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Florida Amendment 3

Amendment 3 asks Florida voters on Nov. 3, 2026 whether to cut property taxes on the homes people live in, and it got there only after a court fight over its wording. On Aug. 4, Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank ruled the ballot language “clearly and conclusively defective” and threw out the title in the Legislature’s resolution, “Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes,” as “more akin to a political slogan.” The suit came from a nonprofit called Save Our Voters From Misleading Ballot Language, joined by former Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Lawson. Attorney General James Uthmeier filed new wording on Aug. 13. The title voters will see now reads “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments.”

Lawmakers put the measure on the ballot in a June special session. Rep. Toby Overdorf, a Palm City Republican, carried it in the House, and Sen. Bryan Avila carried it in the Senate. A homestead exemption is the slice of value the county sets aside before it figures the tax on a home its owner lives in full time. If at least 60 percent of voters say yes, the exemption on the non-school part of the bill goes from $50,000 today to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then rises with inflation starting in 2029. School taxes do not change, and renters get no exemption at all. People who become Florida residents in 2027 or later start at $50,000 and reach the larger amount in their fifth year. The Revenue Estimating Conference, the state’s official forecasting panel, puts the recurring loss to local governments at about $11.9 billion a year once fully in place.

Todd Ruffner-Schoenfeld wrote the series in five parts. Part 1 explains how the exemption works and what the amendment changes, including a second provision that gets less attention: it lowers the yearly cap on assessment increases for property that is not a homestead, such as rentals and commercial buildings, from 10 percent to 5 percent. Part 2 follows the money and shows that once inflation adjustments begin, the loss grows every year on its own. The part also explains why a line heard at commission meetings, that the amendment wipes out half a city budget, does not hold: property tax is one source of local money among several, and only the homestead share is cut. The smaller cap also makes it harder for a county to make up the difference from commercial property and rentals. The same part looks at a clause requiring what is left of local property tax to be spent “solely for core public needs.” The Florida Policy Institute, a nonprofit that studies the state budget, reads that as a hard limit, and the Pinellas County Property Appraiser’s office reads it as a loose one.

In Part 3, Todd runs the numbers on his own house, rounding its taxable value to $300,000. Using Lake County’s 2025 rates, he finds a gross cut of about $1,960 a year once the amendment is fully in, while the roughly $1,670 school portion of the bill does not move. That figure assumes local tax rates stay put, which nothing in the amendment promises. Part 4 gives its due to the case supporters make to retirees on fixed incomes, then notes that the break goes to every homesteaded house regardless of income, and that Florida already protects long-time owners through the existing Save Our Homes cap on how fast a homestead’s taxable value can rise and, in counties that adopt it, an extra exemption for low-income seniors. Part 5 turns to the politics. Gov. Ron DeSantis said in June he would not formally campaign for this version because “what the Legislature did wasn’t my proposal.” Lawmakers had dropped the state fund for local shortfalls and the school-tax relief he wanted.

If the subject is new to you, start with Part 1. For the figure on your own house, Part 3 walks through the five-minute math using your TRIM notice, the proposed-tax statement your county property appraiser mails every August.

5 parts

A series by Todd Ruffner-Schoenfeld.

Part 1 of 5 A Judge Threw Out Florida’s Ballot Name for Amendment 3 A judge threw out the first version of what you'll be voting on. Here's the real machinery underneath the slogan, in plain terms. 26 Aug 2026 Part 2 of 5 Amendment 3 Cuts Your Bill and Hands Your County the Tab The tax cut is real, and the hole it leaves widens every year on its own. Here's who ends up filling it, why 'half the budget' is a myth, and the quiet clause that could squeeze your town's festivals and holiday lights. 27 Aug 2026 Part 3 of 5 I Ran Amendment 3 Through My Own House and the Cut Shrank The billions are abstract. One house isn't. Here's the gross cut, the net cut, and the part of my bill that doesn't move at all, with the five-minute math you can run on your own. 28 Aug 2026 Part 4 of 5 Amendment 3 Is Sold to Seniors Florida Already Protects Twice The face on the mailer is a retiree, and for the cash-poor senior the case is real. But the break isn't targeted, Florida already shields seniors two other ways, and the services they lean on are the ones it cuts. 29 Aug 2026 Part 5 of 5 The Governor Who Dreamed Up Amendment 3 Won’t Campaign for It The governor who dreamed it up won't campaign for it. The sheriffs and firefighters are waving both arms. Here's the politics of Amendment 3, and the one question the whole series has been circling. 30 Aug 2026
The bottom line

