Florida House Speaker Daniel "Danny" Perez (R-Miami) released a memorandum on Thursday detailing several property tax initiatives filed by his colleagues in the lower chamber. The series of House Joint Resolutions, all put out by Republicans, is essentially part of a long-awaited plan by the state to tackle the issue for a potential vote by Floridians in next year's midterm elections.
"If we have faith in the voters to elect us, we should not be afraid to let them be a part of the conversation about the taxes they pay," Perez wrote. "It is our position that the House does not need to limit itself in presenting one single plan, but instead allow the people of Florida to choose some, all, or none of the proposals on the 2026 ballot.
The plans follow Speaker Perez's creation of a House Select Committee on Property Taxes back in April.
Perez, who's in his final go-around as leader, indicated the proposals would not result in cuts to law enforcement funding, and all would exempt school taxes, which account for 46%, or roughly $21 billion, of school funding.
Importantly, all of the joint resolutions would go directly to voters, and lawmakers would craft statutes based on whether they are passed or not next November.
Below is a list of the proposals:
- HJR 201: Sponsored by Rep. Kevin Steele (R-Dade City), the resolution would eliminate non-school property taxes
- HJR 203: Filed by Rep. Monique Miller (R-Palm Bay), the resolution would phase out non-school homestead property taxes over 10 years. It would also give homeowners a new $100,000 exemption each year, while eliminating non-school property taxes after a decade.
- HJR 205: Sponsored by Rep. Juan Porras (R-Miami), the resolution would exempt Floridians over the age of 65 from paying non-school property taxes.
- HJR 207: Filed by Rep. Shane Abbott (R-DeFuniak Springs), the resolution would establish a new homestead exemption for non-school property taxes equal to 25% of the home's assessed value. The resolution also applies to first-time homebuyers.
- HJR 209: Sponsored by Rep. Busatta (R-Coral Gables), the resolution would create a new property insurance relief homestead tax exemption. It would also give homestead property owners with property insurance the right to an additional $100,000 tax exemption on non-school property taxes.
- HJR 211: Filed by Rep. Toby "Tobin" Overdorf (R-Palm City), the resolution would terminate the cap on portability through Florida's Safe Our Homes (SOH), allowing homeowners to shift their SOH benefits to their new home, even if it is of lesser value than the previous.
- HJR 213: Sponsored by Rep. Phillip Wayne "Griff" Griffitts Jr (R-Panama City Beach), the resolution would curb the growth in assessed value of non-school homestead property taxes to 3% across three years for homestead property (currently at 3% per year) and 15% over three years for non-homestead property (currently at 10% per year).
- HB 215: Filed by Rep. Jon Albert (R-Frostproof), the bill would make various changes to current state statutes, including requiring a two-thirds vote for any mileage rate increase and while permitting newly married couples to unite their accumulated SOH benefits when establishing a shared household.
The Florida legislative session begins on Jan. 13.
