Tax Policy · Special Session 2026F

Florida Passes "Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes" — CS/HJR 1F Heads to the Ballot

· Sourced from the LobbyScape legislative database

On June 2, 2026, in the final hours of Florida's Special Session 2026F, both chambers passed CS/HJR 1F — "Save our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes" — a constitutional amendment proposing changes to Article VII, Sections 4, 6, and 9 of the Florida Constitution and creating a new section in Article XII. The companion statutory bill, CS/SB 4F — "Property Tax Administration", was enrolled the same day. The Democratic alternative, HJR 11F, was filed at 12:07 PM and died in House Ways & Means Committee by 5:36 PM.

If voters approve CS/HJR 1F on the November 2026 general election ballot, it will be the most substantial restructuring of Florida's property tax system since Save Our Homes was originally adopted in 1992. Below: what passed, how each chamber voted, which amendments failed, and what comes next.

30–9
Senate passage
75–26
House passage
5
Amendments failed
~26h
Committee to enrollment
60%
Voter threshold

What CS/HJR 1F Actually Does

The amendment changes four parts of the Florida Constitution. Each card below is one of those changes.

Article VII · § 4

Save Our Homes assessment framework

Reaffirms the homestead assessment cap at the lesser of 3% or CPI, and resets all homestead property to just value as of January 1 of the year following the effective date — every existing homestead gets reassessed at the new framework.

Article VII · § 6

Homestead exemption: 5× by 2028

Phases up the non-school homestead exemption from $50,000 today → $150,000 on Jan 1, 2027 → $250,000 on Jan 1, 2028. School district levies stay at the $25,000 exemption. New residents (post-Dec 31, 2026) start at $50,000 and step up to $250,000 over five years.

Article VII · § 9

Seven enumerated ad valorem uses

Counties and municipalities can use ad valorem revenue only for: public safety, education, infrastructure (roads/bridges/stormwater), natural-resource projects, local bonds for those purposes, retirement benefits for local employees, and core county/municipal operations. Anything not on the list — libraries, parks, social services, arts, public health, transit — must find non-ad-valorem funding.

Article XII (new section)

Transition + effective date

Creates a new section establishing the phase-in schedule (2027 → 2028) and the constitutional framework for re-assessing existing homestead property under the new amendment.

Companion statute · CS/SB 4F

Implementing legislation

Revises maximum millage rate limitations, updates the statutory definitions of "maximum total county ad valorem taxes levied" and "maximum total municipal ad valorem taxes levied" to conform, and explicitly authorizes the ballot summary of this amendment to exceed Florida's standard word limit — a signal that the legislature expects the substance to need more explanation than typical.

The Vote Breakdown

Every vote on this page is sourced directly from the LobbyScape bill record. Each card summarizes one vote; expand the roll-call to see who voted which way.

Senate · Floor Passage

CS/HJR 1F — Constitutional amendment

30 YES / 9 NO

June 2, 4:57 PM. All 30 Republicans, plus Sens. Pizzo and Rouson (D). Cleared the 60% threshold by 6 votes.

↗ 2 Democratic crossovers
House · Final Passage (Reading 3)

CS/HJR 1F — Constitutional amendment

75 YES / 26 NO

June 2, 4:29 PM. 74 Republicans plus Rep. Joseph (D) voted YES. Two Republicans voted NO — Reps. Boyles and Maney — joining 24 Democrats. Cleared the 60% threshold by 3 votes.

↗ 2 Republican defections (Boyles, Maney) · 1 Democratic crossover (Joseph)
Senate · Appropriations Committee

CS/HJR 1F — committee referral

13 YES / 5 NO

June 1, 3:00 PM, Room 110 Senate Office Building. Reported favorably as Committee Substitute.

↗ Sens. Hooper & Rouson (D) voted YES; Pizzo voted NO at committee but YES on floor
House · State Affairs Committee

CS/HJR 1F — committee referral

20 YES / 7 NO

June 1. Party-line at committee — all 20 Republicans YES, all 7 Democrats NO.

↳ Rep. Boyles voted YES here on June 1 but NO on the floor June 2
Senate · CS/SB 4F (implementing statute)

Property Tax Administration

30 YES / 8 NO

Implementing legislation operationalizing the constitutional changes. Senate Appropriations: 13–5 favorable.

