{"id":221049,"date":"2026-04-06T20:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/221049\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T20:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:45:08","slug":"florida-lawmakers-debate-competing-property-tax-elimination-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/221049\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida lawmakers debate competing property tax elimination plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 After failing<\/a> to reach a deal during the regular legislative session, Florida lawmakers are advancing a patchwork of proposals to cut \u2014 or even eliminate \u2014 property taxes, with no clear agreement on what, if anything, will reach voters before the November midterms.<\/p>\n

The debate in Tallahassee has fractured along multiple lines. Some Republicans are now offering competing visions and Democrats are warning of potential consequences for funding essential services.<\/p>\n

WATCH FORREST SAUNDERS’ COVERAGE BELOW:<\/p>\n

Florida lawmakers debate competing property tax elimination plans<\/p>\n

State Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, a Republican from Marion County, is taking the most aggressive\u00a0<\/a>approach. Frustrated by the lack of progress in the Legislature, he announced plans on April 1 to pursue a citizen-led constitutional amendment that would eliminate property taxes entirely.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur promise of property tax relief feels like the biggest April Fool\u2019s joke of the century,\u201d Chamberlin said.<\/p>\n

His proposal would require roughly 900,000 petition signatures to make the 2028 ballot. If successful, voters would be asked to replace property taxes with alternative revenue sources, such as increased tourism taxes, a state-managed fund, or even a one-time fee on new Florida residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just time to figure out a better way to pay for it than letting government continue to be the owner of all property while imposing a complicated and burdensome tax system on our people,\u201d Chamberlin said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, many House Republicans continue backing<\/a> a narrower plan that passed during the session. That proposal would eliminate non-school property taxes on homesteaded properties, contingent on 60% voter approval in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe House has led the way on property tax relief\u2026 unlike the Florida Senate, unlike the governor, who has not released a plan at the moment,\u201d said Rep. Juan Porras, R-Miami.<\/p>\n

Gov. Ron DeSantis has also called for eliminating taxes on homesteaded property \u2014 but without carving out school funding. He recently<\/a> suggested a phase-out was the best approach, though he has yet to release detailed language. Speaking Monday, the governor said a proposal is in the works and could soon be positioned for the ballot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working to, you know, kind of get with the key people, to get that off and running on the ballot,\u201d said DeSantis while speaking in Tampa. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a lot of excitement for people to be able to vote to protect their homestead from tax.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the upper chamber, where the Senate President Ben Albritton (R-Bartow) been leery of major cuts that could disproportionately impact small local governments, some lawmakers are now considering a different approach altogether. Sen. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, is proposing a Colorado-style cap on local government spending, which would limit budget growth based on population increases and inflation \u2014 a change that could be enacted without voter approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt puts a limit on a local government’s budget that\u2014 at whatever the line is\u2014 and it can only grow beyond that as a function of population growth and inflation,\u201d said Leek.<\/p>\n

Democrats, meanwhile, have sharply criticized the Republican-led proposals, arguing they would shift \u2014 not eliminate \u2014 the tax burden.<\/p>\n

\u201cEradicating property taxes is dangerous and dishonest. It is a tax shift,\u201d said Rep.-elect Emily Gregory, a Democrat. \u201cYou\u2019d have to still pay for municipal services through another revenue source.\u201d<\/p>\n

They are instead calling for lawmakers to focus on lowering property insurance costs and addressing broader affordability issues.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers are expected to return for a special session on property taxes as soon as this month. But with competing plans and no consensus, it remains uncertain whether any proposal will make it to voters in the near term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 After failing to reach a deal during the regular legislative session, Florida lawmakers are advancing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-221049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221049","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=221049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}