{"id":194958,"date":"2026-03-17T14:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T14:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/194958\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T14:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T14:21:17","slug":"property-tax-reform-stalls-in-tallahassee-but-fight-isnt-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/194958\/","title":{"rendered":"Property tax reform stalls in Tallahassee, but fight isn\u2019t over"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 Florida lawmakers wrapped up<\/a> their legislative session last week without delivering one of the year\u2019s biggest promises: a plan to cut property taxes and place it on the November ballot.<\/p>\n

For months, leaders in Tallahassee had talked about letting voters decide whether to reduce property taxes through a constitutional amendment \u2014 a change that would require 60% approval from voters statewide. But when lawmakers adjourned, no final proposal had made it across the finish line.<\/p>\n

Watch report from Forrest Saunders<\/p>\n

Florida session ends without property tax plan \u2014 special session may decide the issue<\/p>\n

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, said<\/a> the issue could still be addressed in a special session later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s something that I did not want to push in the regular session,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n

Like the still-unfinished state budget and congressional redistricting questions, the governor said property tax reform could be taken up when lawmakers return to Tallahassee. April has been mentioned as a possible timeframe, though no dates or detailed plan have been released.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrust me, we’re working on the exact procedure, but you’re going to have something that’s going to be really transformative, and you’re going to be something that is going to, I think, makes a difference for millions of people in this state,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n

The debate has revealed sharp differences within the Republican supermajority that controls state government. DeSantis has floated one of the most sweeping ideas \u2014 eliminating homestead property taxes altogether. But that proposal has raised concerns about how cities and counties, particularly smaller and rural communities, would replace the lost revenue.<\/p>\n

The Florida Senate has yet to advance a specific plan. The Florida House passed<\/a> a narrower proposal last month that would eliminate non-school property taxes on homesteaded properties.<\/p>\n

Rep. Juan Porras, R-Miami, argued the House has already put forward a solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe House has led the way on property tax relief, unlike the Florida Senate, unlike the governor, who has not released a plan on property taxes at the moment,\u201d Porras said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear what a resolution will look like. Lawmakers are mixed but sound hopeful.<\/p>\n

\u201cStay tuned,\u201d said Rep. Danny Nix, R-Port Charlotte. \u201cStay tuned. There’s still time for that to get done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Pensacola, predicted the governor will unveil a proposal before lawmakers return and likely get what he wants.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he will have a plan. He has not shared his plan, but I think we’ll get the plan just in time for the special session, and\u2014 my guess\u2014 we’ll pass the governor’s plan,\u201d Gaetz said.<\/p>\n

Rep. Danny Alvarez, R- Riverview, said property taxes remain the top issue he hears about from voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that property tax, that’s the number one thing we hear about all the time\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cSo, we’re gonna come back and make sure we do something at least on our side, and then make sure we try to get something across the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Bartow, said the Senate is still weighing options<\/a> and hasn\u2019t committed to any specific proposal. He\u2019s previously had concerns about rural communities suffering the most from expected revenue loss of cutting homestead taxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, nothing’s been decided, and I have not committed to anything with the governor,\u201d Albritton said. \u201cGetting it right is what matters most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats, meanwhile, say lawmakers are focusing on the wrong affordability problem. House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said rising insurance costs<\/a> \u2014 not property taxes \u2014 should be the priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead, this is a session that’s been marked by infighting within the Republican Party, but it just causes the people of Florida to lose out, and that’s not fair,\u201d Driskell said.<\/p>\n

For now, the regular legislative session is over. But with leaders promising a special session later this spring and no clear plan yet on the table, Florida\u2019s debate over property taxes is far from settled.<\/p>\n

Share Your Story with Forrest

Capitol Reporter Forrest Saunders is dedicated to sharing your voice with political leaders throughout the state. He works to hold our elected leaders accountable and amplify your concerns. Let Forrest know about the issues you want state leaders to focus on.
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Wesley Chapel family hurt in golf cart crash; 8 hospitalized<\/p>\n

A Wesley Chapel family and a neighbor were ejected when their golf cart rolled over after colliding with a car driven by a 17-year-old. One person remains sedated in the ICU.<\/p>\n

Wesley Chapel family hurt in golf cart crash; 8 hospitalized<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 Florida lawmakers wrapped up their legislative session last week without delivering one of the year\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[205,29,90528,56118,3074,232,234,233,208],"class_list":["post-194958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-abc-action-news","tag-florida-news","tag-property-tax-plan","tag-special-session","tag-sunshine-state-news","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news","tag-wfts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}