House Select Committee on Property Taxes

On Thursday, November 20, at 9:00 a.m., the House Select Committee on Property Taxes heard eight bills that propose changes to Florida’s property tax structure that range from the elimination of non-school property taxes to expanded benefits and changes to valuation assessments. View the Meeting

The Florida League of Cities would like to recognize and thank Vice Mayor Jolien Caraballo (Port St. Lucie), City Manager Olivia Minshew (Wauchula), Mayor Bryan Nelson (Apopka), and Commissioner Trish Pfeiffer (Bartow) for their testimony before the House Select Committee on Property Taxes. Our advocacy is strongest when it comes directly from our members, and we value the time and effort taken to travel to Tallahassee to represent Florida’s cities.

The eight bills were voted on and passed through the Committee. The next two committees of reference are the House State Affairs Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee. The bills are expected to clear their committees and move to the House floor, where they could be heard and voted on as early as the first week of the Legislative Session.

Senate Finance and Tax Committee

On Wednesday, November 19, the Senate Finance and Tax Committee held a presentation on ad valorem taxes. The presentation focused on the Office of Economic and Demographic Research’s methodology for forecasting the impact of potential property tax reforms.

In the meeting, Senator Ed Hooper, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a member of the Finance and Tax Committee, indicated that the Finance and Tax Committee will serve as the Senate’s equivalent to the House Select Committee on Property Taxes.

Senator Bryan Avila, Chair of the Finance and Tax Committee, echoed those comments and reiterated that it is his intent to take a “methodical approach” regarding property taxes. View the Meeting (44:48-47:47)

We expect the Senate Finance and Tax Committee to take the lead on property tax proposals, with other committees, such as Senate Community Affairs, also weighing in. Please keep an eye out for the Senate Community Affairs Committee’s agenda. The committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, December 2.

Property Tax Toolkit

It is important to continue communicating with your Senator on how your city uses property taxes. The League has prepared a Property Tax Toolkit to help you communicate clearly with your community and legislators. The toolkit includes ready-to-use messaging materials to help you explain how property taxes work and why they matter. 

Below is a brief summary of the House bills.

Elimination

HJR 201 (Steele) eliminates non-school homestead property taxes outright. If approved, homeowners would no longer pay city/county non-school levies on their primary residence. HJR 201 is estimated to have an annually recurring negative fiscal impact of $18.3 billion. Passed on a 23-10 vote.

HJR 203 (Miller) phases out non-school homestead property taxes over 10 years by adding a new $100,000 exemption each year to a homeowner’s non-school tax base. After a decade, the non-school portion on homesteads would be fully exempted. HJR 203 is estimated to have an annually recurring negative fiscal impact of $13.3 billion. Passed on a 24-10 vote.

New Exemptions

HJR 205 (Porras) exempts Florida residents over 65 from paying non-school homestead property taxes. HJR 205 is estimated to have an annually recurring negative fiscal impact of $6.7 billion. Passed on a 24-9 vote.

HJR 207 (Abbott) creates a new homestead exemption for non-school taxes equal to 25% of a home’s assessed value. HJR 207 is estimated to have an annually recurring negative fiscal impact of $4.6 billion. Passed on a 24-10 vote.

CS/HJR 209 (Busatta) establishes a property insurance relief homestead exemption by granting an additional $225,000 non-school exemption to homestead owners who maintain property insurance. This bill’s fiscal impact has yet to be scored. Passed on a 24-10 vote.

Expanded Benefits

HJR 211 (Overdorf) eliminates the cap on “portability” of Save Our Homes (SOH) benefits, allowing homeowners to transfer their accumulated SOH differential to a new primary residence, even when the replacement home is of lesser value. HJR 211 is estimated to have an annually recurring negative fiscal impact of $337 million. Passed on a 24-10 vote.

Valuation Assessments

HJR 213 (Griffitts) slows the growth in the assessed value of non-school homestead property taxes to 3% over three years for homestead property (currently at 3% per year) and 15% over three years for non-homestead property (currently at 10% per year). This bill’s fiscal impact has yet to be scored. Passed on a 24-10 vote.

HB 215 (Albert) makes statutory changes, including requiring a two-thirds vote to increase millage rates and allowing newly married couples to merge their accumulated SOH benefits when establishing a shared household. This bill’s fiscal impact cannot be scored, as there is insufficient data to predict marital rates with individuals who have pre-existing homestead property status.  Passed on a 23-10 vote.

Please contact Charles Chapman with any questions.