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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
House Joint Resolution 1
A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 3 2
and Section 6 of Article VII and the creation of a new 3
section in Article XII of the State Constitution to 4
create two new property tax exemptions for all levies 5
and to provide an effective date. 6
7
Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 8
9
That the following amendment to Section 3 and Section 6 of 10
Article VII and the creation of a new section in Article XII of 11
the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to 12
the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next 13
general election or at an earlier special election specifically 14
authorized by law for that purpose: 15
ARTICLE VII 16
FINANCE AND TAXATION 17
SECTION 3. Taxes; exemptions. — 18
(a) All property owned by a municipality and used 19
exclusively by it for municipal or public purposes shall be 20
exempt from taxation. A municipality, owning property outside 21
the municipality, may be required by general law to make payment 22
to the taxing unit in which the property is located. Such 23
portions of property as are used predominantly for educational, 24
literary, scientific, religious or charitable purposes may be 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
exempted by general law fr om taxation. 26
(b) There shall be exempt from taxation, cumulatively, to 27
every head of a family residing in this state, household goods 28
and personal effects to the value fixed by general law, not less 29
than one thousand dollars, and to every widow or widowe r or 30
person who is blind or totally and permanently disabled, 31
property to the value fixed by general law not less than five 32
hundred dollars. 33
(c) Any county or municipality may, for the purpose of its 34
respective tax levy and subject to the provisions of t his 35
subsection and general law, grant community and economic 36
development ad valorem tax exemptions to new businesses and 37
expansions of existing businesses, as defined by general law. 38
Such an exemption may be granted only by ordinance of the county 39
or municipality, and only after the electors of the county or 40
municipality voting on such question in a referendum authorize 41
the county or municipality to adopt such ordinances. An 42
exemption so granted shall apply to improvements to real 43
property made by or for th e use of a new business and 44
improvements to real property related to the expansion of an 45
existing business and shall also apply to tangible personal 46
property of such new business and tangible personal property 47
related to the expansion of an existing busine ss. The amount or 48
limits of the amount of such exemption shall be specified by 49
general law. The period of time for which such exemption may be 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
granted to a new business or expansion of an existing business 51
shall be determined by general law. The authority to grant such 52
exemption shall expire ten years from the date of approval by 53
the electors of the county or municipality, and may be renewable 54
by referendum as provided by general law. 55
(d) Any county or municipality may, for the purpose of its 56
respective tax levy and subject to the provisions of this 57
subsection and general law, grant historic preservation ad 58
valorem tax exemptions to owners of historic properties. This 59
exemption may be granted only by ordinance of the county or 60
municipality. The amount or l imits of the amount of this 61
exemption and the requirements for eligible properties must be 62
specified by general law. The period of time for which this 63
exemption may be granted to a property owner shall be determined 64
by general law. 65
(e) By general law and subject to conditions specified 66
therein: 67
(1) Twenty-five thousand dollars of the assessed value of 68
property subject to tangible personal property tax shall be 69
exempt from ad valorem taxation. 70
(2) The assessed value of solar devices or renewable 71
energy source devices subject to tangible personal property tax 72
may be exempt from ad valorem taxation, subject to limitations 73
provided by general law. 74
(f) There shall be granted an ad valorem tax exemption for 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
real property dedicated in perpetuity for conserv ation purposes, 76
including real property encumbered by perpetual conservation 77
easements or by other perpetual conservation protections, as 78
defined by general law. 79
(g) By general law and subject to the conditions specified 80
therein, each person who receives a homestead exemption as 81
provided in section 6 of this article; who was a member of the 82
United States military or military reserves, the United States 83
Coast Guard or its reserves, or the Florida National Guard; and 84
who was deployed during the preceding ca lendar year on active 85
duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii in 86
support of military operations designated by the legislature 87
shall receive an additional exemption equal to a percentage of 88
the taxable value of his or her homestead pro perty. The 89
applicable percentage shall be calculated as the number of days 90
during the preceding calendar year the person was deployed on 91
active duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, or 92
Hawaii in support of military operations designated by th e 93
legislature divided by the number of days in that year. 94
(h) One hundred thousand dollars of the value of assessed 95
real property shall be exempt from all levies. 96
SECTION 6. Homestead exemptions. — 97
(a) Every person who has the legal or equitable tit le to 98
real estate and maintains thereon the permanent residence of the 99
owner, or another legally or naturally dependent upon the owner, 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
shall be exempt from taxation thereon, except assessments for 101
special benefits, up to the assessed valuation of twenty -five 102
thousand dollars and, for all levies other than school district 103
levies, on the assessed valuation greater than fifty thousand 104
dollars and up to seventy -five thousand dollars, upon 105
establishment of right thereto in the manner prescribed by law. 106
The real estate may be held by legal or equitable title, by the 107
entireties, jointly, in common, as a condominium, or indirectly 108
by stock ownership or membership representing the owner's or 109
member's proprietary interest in a corporation owning a fee or a 110
leasehold initially in excess of ninety -eight years. The 111
exemption shall not apply with respect to any assessment roll 112
until such roll is first determined to be in compliance with the 113
provisions of section 4 by a state agency designated by general 114
law. This exemption is repealed on the effective date of any 115
amendment to this Article which provides for the assessment of 116
homestead property at less than just value. 117
