Florida lawmakers move to protect schools from DeSantis’ property tax plan

State lawmakers moved to protect schools, local officials and public services from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ property tax plan on Monday, dramatically undercutting his proposal days after it was announced.

Floridians who own the homes they live in would still have to pay for property taxes that go to schools, House and Senate committees decided. Legislators also changed the proposed constitutional amendment to clarify that local offices, such as clerks of court and elections supervisors, would still be funded through property taxes.

“The question before us is, how much stress can the system take at one time?” said Sen. Jay Trumbull, a Panama City Republican who moved to protect school funding.

“I, for one, can’t support removing billions of dollars from public education today,” he added.

Lawmakers also picked apart other aspects of DeSantis’ amendment: eliminating mention of a state fund to help local governments and gutting DeSantis’ plan to spend $5.5 million on notices alerting property owners about the amendment on the ballot.

A spokesperson for DeSantis did not respond to an email about whether he supported the changes.

Savings for homeowners would shrink

Under the new plan, Floridians with homestead exemptions on their homes in 2028 could still save thousands of dollars on their property taxes if it’s approved by 60% of voters in November.

But by exempting school funding from the initiative, those savings would be significantly less than the amounts DeSantis has been touting since his Wednesday announcement. House staffers estimate the measure would strip $14 billion from local government revenues, 40% of which would come out of school coffers.

The proposed amendment, “Save our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes,” would increase the $50,000 maximum homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027. It would jump again to $250,000 in 2028. Any increases after that would be up to future legislatures.

The homestead exemption reduces the taxable value on primary residences to give Floridians a break on their tax bills.

DeSantis, who has been talking about eliminating property taxes for more than a year, unveiled his proposal on Wednesday and ordered lawmakers back to Tallahassee to pass it this week. Lawmakers in both parties have expressed a need to do something about rising property taxes, but bristled at what they’ve described as DeSantis’ hasty approach.

DeSantis’ proposal doesn’t just raise the homestead exemption. It also specifies what property taxes can be spent on: public safety, “education and public schools,” infrastructure and natural resource projects, issuing local bonds, and paying retirement benefits for local employees.

Lawmakers on Monday noted that it didn’t include basic county functions required under law, such as county elections supervisors and clerks of court, and basic core functions, such as mosquito control.

House and Senate committees voted to protect those offices and services in the amendment. Sen. Bryan Avila, a Miami Republican sponsoring DeSantis’ amendment, couldn’t say why the governor didn’t originally include them.

Legislators on Monday also stripped language from the amendment they considered misleading.

DeSantis’ ballot summary — the part that voters will see when they decide in November — states that it will create a state trust fund to help local governments deal with a dramatic shortfall in funding.

However, nothing in the amendment creates such a fund, and voters should not have the impression that any money will be in one, said Sen. Erin Grall, a Vero Beach Republican. Senate and House committees then voted to strip language about the fund from the amendment.

“It’s really about transparency about what’s being said,” Grall said.

DeSantis argued earlier Monday that a proposed state trust fund would smooth over any problems with drastic cuts by allowing local governments to ask the state for the money.

“If you have Pasco County schools, ‘Hey, we’re going to need this,’ OK, fine, I’ll do it,” DeSantis said.

Bipartisan opposition

Lawmakers are expected to debate and vote on the amendment on Tuesday, 24 hours after first taking it up.

Representatives from libraries, cities, counties and fire departments were limited to two minutes of public comment to express their opposition in committees Monday.

Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association President Trip Barrs warned firefighters wouldn’t be able to maintain current services. Independent fire districts rely almost solely on property tax dollars, he said.

“My hope for you is you won’t ever have to experience a burden that we do when we’re unable to meet a community’s needs on their worst day,” Barrs told senators.

Winter Haven City Manager T. Michael Stavres said his community receives $31.5 million in property taxes, while police and fire cost $34 million. The city would face a $10.5 million hit if the amendment becomes law.

“As I left Winter Haven to drive here, I saw children going to summer camp for the first day, going to swim lessons, going to our parks — places that they love, places that make families want to live in our community,” he said. “Those are the things that suffer when we don’t have the dollars to pay for them.”

On Monday, the longtime anti-tax advocacy group Florida TaxWatch also came out against the amendment. It warned that DeSantis’ proposal will lead to local governments raising other fees and passing the tax burden on to people without homestead exemptions.

Some lawmakers were visibly frustrated by the lack of time and lack of answers about the amendment. Unlike typical pieces of legislation, state economists have done no study about its potential effects. DeSantis last year also vetoed funding to study eliminating property taxes.

“By voting yes on something that is silent on so many things, we’re telling the people of Florida that we don’t care enough about them to get it right,” said Rep. Lindsay Cross, a St. Petersburg Democrat.

Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat, questioned a statement in the ballot summary that the amendment “requires ... a schedule for full elimination” of property taxes on homes with homestead exemptions.

Nothing in the amendment does that. The amendment says the Legislature “shall” create a procedure for counties, municipalities and school districts to increase the homestead exemption “up to” any limit. That increase could conceivably be $100 million — or $1.

Avila was unable to reconcile the discrepancy.

“This is the governor’s plan, the governor’s proposal,” Avila said. “His intent, I believe, is to eventually get to a point where there’s full elimination.”

Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau staff writer Romy Ellenbogen contributed to this report.

This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Florida lawmakers move to protect schools from DeSantis’ property tax plan."