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Judge’s ruling kept the amendment on November ballot but required changes to title and summary
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The ballot language for the Florida property tax-cut constitutional amendment backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis has to go back to the drawing board.
Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank ruled Monday that the proposal’s language is not clear and neutral, as required under state law, as it reads like a political slogan, the Miami Herald reported.
The title, “Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes,” advocates for a policy position and is designed to elicit an emotional response from voters, Frank said.
The ruling kept the proposal to raise Florida’s homestead exemption on the November ballot but required Attorney General James Uthmeier to rewrite portions of the amendment’s title and summary.
Uthmeier has 10 days to revise the ballot language, leaving a tight timeline before counties begin printing ballots in late August ahead of the Sept. 24 to Oct. 1 vote-by-mail mailing window.
DeSantis previously said that the legal challenge could strengthen the amendment because, if a court found flaws in the ballot language, it is up to Uthmeier to rewrite it.
The court heard arguments last week from three groups, including former local government officials and a former Republican legislator, who contended the title and ballot summary approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature in June relied on “emotional and political rhetoric” intended to sway voters.
The lawsuits were brought by the nonprofit Save Our Voters From Misleading Ballot Language; former Stuart Mayor Thomas Campenni and former Key Biscayne Mayor Michael Davey; former South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard; and former Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Lawson Jr.
The proposed constitutional amendment would raise Florida’s homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, though the higher exemption would not apply to school taxes. It also would reduce the annual assessment cap on non-homesteaded properties from 10 percent to 5 percent. Homeowners would have to reside in Florida for at least five years to qualify.
The proposal derives from DeSantis’ yearlong push to reduce property taxes, though he criticized lawmakers for exempting school taxes from the larger homestead exemption before sending the measure to voters.
The governor framed the proposal as a way to ease the tax burden on working Floridians while shifting it to wealthy seasonal residents with multimillion-dollar homes in enclaves like Palm Beach.
Property taxes are among the largest funding sources for local governments. If eliminated, it is expected to leave a $55 billion funding gap for public services.
—Eman Elshahawy
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DeSantis property tax ballot language tossed, headed for attorney general rewrite – The Real Deal