(b) Not more than one exemption shall be allowed any 118
individual or family unit or with respect to any re sidential 119
unit. No exemption shall exceed the value of the real estate 120
assessable to the owner or, in case of ownership through stock 121
or membership in a corporation, the value of the proportion 122
which the interest in the corporation bears to the assessed 123
value of the property. 124
(c) By general law and subject to conditions specified 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
therein, the Legislature may provide to renters, who are 126
permanent residents, ad valorem tax relief on all ad valorem tax 127
levies. Such ad valorem tax relief shall be in the form and 128
amount established by general law. 129
(d) The legislature may, by general law, allow counties or 130
municipalities, for the purpose of their respective tax levies 131
and subject to the provisions of general law, to grant either or 132
both of the following additi onal homestead tax exemptions: 133
(1) An exemption not exceeding fifty thousand dollars to a 134
person who has the legal or equitable title to real estate and 135
maintains thereon the permanent residence of the owner, who has 136
attained age sixty-five, and whose household income, as defined 137
by general law, does not exceed twenty thousand dollars; or 138
(2) An exemption equal to the assessed value of the 139
property to a person who has the legal or equitable title to 140
real estate with a just value less than two hundred an d fifty 141
thousand dollars, as determined in the first tax year that the 142
owner applies and is eligible for the exemption, and who has 143
maintained thereon the permanent residence of the owner for not 144
less than twenty-five years, who has attained age sixty -five, 145
and whose household income does not exceed the income limitation 146
prescribed in paragraph (1). 147
148
The general law must allow counties and municipalities to grant 149
these additional exemptions, within the limits prescribed in 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
this subsection, by ordinance adop ted in the manner prescribed 151
by general law, and must provide for the periodic adjustment of 152
the income limitation prescribed in this subsection for changes 153
in the cost of living. 154
(e)(1) Each veteran who is age 65 or older who is 155
partially or totally per manently disabled shall receive a 156
discount from the amount of the ad valorem tax otherwise owed on 157
homestead property the veteran owns and resides in if the 158
disability was combat related and the veteran was honorably 159
discharged upon separation from militar y service. The discount 160
shall be in a percentage equal to the percentage of the 161
veteran's permanent, service -connected disability as determined 162
by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. To qualify 163
for the discount granted by this paragraph, an a pplicant must 164
submit to the county property appraiser, by March 1, an official 165
letter from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs 166
stating the percentage of the veteran's service -connected 167
disability and such evidence that reasonably identifies th e 168
disability as combat related and a copy of the veteran's 169
honorable discharge. If the property appraiser denies the 170
request for a discount, the appraiser must notify the applicant 171
in writing of the reasons for the denial, and the veteran may 172
reapply. The Legislature may, by general law, waive the annual 173
application requirement in subsequent years. 174
(2) If a veteran who receives the discount described in 175
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paragraph (1) predeceases his or her spouse, and if, upon the 176
death of the veteran, the surviving spous e holds the legal or 177
beneficial title to the homestead property and permanently 178
resides thereon, the discount carries over to the surviving 179
spouse until he or she remarries or sells or otherwise disposes 180
of the homestead property. If the surviving spouse s ells or 181
otherwise disposes of the property, a discount not to exceed the 182
dollar amount granted from the most recent ad valorem tax roll 183
may be transferred to the surviving spouse's new homestead 184
property, if used as his or her permanent residence and he or 185
she has not remarried. 186
(3) This subsection is self -executing and does not require 187
implementing legislation. 188
(f) By general law and subject to conditions and 189
limitations specified therein, the Legislature may provide ad 190
valorem tax relief equal to the total amount or a portion of the 191
ad valorem tax otherwise owed on homestead property to: 192
(1) The surviving spouse of a veteran who died from 193
service-connected causes while on active duty as a member of the 194
United States Armed Forces. 195
(2) The surviving spouse of a first responder who died in 196
the line of duty. 197
(3) A first responder who is totally and permanently 198
disabled as a result of an injury or injuries sustained in the 199
line of duty. Causal connection between a disability and service 200
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in the line of duty shall not be presumed but must be determined 201
as provided by general law. For purposes of this paragraph, the 202
term "disability" does not include a chronic condition or 203
chronic disease, unless the injury sustained in the line of duty 204
was the sole cause of the chronic condition or chronic disease. 205
206
As used in this subsection and as further defined by general 207
law, the term "first responder" means a law enforcement officer, 208
a correctional officer, a firefighter, an emergency medical 209
technician, or a paramed ic, and the term "in the line of duty" 210
means arising out of and in the actual performance of duty 211
required by employment as a first responder. 212
(g) Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of the value of 213
homestead property shall be exempt from all levies i f a person 214
who has attained age sixty -five holds legal or equitable title 215
to such property. 216
ARTICLE XII 217
SCHEDULE 218
Real property exemptions. —This section and the amendments 219
to Section 3 and Section 6 of Article VII creating a $100,000 220
exemption from the a ssessed value of real property for all 221
levies and a $250,000 exemption from all levies for homestead 222
property if the title holder has attained age 65 shall take 223
effect January 1, 2025. 224
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be 225
placed on the ballot: 226
CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND MENT 227
ARTICLE VII, SECTION 3 228
ARTICLE VII, SECTION 6 229
ARTICLE XII 230
EXEMPTIONS FROM ASSE SSMENT FOR TAXATION OF REAL PROPERTY.—231
Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to create a 232
$100,000 exemption from the assessed value of real property for 233
all levies and a $250,000 homestead exemption for residential 234
property owned by a person who is age 65 or older. The amendment 235
takes effect January 1, 2025. 236