DeSantis Property Tax Session Threatens to Upend Treasure Coast Budgets

Gov. Ron DeSantis has confirmed he will call a special legislative session before the end of July to advance a constitutional amendment that could eliminate homestead property taxes in Florida — a move that would blow a combined hole of hundreds of millions of dollars in Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River county budgets if voters approve it in November.

DeSantis made the confirmation in Fort Myers, saying he has until "Aug. 1 in order to get on the ballot." The amendment would require 3/5 supermajority votes in both chambers of the Florida Legislature before going to voters, who would then need to approve it by more than 60% in November.

No local official on the Treasure Coast has been asked publicly to account for what that math means here.

Property appraisers in all three counties maintain homestead exemption rolls that form the assessed-value base for school district levies, fire rescue districts, library systems, and general county operations. The dollar figure attached to those rolls — and what disappears from local budgets if the exemption expands into full elimination — has not been calculated or disclosed by any of the three county governments. Officials said

The governor's own office has not released a specific plan. DeSantis acknowledged last week that his office is "running studies" on the proposal and suggested a "phased" approach, with CFO Blaise Ingoglia separately floating a "glide path over six years" so governments can adjust. That caveat has done little to calm concern among budget officials nationally who rely on property tax revenue as their most stable funding source.

DeSantis named the opposition himself: "teacher unions, local politicians, local bureaucrats … business groups … and politicians in both parties even to a certain extent," he said, arguing they "like the predictability of what they have now."

On the Treasure Coast, that predictability funds daily life. Martin County Fire Rescue, the St. Lucie County School District, and the Indian River County Library System are all primarily property-tax-funded. None of the three county commissions has publicly stated how it would replace the revenue. Officials said

The relevant constitutional amendment has not yet been assigned a bill number or sponsor, as the special session has not been formally called. Officials said

County commissioners and school board members in all three counties should be pressed this week — before a special session date is set — on a single question DeSantis has not answered: What gets cut first?

Requests for comment were sent to the Martin County Administrator's office, the St. Lucie County Commission, and the Indian River County Budget Office. None had responded by press time.

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