House · CS/SB 4F (implementing statute)

Property Tax Administration

75 YES / 27 NO

House passed after substituting for CS/HB 3F. Earlier Reading 2 quorum was a procedural 99–0 unrelated to the substantive vote.

See the full roll calls (every member, both chambers)

Senate CS/HJR 1F YES (30): Avila, Bernard, Boyd, Bradley, Brodeur, Burgess, Burton, Calatayud, DiCeglie, Gaetz, Garcia, Grall, Harrell, Hooper, Leek, Martin, Massullo, Mayfield, McClain, Passidomo, Pizzo, President Albritton, Rodriguez, Rouson, Sharief, Simon, Truenow, Trumbull, Wright, Yarborough

Senate CS/HJR 1F NO (9): Arrington, Berman, Bracy Davis, Davis, Jones, Nathan, Osgood, Polsky, Smith

House CS/HJR 1F YES (75): Abbott, Albert, Alvarez (D.), Andrade, Baker, Bankson, Barnaby, Basabe, Benarroch, Berfield, Black, Blanco, Booth, Borrero, Botana, Brackett, Brannan, Buchanan, Busatta, Canady, Cassel, Chamberlin, Chaney, Cobb, Conerly, Duggan, Esposito, Fabricio, Garrison, Gentry, Gerwig, Gonzalez Pittman, Gossett-Seidman, Greco, Griffitts, Grow, Hodgers, Holcomb, Holley, Jacques, Johnson, Joseph, Kendall, Koster, LaMarca, Maggard, McClure, McFarland, Melo, Michael, Miller, Mooney, Nix, Oliver, Overdorf, Owen, Partington, Perez, Plakon, Plasencia, Porras, Redondo, Rizo, Salzman, Scott, Shoaf, Sirois, Smith, Snyder, Steele, Tramont, Tuck, Valdés, Weinberger, Yarkosky

House CS/HJR 1F NO (26): Alvarez (J.), Antone, Bartleman, Boyles, Campbell, Chambliss, Cross, Daley, Driskell, Dunkley, Eskamani, Gantt, Gregory, Harris, Hunschofsky, López (J.), Maney, Nixon, Rayner, Robinson (F.), Skidmore, Spencer, Tant, Tendrich, Woodson, Young

Senate Appropriations YES (13): Brodeur, Burgess, DiCeglie, Garcia, Grall, Harrell, Hooper, Martin, Massullo, McClain, Rouson, Trumbull, Wright

Senate Appropriations NO (5): Berman, Pizzo, Polsky, Sharief, Smith

House State Affairs YES (20): Basabe, Blanco, Botana, Boyles, Busatta, Chaney, Cobb, Duggan, Gentry, Gonzalez Pittman, Griffitts, Holcomb, Jacques, Koster, Maggard, McFarland, Mooney, Owen, Sirois, Weinberger

House State Affairs NO (7): Cross, Eskamani, Gantt, Nixon, Spencer, Tendrich, Young

The Failed Amendments

House debate produced nine floor amendments across CS/HJR 1F and CS/HB 3F. One was withdrawn before vote; eight failed. The amendment-by-amendment substantive text resides in the official House journal — and the through-line across all of them comes into focus when you compare them to (a) the Democratic alternative HJR 11F's structural provisions, and (b) the underlying CS/HJR 1F text. Both are sourced from the LobbyScape platform's full-text index.

What the Democratic amendment strategy actually was

With the actual amendment text in hand from LobbyScape, the Democratic floor-amendment strategy resolves into two clear pillars:

  • Pillar 1 — Constitutional state backfill mandates. Three separate amendments would have required the Legislature to fund local government services if a local government couldn't pay for them as a result of CS/HJR 1F: Eskamani's amendment for public safety, Woodson's for senior citizens, and Gantt's for veterans. Each would have written a permanent state-spending mandate into Article VII. All three failed by margins of 25–74 to 25–75.
  • Pillar 2 — Ballot transparency. Three more amendments targeted what voters would see and know about CS/HJR 1F before voting in November 2026. Harris would have required the ballot summary to disclose fiscal impact on counties/municipalities/school districts/special districts and whether replacement revenue had been identified. Woodson would have required a Department of Revenue website listing the local programs that would be eliminated. Gregory would have prohibited state funds from being used to advertise the amendment to voters. All three failed.

