{"id":294108,"date":"2026-06-03T07:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T07:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294108\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T07:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T07:32:13","slug":"lawmakers-approve-property-tax-cut-proposal-measure-heads-to-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294108\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers approve property tax cut proposal, measure heads to ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 Florida lawmakers on Tuesday passed a property tax cut proposal that would create a $250,000 homestead exemption, securing it on the November ballot.<\/p>\n<p>On the second day of the<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/money\/real-estate-news\/florida-lawmakers-weigh-sweeping-property-tax-changes-as-house-senate-work-toward-deal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> special session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a>, the Florida Senate passed House Joint Resolution <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flhouse.gov\/Sections\/Bills\/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=84452\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">(HJR) 1-F<\/a>, creating a $250,000 homestead exemption on non-school levies for homeowners.<\/p>\n<p>Florida voters to decide sweeping property-tax overhaul in November<\/p>\n<p>The Joint Resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to increase the current exemption for owner-occupied homestead property to $250,000 over two years and creates a framework for full exemption over time. The amendment will appear on the November 2026 General Election Ballot for approval by Florida voters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Owning your own home has been the American dream since our nation was founded 250 years ago. What better way to celebrate America&#8217;s 250th\u00a0anniversary than a massive property tax cut through a $250,000 homestead exemption for Floridians,&#8221; said Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula. &#8220;I&#8217;m grateful to Governor DeSantis for leading the conversation on cutting property taxes and putting forward this robust proposal for the consideration of Florida voters this fall. For our part, the Senate has consistently advocated for an amendment that is significant and straightforward \u2013 a $250,000 homestead exemption in honor of America\u2019s 250th\u00a0birthday achieves that goal and then some.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our nation was forged by pioneer patriots who left everything behind and risked their lives for the dream of living in freedom on their own piece of property. We agree with Governor DeSantis that having to continually pay the government for the right to live on your own property flies in the face of that dream,&#8221; bill sponsor Sen. Bryan Avila, R-Miami Springs, said. &#8220;This amendment takes a historic step, providing meaningful relief for Florida families, while protecting businesses from extreme tax increases and safeguarding local funding for education, law enforcement, infrastructure, and other essential government functions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The measure will require approval from at least 60% of voters to become law.<\/p>\n<p>Over the weekend, the state unveiled a <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saveourhomesfl.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">new website called &#8220;Save Our Homes&#8221;<\/a> that allows Florida residents to calculate potential tax savings under the proposed plan.<\/p>\n<p>Local Officials Express Revenue Concerns<\/p>\n<p>WPTV&#8217;s year-long investigation into the property tax proposal has revealed significant concerns among Florida mayors and municipal officials about potential revenue losses. Local government leaders have expressed worry about maintaining essential services if property tax collections are substantially reduced or eliminated.<\/p>\n<p>Many city and county officials depend on property tax revenue to fund police departments, fire services, road maintenance and other critical municipal operations.<\/p>\n<p>Read more of WPTV&#8217;s coverage on property taxes below:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/money\/real-estate-news\/florida-governor-pushes-for-property-tax-reform-as-lawmakers-wait-for-a-formal-proposal\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Real Estate News<\/p>\n<p>    &#8216;We&#8217;re hearing a lot of rumors&#8217;: Questions loom over property tax reform <\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/money\/real-estate-news\/gov-ron-desantis-renews-push-for-florida-property-tax-overhaul-as-bills-rise\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Real Estate News<\/p>\n<p>    DeSantis renews push for property tax overhaul as bills rise<\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/money\/real-estate-news\/gov-ron-desantis-calls-property-tax-special-session-proposes-expanded-homestead-exemption\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Real Estate News<\/p>\n<p>    Special Session: DeSantis tees up major property tax fight for lawmakers<\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/news\/local-news\/our-community\/fort-pierce\/fort-pierce-commissioner-raising-questions-about-city-owned-property-being-taxed\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Fort Pierce<\/p>\n<p>    &#8216;Should be exempt&#8217;: Commissioner wants review of city-owned property<\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/community\/lets-hear-it\/north-palm-beach-resident-faces-a-36-000-property-tax-bill-and-hopes-for-state-legislative-relief-now\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Let&#8217;s Hear It<\/p>\n<p>    Rising property taxes threaten resident&#8217;s retirement<\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/money\/real-estate-news\/state-rep-toby-overdorf-says-upcoming-special-session-is-last-shot-for-property-tax-reform-this-year\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Real Estate News<\/p>\n<p>    Property tax reform: Can special session get results?<\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/money\/real-estate-news\/desantis-offers-new-details-on-property-tax-cut-plan-but-path-to-ballot-remains-murky\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Real Estate News<\/p>\n<p>    DeSantis offers new details on property tax cut plan, path to ballot still murky<\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/news\/state\/florida-session-ends-without-property-tax-plan-special-session-may-decide-issue\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Real Estate News<\/p>\n<p>    Property tax reform stalls in Tallahassee, but fight isn\u2019t over<\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/money\/real-estate-news\/florida-cities-counties-fret-over-end-of-property-tax-do-they-want-us-to-hold-bake-sales\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Real Estate News<\/p>\n<p>    FUNDING FEARS: Cities, counties fret over end of property tax  <\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wptv.com\/money\/real-estate-news\/worries-grow-in-small-florida-cities-and-towns-over-possible-property-tax-cuts\" class=\"ListItem \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ListItem-category\">Real Estate News<\/p>\n<p>    Worries grow in small towns over possible property tax cuts<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 Florida lawmakers on Tuesday passed a property tax cut proposal that would create a $250,000&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[871,28,30,29,872,874,875,876],"class_list":["post-294108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-coverage-collapse","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-florida-real-estate-news","tag-priced-out-of-paradise","tag-south-florida-real-estate","tag-wptv-real-estate-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294108","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=294108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}