Ron DeSantis Calls Special Session on Calculator Property Tax Relief
Ron DeSantis is calling Florida lawmakers back for a special session during the week of June 1 to consider a constitutional amendment on property tax relief, and he is pitching it as a calculator issue for homeowners watching their bills climb. The proposal would raise the homestead exemption immediately and set up a path to eliminate taxes on homesteads through general law.
“Today in Tampa, I outlined the Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes plan that will eliminate taxes on homesteads,” DeSantis said. “Property tax revenue collected by local governments has nearly doubled in the past seven years and is expected to reach an astounding $83 billion by 2032.”
DeSantis and Tampa
The governor unveiled the plan in Tampa and tied it to a broader push for property tax relief for Florida homeowners. The special session is the vehicle he wants lawmakers to use, and the goal is to put a constitutional amendment before voters this fall.
Homestead exemption increase
The immediate change in the proposal is the larger homestead exemption, which would give homeowners a near-term tax break before any broader elimination is pursued. The longer-term piece is the schedule for full elimination through general law, which means lawmakers would still have to build the policy into statute after the constitutional step.
$32 billion to $60 billion
DeSantis is arguing for the plan against a steep rise in local property tax revenue, which he said has gone from $32 billion to $60 billion in seven years. That growth gives the proposal its political force, but it also sets up the hard part: local governments rely on that revenue, so any relief measure would have to pass through both the special session and then the ballot.
The immediate question for Florida homeowners is whether lawmakers turn the June session into a real path to a fall vote. Until that happens, the plan is still a proposal, and the next concrete test is whether the Legislature advances the amendment with enough speed to reach voters this fall.