Plus three more substantive amendments: Bartleman's carve-out protecting Children's Services Councils, Cross's surgical addition of water management districts to the allowed-use list, and Hunschofsky's full strike-and-replace (which she withdrew and re-filed minutes later as standalone HJR 11F — both then died).

Every floor amendment on both bills was filed by a Democrat. The full Democratic caucus voted YES on each. Two Republicans (Boyles, Maney) voted NO on final passage of CS/HJR 1F itself but did not file or vote YES on the failed amendments. The cards below give each amendment's full provision detail sourced directly from the LobbyScape amendment-tracking endpoint.

Likely interest-group alignment

  • Groups that likely opposed CS/HJR 1F and supported the failed amendments: Florida League of Cities, Florida Association of Counties, Florida Education Association, Florida Library Association, Florida Recreation and Park Association, AFSCME Florida and public-employee unions, Florida Public Health Association, Florida property appraisers' associations (operational concerns), and county-level cultural and arts coalitions.
  • Groups that likely supported CS/HJR 1F and opposed the amendments: Florida Realtors, Florida Home Builders Association, AARP Florida (homestead protection angle for elder homeowners), Florida TaxWatch (deficit-hawk framing), Americans for Prosperity Florida, James Madison Institute, and broad homeowner-advocacy coalitions. The Governor's office publicly supported the underlying measure throughout 2026.
  • Cross-pressured / mixed: Florida Chamber of Commerce (commercial property owners benefit from the cap-on-local-use, but Chamber-member service industries are affected by reduced local services), the Florida Sheriffs Association and Florida Police Chiefs Association (Section 9 explicitly protects public safety funding — a structural win — but cuts elsewhere may pressure overall county budgets), and the Florida Association of School Superintendents (the FEFP-RLE mechanics are unresolved by the amendment itself).

Group positions above reflect the natural alignment based on the bill's substance and each organization's standing policy positions; LobbyScape does not yet have signed-witness data from the special-session hearings to confirm individual lobbyist positions for the record.

Amendment-by-amendment record from LobbyScape

All sponsors and amendment text below pulled directly from the LobbyScape amendment-tracking endpoint. Click any card to expand for the full provision detail.

On CS/HJR 1F (the constitutional amendment)

Amendment 969759 · Rep. Bartleman (D)

Carve out Children's Services Councils

Filed June 1, 10:03 PM. Voted June 2 at 14:54.

Failed 25–71Reading 2
What it would have done

Excluded from the new homestead exemption increase any levies imposed pursuant to Florida Statutes § 125.901 (Children's Services Councils) and any referendum-approved children's services levies. The CSC carve-out would have preserved the funding base for Florida's CSCs — independent special districts in 8 counties that fund children's health, mental-health, and after-school programs through dedicated property tax millage.

Why it failed

The carve-out would have weakened the universal homestead exemption increase by introducing a category that's still fully taxable. Republican supporters of the bill rejected the precedent of treating any local levy differently.

Source

Amendment full text: House bill record →

Amendment 516895 · Rep. Eskamani (D)

Mandate state backfill of public safety

Filed June 1, 9:31 PM. Voted June 2 at 15:21.

Failed 25–74Reading 2
What it would have done

Inserted into Article VII a constitutional requirement that the Legislature shall provide local governments with any funds necessary to fund public safety services — explicitly including law enforcement, fire safety, emergency medical services, and corrections — if a local government is unable to fully fund them as a result of this amendment. Paired ballot and title amendments would have disclosed this to voters on the November 2026 ballot.

Why it failed

Created a mandatory state spending obligation that Republican leadership did not want to lock into the constitution. CS/HJR 1F's Section 9 protects public safety as one of the seven allowed uses of ad valorem revenue, but does not commit the state to backfill any shortfall.

Source

Amendment full text: House bill record →

Amendment 976107 · Rep. Cross (D)

Add water management districts to allowed uses

Filed June 2, 11:36 AM. Voted at 15:06.

