Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed confidence in the passage of Amendment 3 after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a re-write to a court ordered revision of the ballot initiative to slash property taxes in the state.
The governor shared his optimism while taking questions during a press conference at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University this week.
Amendment 3's title and summary, or "Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes," was ruled "biased, inaccurate, and misleading" by Leon County Judge David Frank earlier this month, forcing the change. Attorney General Uthmeier's new version is known as “Increased Homestead Exemption, Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments" and takes out previous language including its benefits to taxpayers and protections to small businesses.
"This property tax amendment, it's like you got to make it clear for people plain English," DeSantis said. "You can't be doing you know use some of these terms that nobody knows about."
The Florida Legislature originally passed (HJR) 1-F, or Amendment 3, in June. The amendment was later sued by several bipartisan officials, including former Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Lawson and former Florida Republican State Sen. Jeff Brandes.
"I don't think there's any way a court can keep it off, having made the changes that they've made. I know that the attorney general will submit that, or however that is supposed to work," DeSantis said.Â
Specifically, Amendment 3 would exempt the first $150,000 of a homestead property's assessed value from the current $50,000 rate starting in 2027 followed by a $250,000 exemption increase in 2028 on most local levies.
While supportive, Gov. DeSantis's original proposal would have included school tax levies and a state trust fund to assist local governments and municipalities over revenue losses from the exemptions.
"I had a proposal which I knew was going to pass," DeSantis said. "It was a little bit more ambitious. I still think this will pass, but I haven't done the same analysis that I did with the one that I had proposed."
Amendment 3 requires 60% approval from voters to pass.
