Florida lawmakers revise DeSantis property tax plan before advancing to floor votes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida lawmakers are taking up Gov. DeSantis’ property tax proposal during a special session.

Florida property tax reform bills special session

What we know:

Several changes have been made to the governor’s proposal, including a carve-out for school funding taxes, which DeSantis had hoped to avoid.

DeSantis’ proposal would see the property tax exemption rise from its current level of $50,000 to $150,000 next year and $250,000 in 2028.

But some lawmakers aren't sold on it and are making changes to the bill.

Lawmakers debate changes and school funding protections

What they're saying:

"We are going to send something to the voters," Rep. Danny Alvarez, R-Riverview, said. "What that looks like though, is to be determined."

When it comes to schools, amendments have been filed that would protect taxes that fund schools.

DeSantis had made a pitch that would not leave for any exemptions.

"My view is, a property owner is just looking [at] how much they're paying. They're not looking at what streams are going to," DeSantis said. "How much money am I going to save? And so, my view was it has been that you want a homestead exemption that just applies to everything."

Impact of the proposal

By the numbers:

The governor’s proposal would wipe three out of five Floridians off the property tax rolls.

DeSantis insisted there's plenty for local governments to trim, saying Hillsborough County tax receipts have gone from $850 million in 2018 to $1.6 billion today.

"Did Hillsborough County have police and fire in 2018 when they were getting 850 million in property tax revenue? Yeah, they had all those things," DeSantis said.

The proposal would need 60% approval from legislators for it to make November's ballot.

Funding concerns 

The other side:

State Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, said she was underwhelmed during Monday afternoon's hearing.

"What kind of studies or analysis have been done to decide if what's being proposed are the right numbers?" Polsky said. "I would imagine that within the next two to three months, if not sooner, we'll have certainly more concrete numbers."

The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser says that within two years, the county's 13 taxing authorities would lose a combined $725 million, including $247 million from schools.

"That's part of the reason why we created this trust fund. To be able to help, we've already been shouldering more and more of the burden for education K-12 compared to the locals," DeSantis said.

But a lack of specifics on how the trust fund would work and how long it would be funded for also left some Democratic lawmakers searching for ways to raise the money that would be lost.

One amendment was voted down that would have allowed cities and towns to charge user fees to make up for lost revenue.

"Let's be honest with our constituents and make clear that the savings this constitutional amendment promises are really just a tax shift that will increase costs across the board," Polsky said.

Floor voting thresholds

What's next:

The House and Senate both had committee hearings Monday where they advanced the property tax measure to the full floors of their chambers.

Final votes are expected on Tuesday, so we'll see if they can get to 60% in each chamber.

FloridaRon DeSantisPoliticsEconomy