TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis is starting to offer a clearer picture of what he wants from a future property tax overhaul, but key questions remain about when lawmakers might return to Tallahassee — and whether they can agree on a proposal in time to get it before voters in November.
Speaking at a “fireside chat” in West Palm Beach on Wednesday night, DeSantis said he wants to phase out taxes on homesteaded property over time while continuing to tax commercial property, rentals and second homes. He also suggested the state could help local governments absorb some of the lost revenue through grants.
“What we’re saying is your homesteaded property should be excluded from tax,” DeSantis said.
Any such change would require a constitutional amendment, meaning it would need support from 60% of both chambers of the Legislature to get on the ballot, and then approval from 60% of voters statewide. DeSantis acknowledged the process would take time and suggested he held back on rolling out more specifics while budget negotiations were still unresolved.
“We kind of wanted to get through the budget before we really, you know, came out,” DeSantis said. “And then between now and the election, there will be something that will be done.”
That is the clearest timeline the governor has offered so far, but it still leaves major uncertainty. Lawmakers have not set a date for a special session on property taxes, and they also remain at an impasse over the budget. There is still no filed bill language spelling out exactly what DeSantis wants lawmakers to pass.
The uncertainty comes even as House Republicans argue they have already acted. This session, the House passed what supporters described as an aggressive property tax proposal that would immediately eliminate non-school property taxes for homesteaders. But the Senate did not take it up.
Rep. Toby Overdorf, a Palm City Republican who helped lead the House effort, said the chamber had already delivered on the governor’s call for property tax relief.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get it done in this session,” Overdorf said. “We would have preferred to do that.”
He also suggested frustration inside the House over the lack of a more concrete next step from the governor.
“Governor has made a lot of promises. We delivered on those promises. However, we haven't seen legislation come forward,” Overdorf said at the end of the regular session. “I expect that we're going to be delivering something on the ballot this fall.”
Senate leaders have struck a more cautious tone. Senate President Ben Albritton said earlier this month that “getting it right is what matters most,” signaling concern not just about tax relief, but about preserving funding for basic local government services that property taxes help support.
Democrats, meanwhile, have continued to hammer the proposal as politically attractive but financially unrealistic. Rep.-elect Emily Gregory, who just won an upset special election in House District 87, argued that eliminating property taxes would not remove the cost of local government — it would simply shift it elsewhere.
“You'd have to still pay for municipal services through another revenue source, through another way,” Gregory said. “So, to make such an unserious proposal, the priority, is, I think, part of why you see this reaction in a different voice that District 87 is sending to Tallahassee.”
DeSantis pushed back on resistance from some lawmakers, suggesting Republicans risk political fallout if they fail to advance a measure for voters.
“I don't think you can be a Republican and not put something on the ballot and then face voters this year,” he said.
For now, though, the governor’s comments amount to an outline, not a final plan. But without bill language, a special session date or agreement among DeSantis, the House and Senate, the future of any property tax cut proposal remains very much up in the air.
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