A Leon County judge has ordered Florida to rewrite the ballot language for Amendment 3, a sweeping property-tax proposal, ruling that the Legislature's description is biased, inaccurate and misleading. Circuit Judge David Frank granted summary judgment to challengers Monday night, declared the current title and summary clearly and conclusively defective, and blocked Secretary of State Cord Byrd from placing that wording on the November ballot.
Frank ordered Attorney General James Uthmeier to submit corrected language to the Department of State within 10 days. The decision does not remove Amendment 3 itself from the ballot. The judge stressed that the court is not deciding whether the property-tax plan is good policy, only whether voters are receiving a fair and accurate explanation before making that decision.
Three consolidated lawsuits challenged the title Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes and a summary promising to benefit taxpayers, protect small businesses, preserve core services and ensure fairness. Frank agreed that the title resembles campaign messaging more than a neutral description. The title is more akin to a political slogan, Frank wrote.
It is not fair or neutral. It advocates a policy position: to stop excessive property taxes. The judge found the word save was designed to provoke an emotional response.
He also ruled that invoking Save Our Homes could confuse voters because that name is already commonly associated with Florida's existing 3 percent cap on annual assessment increases for homesteaded property. Amendment 3 would not change that cap.
Frank directed Uthmeier to remove the summary's opening declaration that the amendment benefits Florida taxpayers and four promotional taglines: Exempting homestead properties from taxation, Ensuring funding for core services, Protecting small businesses and Ensuring fairness for Florida residents. The judge found several additional problems with the description.
The summary says the amendment would exempt the first $250,000 of a homestead's value when it takes effect in 2027. The proposal would actually set the exemption at $150,000 during 2027 before increasing it to $250,000 in 2028 and adjusting it for inflation beginning in 2029. The court also rejected language promising a schedule for full elimination of non-school homestead property taxes. The amendment would instead require lawmakers to establish a procedure through which cities and counties could increase the exemption up to a home's full assessed value.
The Legislature approved Amendment 3 during a June special session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis. For people who establish permanent Florida residency by Dec. 31, the proposal would increase the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
School district property taxes would remain unaffected. The measure would also reduce the assessment-growth cap for non-homestead property from 10 percent to 5 percent. Florida's Revenue Estimating Conference projected the quantifiable portions would reduce local property-tax collections by nearly $4.93 billion in the 2027-28 fiscal year.
The modeled recurring impact is approximately $11.83 billion annually. Amendment 3 requires support from at least 60 percent of voters to pass in November.