A new poll showed Florida's proposed property tax amendment may be popular enough to pass depending on how it is described to voters. The proposal would raise the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and then to $250,000 in 2028. It would also lower the annual assessment growth cap for non-homestead properties from 10 percent to 5 percent and restrict how local governments spend remaining property tax revenue.
The UNF survey initially found 61 percent support after respondents were told the amendment would reserve property tax revenue for core public services. That is narrowly above the 60 percent approval required for a constitutional amendment.
Support fell 16 points, however, after respondents were told the proposal is estimated to create an approximately $11.8 billion municipal budget shortfall over two years.
With that information, 45 percent supported the amendment and 47 percent opposed it. The poll surveyed 848 likely midterm voters from July 8 through July 17.
Those results add significance to three lawsuits challenging the amendment's ballot title and summary. Plaintiffs argue phrases promising to protect small businesses, ensure fairness and preserve core services amount to political advertising instead of a neutral description of the proposal. The challengers are not asking a judge to remove the amendment from the November ballot.
If the language is found defective, state law would require Attorney General James Uthmeier to rewrite what voters see. A hearing on the ballot language challenges is scheduled for July 29 in Leon County.