to be shielded under the eight proposals.
“Local governments are also vital to community wellbeing and these proposals in many cases would totally eliminate the revenue source for local governments to provide you with the basic services that you expect,” said Eskamani.
What’s next
The question now is what the senate will put forward, and whether the governor will put his thumb on the scale.
The next meeting on property taxes is scheduled for the second week of November.
The Source
FOX 13’s Evan Axelbank gathered the information for this story.