Drew Wilson
A bill that would extend a constitutional amendment to stop large spikes a property’s taxable value is ready for a floor vote in the House.
HJR 21 cleared the House Commerce Committee with a 24-2 vote, and previously made it through the House Ways and Means Committee with a 16-1 vote.
Back in 2008, Florida voters approved an amendment that capped the increase in assessed value for non-homesteaded residential property at 10 percent a year, except when it comes to taxes to fund schools.
That amendment is set to expire in 2019, and a bill moving through the House would put an extension for the amendment on the ballot in 2018.
One of the two votes against the bill came from Loxahatchee Republican Rep. Rick Roth, who said the cap should be lowered.
“I don’t understand why we had so many people in the audience waive in support who represent business communities,” he said. “The idea of a ten percent tax increase every year… thankfully we haven’t had that for the past seven or eight years.”
The bill now moves to the House floor.
HJR 21’s senate companion, SJR 76, cleared the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance and Tax with a unanimous vote last month, but still needs approval from the Appropriations and Rules committees before its ready for the chamber floor.
