Florida homeowners have been crushed by soaring property taxes for years.
Politicians love making promises but rarely deliver specifics.
And the Florida House Speaker gave voters one choice about property taxes that will have Democrats squirming.
House Republicans put seven property tax proposals on the table
Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez just pulled off a strategic masterstroke that caught both Democrats and Governor Ron DeSantis flat-footed.
Instead of picking one property tax relief plan and hoping it works, Perez announced the House will put seven different proposals before voters on the 2026 ballot – and let Floridians decide which ones they want.¹
The move came after months of DeSantis calling for property tax elimination without providing any actual details about how it would work.
"If we have faith in the voters to elect us, we should not be afraid to let them be a part of the conversation about the taxes they pay," Perez wrote in a memorandum to House members.² "It is our position that the House does not need to limit itself in presenting one single plan, but instead allow the people of Florida the ability to choose some, all, or none of the proposals on the 2026 ballot."³
Property taxes have become the single most explosive political issue in Florida heading into the 2026 elections.
Homeowners have watched their tax bills spike nearly 60% over the past five years in cities like Tampa and Jacksonville, with property taxes rising 45% statewide since 2019.⁴
DeSantis made eliminating property taxes a top priority this year, but after months of big talk, he still hasn’t delivered actual legislative language or explained how local governments would fund police, fire departments, and schools without that revenue stream.⁵
Perez’s Select Committee on Property Taxes spent months holding hearings and crafting detailed proposals – and now the House is ready to move forward with or without the Governor.
The menu of options gives voters real control
The seven proposals range from total elimination of non-school homestead property taxes to targeted relief for seniors and people with property insurance.
HJR 201, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Steele, would eliminate all non-school homestead property taxes in one shot.⁶
Rep. Monique Miller’s HJR 203 takes a more gradual approach by phasing out non-school homestead taxes over 10 years by adding $100,000 in exemptions annually.⁷
Rep. Juan Carlos Porras filed HJR 205 to exempt Florida residents over 65 from paying non-school homestead property taxes entirely.⁸
Rep. Shane Abbott’s HJR 207 creates a new 25% homestead exemption on non-school taxes, which would help both current homeowners and first-time buyers.⁹
HJR 209, sponsored by Rep. Demi Busatta, offers a $100,000 additional exemption for homeowners who carry property insurance – addressing the insurance crisis that’s hammering Florida families from another angle.¹⁰
Rep. Toby Overdorf’s HJR 211 eliminates the cap on portability, letting homeowners transfer their full accumulated Save Our Homes benefit when they move regardless of their new home’s value.¹¹
And Rep. Philip Griffitts filed HJR 213 to slow assessment growth even further – limiting non-school homestead property increases to 3% over three years instead of 3% annually.¹²
House Republicans also proposed HB 215, which would require a two-thirds vote for any millage rate increase and let newly married couples combine their Save Our Homes benefits.¹³
Every single proposal includes two critical protections: they prohibit affected government entities from cutting law enforcement funding, and they exempt school taxes from reductions.¹⁴
School taxes make up just under 40% of Floridians’ property tax bills on average, according to Florida TaxWatch analysis.¹⁵
This is about controlling the 2026 election narrative
Perez isn’t just proposing tax relief – he’s seizing control of the defining political issue heading into a major election year.
The Governor’s office, Chief Financial Officer, and multiple legislative seats are all up for grabs in November 2026.
Property taxes were already shaping up as the central campaign battleground, and Perez just planted the House Republican flag right in the middle of it.
DeSantis has been calling for property tax elimination since February 2025, but seven months later he still hasn’t provided the specifics that would be needed to actually implement his vision.¹⁶
Perez formed the Select Committee on Property Taxes back in April specifically after pointing out that the Governor had offered exciting ideas but no actual legislative language or answers about how local governments would function without property tax revenue.¹⁷
The timing of Thursday’s announcement – five months before the 2026 legislative session begins in January – forces DeSantis into a corner.
He can either get on board with detailed House proposals that give voters real choices, or he can keep making vague promises while looking obstructionist.
By offering voters a menu of options instead of one take-it-or-leave-it plan, Perez also gives Republicans political cover if some proposals fail to reach the 60% threshold required for constitutional amendments.¹⁸
If voters reject the most aggressive proposals but approve more moderate relief, Republicans can still claim victory for listening to the people.
Democrats are scrambling to respond because they’re caught between angry homeowners demanding tax relief and panicked local officials warning about devastating service cuts.
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell called the Republican plans "politically motivated" and warned they could leave small rural counties unable to fund basic services.¹⁹
"What firehouse would [DeSantis] close in Tampa? What police station would he close in Orlando? What garbage collection would he stop in South Florida?" Driskell asked.²⁰
But Republicans neutralized that attack by explicitly prohibiting law enforcement funding cuts in every proposal.
Local government officials can complain all they want about losing revenue, but they can’t accuse Republicans of defunding the police – and that’s exactly the point.
DeSantis and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia have been conducting "DOGE audits" of local government spending, arguing that counties and cities are wasting taxpayer money rather than returning excess revenue when home values spike.²¹
The property tax debate has become a proxy war over government spending philosophy – and Perez just gave Florida voters the ultimate say in how it plays out.
If the proposals pass the legislature in early 2026, survive Florida Supreme Court review, and make it onto the November ballot, homeowners will decide which vision of property tax relief they want.
That’s exactly how it should work in a republic – but it’s also brilliant politics that puts Democrats on defense heading into the most consequential election cycle in years.
¹ Multiple sources, "Florida House rolls out sweeping slate of property tax proposals for 2026 ballot," WFLX/WPTV/Sun-Sentinel, October 16, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Newsweek Staff, "Florida Property Tax Cut Proposal Gets Major Boost," Newsweek, September 2025; Natalie Martin, "Florida’s Property Tax Break Could Get Slightly Better in 2025," Kiplinger, July 15, 2025.
⁵ Christine Sexton, "Speaker Perez announces committee to draft property tax reform ballot initiatives," WFSU News, April 29, 2025.
⁶ Multiple sources, "Florida House rolls out sweeping slate of property tax proposals for 2026 ballot," WFLX/Sun-Sentinel, October 16, 2025.
⁷ – ¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Multiple sources, original source document, October 16, 2025.
¹³ Ibid.
¹⁴ Katie LaGrone, "Florida House unveils property tax reduction proposals," WUSF, October 16, 2025.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ Newsweek Staff, "Ron DeSantis Updates Florida on 2026 Plan for Property Tax Vote," Newsweek, August 28, 2025.
¹⁷ Christine Sexton, "House Speaker Daniel Perez announces select committee on property taxes," Florida Phoenix, April 29, 2025.
¹⁸ Property Exemption, "Florida Property Tax Elimination: DeSantis Plan Explained for Homeowners," Property Exemption Guide, September 2025.
¹⁹ WFLX Staff, "Florida House rolls out sweeping slate of property tax proposals for 2026 ballot," WFLX, October 16, 2025.
²⁰ Ibid.
²¹ Ibid.
