House Property Tax Proposals Up Thursday

On Thursday, November 20, at 9:00 a.m., the House Select Committee on Property Taxes will consider 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. This meeting is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on The Florida Channel (Watch - The Florida Channel).

The bills are expected to pass the Committee and then move swiftly through their remaining committees of reference: the House State Affairs Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee. Once they clear these committees, the bills are likely to be placed on the House floor for consideration and could receive a full House vote as early as the first week of the Legislative Session.

On Wednesday, November 19, from 11:00 a .m. - 12:30 pm, the Senate Finance and Tax Committee will hear a presentation on Ad Valorem taxes. This committee meeting will also be broadcast on the Florida Channel.

The Senate has not yet revealed its position on the issue of property taxes. However, for any legislation to take effect—or for a proposed constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot—both the House and Senate must pass the same bill or joint resolution. At this time, there is no indication that the Senate intends to move quickly on the eight proposals advancing in the House.

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. 

Here is a brief summary of the House proposals:

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.
• 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.

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.
• 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.
• HJR 209 (Busatta) establishes a property insurance relief homestead exemption by granting an additional $100,000 non-school exemption to homestead owners who maintain property insurance. This bill’s fiscal impact has yet to be scored.

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.

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.
• 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. 

Please contact Charles Chapman with any questions.