Judge rules Florida property tax amendment ballot wording ‘defective,’ orders a rewrite

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank ruled Tuesday that the ballot language of an amendment aimed at providing relief to Florida taxpayers was “clearly and conclusively defective” and required a rewrite.

Amendment 3 is a constitutional amendment on the Florida ballot this November that seeks to raise the homestead exemption to $250,000 in 2028 for non-school taxes to offer relief to taxpayers, WCTV previously reported.

“There are decades of precedent here that the court is building on here clearly saying to the state, and frankly the legislature and the governor, you can’t use advocacy language,” Former Republican State Senator Jeff Brandes said.

The proposed $250,000 across-the-board property tax exemption will remain on the ballot, just with a new title and summary newly written by the attorney general, not the legislature.

“So this is not necessarily done. We have to see what the Attorney General writes and what the Attorney General does, and there could be further lawsuits if the language isn’t fair, honest and true,” Jackson Peel, the communications director for Save Our Services.

Save Our Services - No On 3, a statewide coalition, said in a Tuesday press release that the amendment “would take away local communities’ right to fund local services and programs through homestead property taxes.”

A University of South Florida professor says voters deserve fair language.

“It could be doomsday. And ultimately, somebody is going to have to pay for those services. People aren’t going to do without them,” Professor Edwin Benton from USF said.

Peel said they applaud the court’s ruling and encourage the Attorney General to give the voters “clear, fair and honest language on their ballots as the law requires.”

“The people of our state need real relief from Florida’s affordability crisis, but Amendment 3 is a handout to the owners of multimillion-dollar homes while working families and seniors are left to pay more through other taxes or face major cuts to local services we all rely on,” Peel said.

David O’Keefe, vice chair of the Leon County Commission, said the court’s finding is what many people already suspected.

“This ballot language wasn’t fair, clear, or accurate. That matters,” O’Keefe said. “Voters are being asked to make a major change to how local government works, and they deserve language that tells them the truth, not a sales pitch.”

Judge Frank’s ruling comes just a day after the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) voiced their concerns with the amendment.

The FSA was the most recent statewide first responder advocacy group to express their concerns about the amendment, but it was not the only organization to do so.

The Florida Department of State declined to comment on the ruling “pending litigation.” Judge Frank gave the attorney general ten days to re-write the language, and he’ll continue to have jurisdiction over the case.

To read the full bill describing Amendment 3, click here.

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