{"id":294028,"date":"2026-06-03T04:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294028\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T04:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:38:14","slug":"florida-property-tax-overhaul-heads-to-november-ballot-homeowners-hopeful-local-leaders-warn-of-budget-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294028\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida property tax overhaul heads to November ballot; homeowners hopeful, local leaders warn of budget impact"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Florida voters will decide in November whether to approve a major property tax overhaul that state lawmakers passed during a special session pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Supporters say it could provide meaningful relief as the cost of living remains high. But local leaders across Northeast Florida and others around the state are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/florida\/2026\/06\/02\/jacksonville-area-leaders-voice-concerns-as-florida-legislature-passes-property-tax-cut-proposal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/florida\/2026\/06\/02\/jacksonville-area-leaders-voice-concerns-as-florida-legislature-passes-property-tax-cut-proposal\/\">warning the proposal could create major budget gaps<\/a> for cities and counties that rely on property tax revenue to pay for services.<\/p>\n<p>What the proposal would do<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The measure is a <a href=\"https:\/\/flhouse.gov\/Sections\/Bills\/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=84452\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/flhouse.gov\/Sections\/Bills\/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=84452\">proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">According to the House joint resolution approved by lawmakers, the amendment would:<\/p>\n<p>Increase the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes:<\/p>\n<p>$150,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2027<\/p>\n<p>$250,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2028<\/p>\n<p>Keep school district taxes out of the expanded exemption<\/p>\n<p>Reduce the cap on annual assessment increases for many non-homestead properties\u00a0(including certain residential and other properties not covered by the homestead cap), from\u00a010% to 5% beginning Jan. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Limit how counties and cities can use ad valorem tax revenue, restricting it to \u201ccore services,\u201d including public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, natural resource projects, debt service, retirement obligations and basic operations of constitutional offices and local government administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">To take effect, the proposed amendment would need 60% voter approval.<\/p>\n<p>What residents are saying<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Some homeowners News4JAX spoke with said they welcome the possibility of lower property tax bills.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cI think that\u2019s actually good for the community,\u201d said Markisha Warrick, a lifelong Florida resident. \u201cHonestly because the economy already sky high. Take the ease on some people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Another resident, Israel Davila, called the proposal \u201cexcellent,\u201d adding: \u201cSave money for everybody. We pay a lot already and you save money like that is really good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Lovellia Simmons said any relief would matter: \u201cMoney in the pocket is worth it. Because the cost of living is high and we struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Why local leaders are concerned<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Local governments often depend on property tax revenue to fund services such as police and fire protection, road maintenance and other day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">News4JAX political analyst Rick Mullaney said the proposal is likely to drive a heated campaign before the election because of the competing impacts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWhat you\u2019re going to hear a number of people talking about of course is relief to taxpayers and it will be significant,\u201d Mullaney said. \u201cOn the other side \u2026 what this means for local governments \u2026 it is by far and away the greatest reduction in revenue cut in the history of Duval County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">House staff analysis estimates the revenue impact to non-school local governments would start around $4.6 billion per year and could grow to about $8.4 billion per year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Mullaney warned that if revenue drops sharply, local governments could face difficult decisions, including shifting costs, raising other taxes or fees or cutting services.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The proposed constitutional amendment will appear on the November 2026 general election ballot, where voters will decide whether to approve it. If it passes with at least 60%, the changes would begin in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Florida voters will decide in November whether to approve a major property tax overhaul that&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,8191,88995],"class_list":["post-294028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-property-tax","tag-tax-cut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294028","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=294028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}