TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis is criticizing a sequence of Home Republican-backed proposals to reform Florida’s property taxes, calling the try a “political sport.”
“Putting a couple of property tax measure on the poll represents an try to kill something on property taxes. It’s a political sport, not a severe try to get it completed for the individuals,” DeSantis wrote.
Putting a couple of property tax measure on the poll represents an try to kill something on property taxes.
It’s a political sport, not a severe try to get it completed for the individuals. https://t.co/qwHDtq3MUs
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) October 23, 2025
The submit highlights the rising divide between DeSantis and Home Republicans. Earlier this yr, Home Speaker Daniel Perez convened a bipartisan, 37-member choose committee to discover property tax reform choices. DeSantis described the hassle as a “canine and pony present” and questioned its credibility.
Final week, Perez despatched a memo to Home members, highlighting the continued efforts to deal with property taxes, together with final session’s measure to make use of vacationer growth tax income to completely scale back property taxes and the creation of the Choose Committee on Property Taxes to proceed the push.
The proposals embody two key options: they prohibit affected authorities entities from decreasing funding for regulation enforcement and exempt faculty taxes, which account for roughly 46% of faculty funding, about $21 billion:
- HJR 201 (Rep. Kevin Steele): Eliminates non-school homestead property taxes.
- HJR 203 (Rep. Monique Miller): Phases out non-school homestead property taxes over 10 years, growing the homestead exemption by $100,000 yearly.
- HJR 205 (Rep. Juan Carlos Porras): Exempts Florida residents over age 65 from paying non-school homestead property taxes.
- HJR 207 (Rep. Shane Abbott): Creates a brand new homestead exemption equal to 25% of assessed worth on non-school property taxes, benefiting present householders and first-time consumers.
- HJR 209 (Rep. Demi Busatta): Supplies a $100,000 further exemption on non-school property taxes for householders with property insurance coverage.
- HJR 211 (Rep. Toby Overdorf): Eliminates the cap on portability, permitting householders to switch their full collected Save Our Houses profit no matter new dwelling worth.
- HJR 213 (Rep. Philip Griffitts): Limits assessed worth progress on non-school homestead property taxes to three% over three years (at the moment 3% per yr) and non-homestead properties to fifteen% over three years (at the moment 10% per yr).
- HB 215 (Rep. Jon Albert): Requires a two-thirds legislative vote for millage charge will increase and permits newly married {couples} to mix Save Our Houses advantages.
Perez mentioned it was time to offer Floridians extra management over their property taxes and let voters resolve what sort of aid they need on the poll field as he outlined a number of proposals.
“What has been misplaced on this debate has been the truth that the last word determination on what ought to occur with property taxes belongs not with elected officers however with the individuals of Florida,” Perez mentioned. “If we think about the voters to elect us, we shouldn’t be afraid to allow them to be part of the dialog concerning the taxes they pay.”
