Florida home values surged more than 60% in some counties since 2019.
Now a veteran Northwest Florida senator is putting his vote where the people are.
DeSantis called a special session for June 1 – and this week, Don Gaetz told his constituents exactly which side he's on.
The Plan That Has Every Local Government Panicking
Senator Don Gaetz announced Wednesday he will vote yes on Governor Ron DeSantis' "Save Our Homes" constitutional amendment during the special session running June 1 through June 3.
The proposal immediately raises the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $250,000 – eliminating property taxes entirely for roughly 60% of Florida homeowners the moment it takes effect.
From there, the Legislature is commanded to set a schedule driving that exemption to $500,000, covering 92% of all homesteaded properties in the state.
Small businesses get a 5% annual cap on assessed value increases.
Commercial properties and snowbird second homes stay fully taxable.
And local governments – the ones who've been gorging on a decade of rising property values – are restricted to spending remaining property tax revenue only on public safety, infrastructure, education, and disaster response.
For Gaetz, this isn't complicated.
"You may agree or disagree with me, but I believe that property taxes amount to renting your property from the government," Gaetz wrote to constituents. "If you don't pay what the government charges, you lose your property."
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2060028367387115661?s=20
He's right.
Local Governments Built This Problem Themselves
DeSantis made the same point at his Tampa press conference last Wednesday.
"Seven years ago, local governments throughout Florida took in about $32 billion in property tax revenue," he said.
They take in dramatically more today – not because the government is doing dramatically more, but because rising home values handed politicians a windfall they never gave back.
Local government budgets across Florida have been outpacing population growth and inflation for years while delivering essentially the same services.
Meanwhile, seniors living on Social Security and fixed pensions are watching their tax bills climb because the house down the street sold for more money.
The James Madison Institute confirmed the pattern: local government spending growth continues to outpace taxpayers' ability to pay, with limited accountability or transparency.
The plan includes a critical protection Gaetz highlighted: anyone moving to Florida from out of state must pay homestead property taxes for five years before qualifying for the reductions.
Floridians who built their lives here get protected first.
DeSantis Spent His Political Capital and Gaetz Is Backing Him Up
This special session doesn't happen without DeSantis spending every ounce of leverage he has before leaving the Governor's mansion.
The Florida House passed an aggressive property tax elimination proposal in February, and the Senate killed it over concerns about rural counties losing their tax base.
https://twitter.com/ReOpenChris/status/2056428842940555675?s=20
DeSantis responded by threatening a special session during GOP primary season – when, as he put it, lawmakers "tend to govern themselves accordingly" once they know voters are watching.
He got his special session.
Senate President Ben Albritton called the governor's approach something that "will provide meaningful relief for Florida families, while protecting businesses from extreme tax increases and safeguarding local funding for public safety, education and our clean water infrastructure."
House Speaker Daniel Perez – who blocked DeSantis on vaccine exemptions and AI policy earlier this session – issued a tepid non-answer that suggested the governor didn't even bother telling him in advance.
The constitutional amendment needs 60% supermajority support in both chambers to reach the November ballot, then 60% of Florida voters to become law.
Gaetz noted the strategic reality plainly: neither chamber has produced a competing plan capable of winning both legislative approval and the governor's signature.
DeSantis' plan is the one on the table.
This Is What Fighting for Taxpayers Actually Looks Like
Property tax collections in Florida have more than doubled in the last decade, according to Florida Tax Watch.
That's not because Floridians are getting twice the government services.
That's because local politicians took a real estate boom as permission to spend – and never stopped.
Home values surged. Assessments followed. Tax bills grew. Seniors on fixed incomes got squeezed harder every year, paying more to stay in homes they've owned for decades.
https://twitter.com/ReOpenChris/status/2059662166962147675?s=20
DeSantis spent months calling the competing legislative proposals "milquetoast" and a "political game" that would splinter voter support across seven different amendments.
He's not wrong.
No state in American history has ever eliminated homestead property taxes entirely.
Florida is about to be the first.
The average Florida homeowner currently pays roughly $2,800 a year in property taxes – money that disappears into local government budgets that have doubled their collections in a decade.
Don Gaetz understands what's at stake for the seniors writing him letters about choosing between groceries and their tax bill.
The only question is whether the Florida House and Senate have the courage to let voters decide.
Sources:
- Michelle Vecerina, "Sen. Don Gaetz announces support for DeSantis' plan to phase out homestead property taxes," FL Voice News, May 28, 2026.
- "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Special Session on Property Tax Relief & Unveils 'Save Our Homes' Property Tax Elimination Proposal," Executive Office of the Governor, May 27, 2026.
- "Property Tax Relief in Florida: Challenges, Options, and the Path to True Homeownership," James Madison Institute, October 15, 2025.
- A.G. Gancarski, "'Save our homes': Gov. DeSantis calls 'historic' Special Session," Florida Politics, May 27, 2026.
- "Florida lawmakers fast-track property tax elimination plan for primary homeowners across the state," Fox Business, February 2026.
