Lazaro Aleman
Riverbend News
When voters go to the polls in November, they will encounter a rewritten ballot summary for the proposed property tax amendment that is more keeping with state law and a judge’s recent ruling on the inadequacy of the previous summary language.
In response to Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank’s Aug. 4 ruling that the prior ballot statement for Amendment 3 was misleading and amounted to political sloganeering, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier last week released rewritten language for the ballot statement, including a change to title, which previously read “Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes.”
The new, more neutral title reads “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homesteaded Property Assessments.”
The rewritten ballot language clarifies that the intended aim of the amendment is to increase the homestead exemption on assessed property values for non-school taxes from the present $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
For non-homestead properties, the proposed reduction is 5%, as opposed to the current 10%.
The new language clearly states that persons who are not Florida residents as of Dec. 31, 2026, will not be eligible for the increased exemption until after their fifth year of residency in the state.
The amended version also removes the language telling voters that the amendment will lead to the “full elimination” of property taxes, as the judge noted in his ruling that the amendment’s actual text did not guarantee such.
The amended language clarifies that it will be up to the Florida Legislature to create a procedure for local governments to “increase the homestead exemption up to full assessed value” and to allow special districts to do the same, under referendum.
“This amendment,” states the rewritten ballot language in part, “requires counties and municipalities to use property taxes solely for public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, natural resources bond debt service, retirement benefits for employees, and operations and administration. Other expenditures may be approved by county officers or county or municipal governing bodies unless prohibited by general law, notwithstanding Article VII, Sect-on 9(a) of the Florida Constitution, which allows counties and municipalities to levy property taxes for their respective purposes.”
Upon release of the amended language on Thursday, Aug. 13, Uthmeier conceded that the proposed amendment “could certainly have been rolled out with greater transparency and the meaningful involvement of key stakeholders.”
Frank’s 18-page ruling stemmed from a consolidated complaint filed by several opponents of the amendment, who argued that the ballot language was disingenuous and misleading.
The judge agreed with the plaintiffs, determining that portions of amendment were intended to divert voters from the proposal’s actual effect and was contrary to state law.
In short, the judge found that the earlier ballot title and summary failed both prerequisites set by state law, which are that the language must fairly inform voters of the chief purpose of the amendment and not mislead voters.
Instead, Frank wrote, Amendment 3’s ballot summary told voters that the amendment would benefit taxpayers by “ensuring funding for core services,” “protecting small businesses,” and “ensuring fairness for Florida residents.”
“Whether the amendment would ‘benefit’ taxpayers is the central policy question voters are being asked to decide,” Frank wrote in his ruling.
“A ballot title and summary cannot ‘fly under false colors’ or ‘hide the ball’ as to the amendment’s true effect,” Frank wrote, citing previous Florida Supreme Court rulings. “This requirement is a constitutional baseline that cannot be relaxed to advocate or persuade.”
“In summary,” Frank wrote, “voters are entitled to a fair, clear, accurate and non- misleading ballot statement to assist them in making a critical determination. The present ballot language would deprive the voters of the opportunity to make a meaningful decision.”
Frank’s order enjoined the Florida Secretary of State from placing the ballot statement in its current form on the general election ballot and it gave the Florida Attorney General 10 days to prepare and submit a revised ballot title or ballot summary that corrected the court-cited deficiencies.
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