State leaders want to reduce property taxes, and soon, but the decision is ultimately up to Florida voters.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative Republicans plan to give them the option through a proposed constitutional amendment placed on the 2026 election ballot — though the tax plan itself hasn’t been decided.
While the session starts Tuesday, DeSantis says fleshing out the proposal can wait. He’s floating having a special session after the regular one ends in mid-March.
“You get into a regular session, you know, it's 60 days. There's things flying all over the place, and things kind of sneak through at the last minute,” DeSantis said at a press conference last week.
“There's a lot that goes into [a property tax proposal], because you’ve got to get it passed,” he continued. “So you’ve got to write it in a very clear and concise way where everybody knows what we're looking to accomplish here.”
At least 60% of Florida voters need to approve the measure for it to succeed.
In a memo, Senate President Ben Albritton said he’s “certainly open to addressing property tax relief at a later time.”
“Major revisions to our property tax structure are a big deal,” he said. “We owe it to Floridians to devote the time necessary to get this right. The substance is more important than the timing.”
The House doesn’t view it as necessary.
“The issue has been under discussion for a year now,” said Amelia Angleton, a spokesperson for House Speaker Daniel Perez, in an email. “The Florida House plans to show up on Tuesday to do our job.”
Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf of Palm City, chair of the House Select Committee on Property Taxes, said they’re “ready to go.”
“I am not sure why they would like to do it outside of session, when things would move incredibly fast within a three-day session, rather than us focusing on it now and working through that process over a 60-day session,” he said.
His committee has already pushed forward multiple proposals.
DeSantis officially called a special session in late April to redraw Florida’s congressional map.
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
