Florida lawmakers could return for special session on newly-passed property tax amendment

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) - Florida’s lawmakers, including those newly elected, could be making a return to Tallahassee earlier than expected.

That’s because Governor Ron DeSantis says the legislature “has to” return before January 1 to address Amendment 3.

Now that Amendment 3 is part of the state constitution, legislators have to pass the laws implementing the overall program, and those laws could include a taxpayer bill of rights.

The day after the election, Gov. DeSantis said he plans to call another special session before he leaves office.

He would like to see the legislature pass a “Taxpayer Bill of Rights,” meant to prevent cities and counties from raising fees to offset the losses to the budgets.

“But that’s the plan. Yeah, and look, I don’t know how it got to that point, but I’m glad since I was involved with this, I want to make sure that we land it right. I think it’s important,” DeSantis said.

It’s a tricky time politically. Governor-elect Byron Donalds may not want his first acts in office to be about trimming local budgets, while the legislature and the current governor have an uneasy relationship.

“Donalds is just getting in and I’m not sure that he immediately wants to make his signature issue to be all these really difficult cuts that have to happen,” University of North Florida Associate Professor Sean Freeder said. “So, I think a combination of those factors.”

Florida politics:

Freeder said polling showed about 15% of people likely didn’t know about Amendment 3 before hitting the polls, so the language on the page could have made the difference.

“So, there’s definitely those people out there, that would be the issue for them,” Freeder said. “They would not take the trade-off, but I wonder what percentage of those people just didn’t realize the trade-off they were making.”

How local governments move forward is likely to be under heavy scrutiny.

“Now, the big question for localities is how do you implement this now that there’s going to be these budget shortfalls all over the place? And I think that would be an interesting place for polling to turn next,” University of North Florida Associate Professor Sean Freeder said.

The legislature will be back next week for its “organizational session,” where they ceremonially pick leadership and have a swearing in.

But if efficiency is the goal, a special session while the legislature is already in town could make some sense. While they may return, lawmakers don’t have to pass anything.