Florida Amendment 3 Derailed From November Ballot

Amendment 3, approved by Florida lawmakers in 2009, has been removed from the November ballot by a ruling from Tallahassee Circuit Judge John Cooper. According to the judge's ruling, "the amendment's ballot title and summary don't mention the effective date, which could lead voters to incorrectly assume they were eligible for additional homestead exemption benefits, which are in fact limited to some buyers of homes purchased after January 1, 2010."

The case was brought by The Florida AFL-CIO and a Jacksonville homeowner. Both had an axe to grind in our opinion as the resident would not qualify for this particular exemption and the Florida AFL-CIO represents many union government employees paid from Florida property taxes which would be cut by this particular amendment's passage.

Amendment 3 offered two provisions:

• Qualified homebuyers (people who have not owned a home for at least eight years and who purchase a primary residence on or after January 1, 2010) would get an additional 25% homestead exemption in their first year of homeownership with a declining "additional exemption" schedule for the following four years.
• Reduce the cap on taxable value increases for commercial and non-homesteaded properties (second homes) to 5% a year, down from the 10% cap now in place.

According to state officials, the purpose of this Amendment is to reduce some of the disparity in taxes paid by recent purchasers versus longtime homeowners who get more benefit from the 1992 Save Our Homes Amendment. It caps annual taxable value increases at 3% for owners of primary (homesteaded) residences.

An appeal and eventual hearing in front of the Florida Supreme Court is a given on this one.

Now typically we try to keep our opinion of controversial decisions to ourselves for obvious reasons. However, this one is so galling that it's hard to not speak out. With all the problems facing the Florida housing market, prohibiting Amendment 3 from reaching the voters in November would be unconscionable. Let's hope the folks in the black robes in Tallahassee let the voters of Florida have their say.