Amendments 5 & 6: Homestead & Veterans Amendments
(Editor’s note: This is the final of a three-part series on the six proposed state constitutional amendments that will appear on the November 3 ballot for Florida voters to consider. View part one and part two.)
Amendment 5 is titled “Limitation on Homestead Assessments.” It would increase, from two to three years, the period of time during which accrued Save-Our-Homes property tax benefits may be transferred from a prior home to a new home.
The original Save-Our-Homes amendment to Florida’s constitution was approved by voters in 1992 and limits the annual increase in the assessments of homestead property to 3% or the increase in inflation, whichever is less. In 2008, voters approved another amendment that allows homeowners that are relocating within Florida to transfer their accumulated Save-Our-Homes benefit to a new home if they had the homestead exemption on their prior house in either of the two preceding years. This so-called “portability“ allows homeowners to retain their reduced assessed value when changing permanent residences. This proposed amendment would give those homeowners up to three years to purchase a new home and transfer those accumulated tax benefits.
Amendment 5 is a legislative initiative, proposed by the Florida Legislature this past spring through HJR 369. Unlike citizen initiatives, legislative initiatives do not undergo review and approval of the ballot summary language by the Florida Supreme Court nor are they reviewed by the state’s Financial Impact Estimating Conference for the initiative’s potential cost to taxpayers.
Amendment 6 is titled “Ad Valorem Tax Discount for Spouses of Certain Deceased Veterans Who Had Permanent, Combat-Related Disabilities.” It provides that the homestead property tax discount for certain veterans with permanent combat-related disabilities carries over to the veteran’s surviving spouse who holds legal or beneficial title to, and who permanently resides on, the homestead property, until he or she remarries or sells or otherwise disposes of the property. The discount may be transferred to a new homestead property of the surviving spouse under certain conditions.
Amendment 6 is a legislative initiative, proposed by the Florida Legislature this past spring through HJR 877. Unlike citizen initiatives, legislative initiatives do not undergo review and approval of the ballot summary language by the Florida Supreme Court nor are they reviewed by the state’s Financial Impact Estimating Conference for the initiative’s potential cost to taxpayers.
All proposed amendments to Florida’s constitution require a 60% majority vote to be approved. As many of our readers are Floridians, it’s important to know how each of these measures can affect us and our families, businesses, and employees. Knowledge is power! Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Please be sure to exercise your civic duty to vote!
LMA Newsletter of 10-12-20
