{"id":2360,"date":"2026-06-01T19:37:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T19:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2360"},"modified":"2026-06-01T19:37:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T19:37:26","slug":"florida-democrats-hope-to-amend-desantis-tax-plan-in-special-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2360","title":{"rendered":"Florida Democrats hope to amend DeSantis\u2019 tax plan in special session"},"content":{"rendered":"
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House Democrats came out swinging on Monday, filing amendments on the first day of a special session hoping to mitigate the damage they say will be caused by Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 proposal to slash property taxes and radically overhaul how Floridians pay for essential local services.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs you all know, we are here for the next three days to address the governor\u2019s property tax plan. He is on his way out the door and he wants to bankrupt local communities in the process,\u201d House Democratic leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa said during a press conference at the Capitol Monday morning.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at a news conference of his own 260 miles away in Land O\u2019Lakes, DeSantis defended his proposal to wipe out up to 92% of the taxes homeowners pay on their primary homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy question is there anything else that can be proposed that would actually deliver thousands of dollars in savings every single year to taxpayers?\u201d DeSantis asked. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen it. So if you\u2019re looking at helping people afford to be able to live and prosper, the property tax is the best game in town to be able to help with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Florida Legislature, which is controlled by a Republican supermajority, convened this week to decide whether to put the Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes resolution on the November ballot.<\/p>\n

The resolution calls for applying a homestead exemption of $150,000 the first year, and $250,000 the second year, and slashing in half how much cities and counties can raise the assessed value of non-homesteaded properties\u00a0 \u2013 including business, commercial, and residential rental properties.<\/p>\n

The Legislature could adopt DeSantis\u2019 proposal as is, amend it or scrap it altogether. Getting it on the ballot requires two-thirds of the members of both chambers to approve it.<\/p>\n

Then 60% of voters must approve in November for it to become law Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

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While the plan has the support of state Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, has not talked about it publicly.<\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s first stop was the Senate Appropriations Committee, where Democrats planned to introduce several amendments to soften the blow of what they say will forever change local government funding. State Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, introduced an amendment that would permit local governments to levy assessments, user fees, and other taxes for services listed as \u201ccore services.\u201d<\/p>\n

The House version of the resolution included funding for constitutional officers, something the Senate version leaves out.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, said he planned to file an amendment that would allow Orange County to use its tourist development tax dollars to prevent any reduction in public safety and education.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOnce people realize that their public schools are closing and their local police and fire departments are not getting resources and they would be less safe, they\u2019ll agree they are better off spending that money on public safety and schools rather than corporate tourism ads,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

DeSantis said \u2013 erroneously \u2013 that the homestead exemption hasn\u2019t significantly changed since it was raised from $5,000 to $25,000 in 1980, He left out that voters in 2008 approved a second $25,000 exemption for non-school taxes on the assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 \u2014 meaning most homeowners get a $50,000 exemption, plus an additional adjustment based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index.<\/p>\n

He also failed to mention\u00a0the state has also approved homestead exemptions of up to $50,000 for low-income seniors 65 and older and up to total exemptions for qualified veterans and first responders.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnytime you do anything that benefits taxpayers, you\u2019re going to have people come out of the woodwork saying \u2018You\u2019re not going to have any more police, you\u2019re not going to have any more schools\u2019 \u2026. Obviously that\u2019s not true,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n

Local officials and economic analysts have calculated counties would lose $10 billion and schools $5 billion if a $250,000 exemption is applied to primary homes. That revenue pays for hospitals, education, public safety, garbage pickup, libraries, parks and recreation, road maintenance and even election resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this economy Floridians are relying more on those local services for support. Therefore, this is not the time to cut off the funding to those local governments who need to be taking care of Floridians at a time they need it the most,\u201d Driskell said.<\/p>\n

Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach, said DeSantis\u2019 statement that no one else has come up with a plan to deliver thousands in savings to taxpayers was \u201c100% false,\u201d noting that Democrats introduced several measures during the regular session that were not taken up by the Republican-controlled leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am angry that we did not address the affordability crisis and this legislation only exacerbates the crisis,\u201d Berman said.<\/p>\n

Democrats proposed \u201cresponsible tax cuts and breaks for first-time homebuyers, a suspension of the gas tax and a cap on insurance rates,\u201d she said. \u201cInstead, Republicans have brought us a political stunt that threatens to bankrupt local communities, close small businesses and jack up rent prices even further.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palm Beach County could lose over $500 million if the plan is fully implemented, she said.<\/p>\n

DeSantis also failed to mention that the House introduced a resolution during the regular session that ended in March to eliminate property taxes on all homesteaded properties except for school taxes and also to require local governments to fund public safety services at their current level.<\/p>\n

Berman said she was angry that after over a year of talking about property taxes, state lawmakers were being given only 72 hours to consider hastily drawn up legislation that would completely reshape the state\u2019s economic landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not the way to legislate, and this is no excuse for the way this was done,\u201d Berman said.<\/p>\n

She noted that DeSantis even rushed to put up a website that people can use to calculate what their tax savings would be if his proposal is placed on the ballot and approved by voters, \u201cbut he didn\u2019t care enough to have the state Revenue Estimating Conference prepare an analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polsky said she was upset that the Legislature passed a law last year \u2014 approved by DeSantis \u2014 to prohibit spending state money on ballot amendments, but DeSantis is now asking for $5.5 million to have property appraisers mail out notices explaining his proposal.<\/p>\n

And she said the title of the ballot amendment is misleading.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is one-sided and it talks about getting rid of \u2018excessive\u2019 taxes,\u201d Polsky said. \u201cThat is a subjective statement and that is not right for that to go directly to the voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sentinel reporter Ryan Gillespie contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

House Democrats came out swinging on Monday, filing amendments on the first day of a special session hoping to mitigate the damage they say will be caused by Gov. 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