Failed 26–75Reading 2
What it would have done

A surgical addition to Section 9's allowed-use list. Removed lines 428-429 of the bill and inserted "g. Fund water management districts" as an additional purpose for which ad valorem taxes could be used. Without this addition, Florida's five regional water management districts (SFWMD, SJRWMD, SWFWMD, NWFWMD, SRWMD) — which levy their own ad valorem millage for flood control, water supply, and Everglades restoration — would be outside the constitutionally protected funding categories.

Vote note

The 26 YES votes (one more than the standard Democratic count) suggests one Republican briefly considered crossing — possibly a member from a South Florida district where the SFWMD is politically significant.

Source

Amendment full text: House bill record →

Amendment 060165 · Rep. Woodson (D)

Mandate state backfill of senior services

Filed June 1, 11:22 PM. Voted June 2 at 15:37.

Failed 25–75Reading 2
What it would have done

Parallel structure to the Eskamani public-safety amendment but for seniors. Required the Legislature to fund local government services and programs related to senior citizens if a local government is unable to fully fund them as a result of the amendment. Paired ballot and title amendments would have disclosed the senior-services backfill to voters.

Why it failed

Same structural objection as the Eskamani amendment — would have written a mandatory state spending obligation into the constitution that Republican leadership opposed.

Source

Amendment full text: House bill record →

Amendment 679555 · Rep. Gantt (D)

Mandate state backfill of veterans services

Filed June 2, 10:51 AM. Voted at 15:48.

Failed 25–75Reading 2
What it would have done

Third in the same backfill series. Required the Legislature to provide funds to local governments for services related to veterans if a local government is unable to fully fund them as a result of the amendment. Paired ballot and title amendments would have disclosed the veterans-services backfill to voters.

Strategic context

Veterans services are administered partly at the county level (Veterans Service Officers, county veterans councils) and partly through state-level Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. The amendment was the third constitutional state-backfill mandate of the day — public safety, seniors, then veterans — each likely designed to pull Republican members representing high-veteran districts, but none succeeded.

Source

Amendment full text: House bill record →

Amendment 636249 · Rep. Hunschofsky (D)

Full alternative — withdrew, refiled as HJR 11F

Filed June 2, 6:55 AM. Withdrawn June 2, 1:03 PM.

WithdrawnReading 2
What it would have done

A full strike-and-replace amendment. "Remove everything after the resolving clause and insert" — replacing the entire CS/HJR 1F with an alternative constitutional amendment touching only Section 6 (homestead) and creating two new sections in Article XII. The replacement language proposed a different homestead structure ($25,000 base school exemption, with the non-school exemption rising to $175,000 plus inflation-adjusted growth) and avoided the Section 9 ad valorem use restriction entirely. The full text runs 14,278 characters in the LobbyScape index.

Why withdrawn

Hunschofsky withdrew the amendment at 1:03 PM. At 12:07 PM — 56 minutes before the withdrawal — she filed the substantively identical language as standalone HJR 11F, which then went to Ways & Means Committee and died there at 5:36 PM. The withdrawal was procedural, not strategic abandonment: the Democratic caucus moved its alternative from the amendment process to a standalone joint resolution. Both died.

Source

Amendment full text + HJR 11F: House bill record →

On CS/HB 3F (the implementing statute)

Amendment 865065 · Rep. Harris (D)

Require fiscal-impact disclosure on the ballot

Filed June 1, 11:24 PM. Voted June 2 at 16:45.

FailedReading 2
What it would have done

Required that any constitutional amendment to §§ 4, 6, and 9 of Article VII submitted to voters at the November 2026 general election must include in the ballot summary a statement describing the projected statewide fiscal impact and must disclose if implementation is expected to reduce revenues available to counties, municipalities, school districts, or special districts. It would have further required disclosure of whether replacement revenue has been identified by general law. The provision would have expired January 1, 2029.

Strategic significance

This was the closest amendment to forcing transparency about CS/HJR 1F's revenue impact directly on the ballot. By killing it, the legislature ensured the ballot summary will describe only the substantive constitutional changes — not the fiscal consequences for local governments.

Source

Amendment full text: House bill record →

Amendment 966147 · Rep. Woodson (D)

Require DOR website on local impact

Filed June 1, 11:22 PM. Voted June 2 at 16:52.

