Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has submitted new ballot language for the Amendment 3 measure after a judge ruled the original text was “clearly and conclusively defective.”
Amendment 3 would increase homestead exemptions for state residents who own primary residences by the end of this year to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with further increases tied to the Consumer Price Index. The amendment caps assessment increases on other property to 5% a year.
The Florida Times-Union reports the measure’s original ballot title, “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Tax,” has been replaced with “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homesteaded Property Assessments.” The measure’s original language that claimed taxpayers would enjoy “benefits” from the amendment while homeowners would receive “fairness” with reduced property taxes was also changed to neutral wording.
The lawsuit was brought by a group called Save Our Voters from Misleading Ballot Language, which includes former State Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg, former US Rep. Al Lawson, and several former South Florida mayors. Lawyers representing this group argued the original ballot language read like a sales pitch instead of an objective description while noting it did not detail the depth of changes that the loss of property tax revenue would have on local funding.
The amendment would need the approval of at least 60% of voters to become law.
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