Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday unveiled a proposal that could dramatically reduce, and eventually eliminate, property taxes for many Florida homeowners, setting up what may become one of the state’s biggest political fights over affordability, local government funding and who foots public service bills.
The governor formally called a June 1 special session for lawmakers to consider the proposal, titled “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes.” If approved by the Legislature, the measure would head to Florida voters on the November ballot, where it would require at least 60% approval to pass.
Under the plan, Florida’s homestead exemption would immediately jump from $50,000 to $250,000. DeSantis said a future expansion could eventually raise that exemption to $500,000, eliminating property taxes entirely for roughly 92% of homesteaded properties statewide.
“I want to get something done,” DeSantis said while in Tampa. “I want to make sure people can go and vote for something, and then see something that’s going to be very, very meaningful in their lives.”
In his official proclamation, DeSantis wrote that Florida voters “deserve the right to decide at the ballot box in 2026 on whether they continue to pay rent to the government in perpetuity through taxes on their homesteaded property.”
The governor and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia have spent months arguing that local governments have become overly reliant on rising property tax revenues as home values exploded across Florida. According to the governor’s office, property tax revenue collected by local governments has climbed from roughly $32 billion in 2019 to nearly $60 billion in the current fiscal year, and is projected to reach $83 billion by 2032.
DeSantis framed the proposal as both affordability relief and a way to force local governments into greater spending discipline.
But local leaders and government advocates are already warning the proposal could create massive consequences for cities and counties that depend on property taxes to fund police, fire services, roads, infrastructure and libraries.
St. Petersburg City Council member and mayoral candidate Brandi Gabbard quickly emerged as one of the proposal’s sharper critics.
In a social media post responding to DeSantis’ claim that local government property tax collections have nearly doubled over the past seven years, Gabbard argued the governor is oversimplifying what caused those increases.
“Homestead property taxes have not doubled,” Gabbard wrote, noting Florida’s Save Our Homes protections cap annual increases for homesteaded properties at 3%.
Instead, she cited soaring home sale prices and reassessments on newly purchased properties as the real driver behind rising tax revenues.
“So … what doubled? The price of new home sales,” Gabbard wrote, highlighting statewide median home prices rising from roughly $240,000 in 2019 to approximately $410,000 in 2025.
Rather than eliminating property taxes altogether, Gabbard argued lawmakers should focus on how newly purchased homes are assessed.
“If the legislature or our governor REALLY wanted to address the increase in property taxes across the state, they would adjust the calculation on new home purchases,” she added.
Her criticism is not in a vacuum: many local government officials and advocates in St. Petersburg and greater Pinellas County have argued similarly, noting that eliminating property taxes does not eliminate the cost of public services and beleaguers local governments in times of unexpected need.
“This plan will bankrupt many small cities and towns across Florida,” wrote Gabbard. “It will dramatically hamper services in counties and cities with more resources.”
The debate also arrives as St. Petersburg’s millage rate has remained relatively stable in recent years, even as property tax collections increased alongside soaring home values. Much of that growth comes from newly purchased homes being reassessed closer to market value, not from homesteaded properties, which remain capped under Florida’s Save Our Homes protections.
Property taxes fund a major portion of the city’s core services, including police, fire rescue, stormwater infrastructure, roads and resiliency projects, all areas where St. Pete has sharply increased spending in recent budgets following repeated flooding and hurricanes.
DeSantis’ proposal would still allow remaining property tax revenues to support schools, law enforcement, fire rescue and other core services. The plan also creates a trust fund intended to assist smaller rural counties heavily reliant on property taxes.