Since Part 5 ran on Aug. 30, the fight over the ballot wording has gone quiet. The state did not appeal Judge Frank's ruling. Gov. DeSantis said on Aug. 6 that he disagreed with it but would not challenge it, and Jeff Brandes, one of the challengers, said the rewrite "more accurately describes what voters are being asked to decide." No new challenge to the rewritten language had been reported as of Sept. 24.

The polls land on both sides of the 60 percent line. The University of North Florida's Public Opinion Research Lab surveyed 848 likely voters from July 8 to 17, before the wording was rewritten, and found 61 percent support from a basic description. Support fell to 45 percent once people heard an estimated local budget shortfall. The James Madison Institute, a free-market think tank in Tallahassee, polled 1,400 registered voters July 20 to 26 and found 74 percent support, with 55 percent saying the cuts were justified even if local spending had to fall. St. Pete Polls, surveying on Sept. 17, put support at 45 percent. Asked about it the next day, DeSantis said, "It's a live issue. I don't know if it's going to pass with 60%."

Part 5 described a quiet yes side, and that has changed. Florida Realtors launched a Vote Yes on 3 campaign on Sept. 9, with its 2026 president, Chuck Bonfiglio Jr., saying Floridians "need meaningful relief." On Sept. 14 the Republican Party of Florida endorsed the amendment, and its chairman, Evan Power, said it "puts money back in the pockets of people who own their homes." Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz came out for it on Sept. 23, saying voters "should not be led to believe that saving money on their property taxes must mean fewer deputies or weaker public safety."

That put her at odds with the Florida Sheriffs Association. At a Sept. 15 event urging a no vote, the association's president, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, estimated his office could lose about $54 million, roughly a fifth of its budget, and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called the measure "a trainwreck." Wayne Bernoska, president of the Florida Professional Firefighters, stood with them. The organized campaign against it is called Save Our Services, No on 3. On Sept. 18, Florida TaxWatch, a nonprofit government watchdog led by former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, recommended a no vote. Its analysis says relief "is needed by homestead property owners and non-homestead property owners alike" and warns that without limits on local spending, the lost money "will simply be passed on to non-homestead property owners or replaced with other taxes, fees and assessments."

Newer local estimates have come out as well. Florida TaxWatch projects about $45.8 billion in lost local property taxes over the five budget years from 2027-28 through 2031-32, with Miami-Dade County losing the most, about $5.16 billion, and Lake County, where Part 3 did its math, about $930.9 million. Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks puts the loss to the county government's share alone at about $324 million, and on Sept. 23 her office opened an online calculator that shows a homeowner's savings next to the local loss. Miami-Dade County's own estimate, as reported by NBC Miami, puts the initial loss there at about $386 million.

If the amendment passes, it takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, and according to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser the larger exemption first shows up on the TRIM notices mailed in August 2027. Part 3 showed that the gross cut becomes the net cut only if local tax rates hold, so much then depends on the millage rate, the property tax rate each county commission and city council sets every September, and on whether new or higher fees follow, such as the fire and stormwater assessments Part 2 flagged. What "solely for core public needs" allows may also end up in court. If the amendment falls short of 60 percent, the non-school homestead exemption stays at $50,000 and non-homestead assessments can keep rising up to 10 percent a year.

This series was reported and edited to HeadLines Decoded newsroom standards.

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