FailedReading 2
What it would have done

Required the Department of Revenue to establish a publicly accessible website, within 10 days of the act's effective date, for informing electors of the local programs and institutions that will be impacted or eliminated if the amendment is approved. The provision explicitly cleared §§ 106.113 and 106.151, Florida Statutes (which restrict government communication near elections), to authorize the site as factual government information. Provision would have expired January 1, 2029.

Strategic significance

A complementary disclosure mechanism to Amendment 865065 — instead of putting fiscal impact on the ballot itself, this would have created a state-run website voters could consult before voting. Both Harris and Woodson amendments targeted the same goal (voter information about local-government impact) from different angles. Both failed.

Source

Amendment full text: House bill record →

Amendment 400063 · Rep. Gregory (D)

Prohibit state advertising in support of amendment

Filed June 1, 10:30 PM. Voted June 2 at 17:02.

FailedReading 2
What it would have done

Single-sentence amendment: "Notwithstanding any other law, state funds may not be used to advertise a joint resolution proposing an amendment or a revision to ss. 4, 6, and 9, Article VII of the State Constitution submitted to the electors of this state at the November 2026 general election." Targeted directly at the possibility of the state running a public-information campaign in support of the amendment ahead of the ballot vote.

Strategic significance

The final amendment voted before CS/HB 3F passage. Killing it preserves the legislature's flexibility to fund neutral or supportive voter outreach about the amendment in the run-up to November 2026. Combined with the failure of Amendments 865065 and 966147, the Democratic caucus's three-part transparency strategy — ballot summary disclosure, DOR website disclosure, advertising prohibition — was fully defeated.

Source

Amendment full text: House bill record →

All amendment text, sponsor names, and provision summaries above are sourced directly from the LobbyScape amendment-tracking endpoint, which indexes the official Florida House amendment record. Click "House bill record →" on any card to navigate to the underlying bill page on flhouse.gov.

The amendments were filed predominantly by Democratic members; their consistent ~25-vote YES count tracks closely with the size of the Democratic caucus in the House. Each is a public record indexed in the LobbyScape platform alongside the parent bill so a lobbyist can see the full pattern of what was attempted.

The Democratic Alternative — HJR 11F

HJR 11F was filed by Rep. Hunschofsky at 12:07 PM on June 2 and died in House Ways & Means Committee at 5:36 PM the same day — 5 hours and 29 minutes from filing to procedural kill. Title: "Homestead Exemption and Public Safety Funding." Below: the four provisions HJR 11F proposed that CS/HJR 1F does not include.

HJR 11F · Provision 1

Homestead exemption revision

Would have revised the homestead exemption — broadly parallel to CS/HJR 1F's approach on this provision.

HJR 11F · Provision 2

Cap on inflation adjustment

Would have limited the annual inflation adjustment applied to the homestead exemption itself.

HJR 11F · Provision 3

Public safety funding floor

Constitutional requirement that funding for public safety remain at current levels — a structural protection CS/HJR 1F does not include.

HJR 11F · Provision 4

Trust-fund revenue backfill

Constitutional requirement for a trust fund to provide supplemental funding to replace lost ad valorem revenues — the central structural difference from CS/HJR 1F, which contains no constitutional backfill mechanism.

Co-sponsors of HJR 11F (15 House Democrats filing alongside Hunschofsky): Alvarez (J.), Bartleman, Campbell, Cross, Eskamani, Gregory, Harris, Joseph, López (J.), Nixon, Spencer, Tant, Tendrich, Woodson, and Young. Each of these names except Joseph appears in the NO column on the final House passage of CS/HJR 1F.

The Procedural Timeline

  • May 28: Sen. Avila files CS/SJR 2F and CS/SB 4F.
  • May 29: Senate Appropriations Committee schedules both for the June 1 hearing.
  • June 1, 3:00 PM: Senate Appropriations hearing; Committee Substitute reported favorably 13–5.
  • June 1: House State Affairs Committee passes CS/HJR 1F (and CS/HB 3F) 20–7.
  • June 2, 12:07 PM: Rep. Hunschofsky files HJR 11F (Democratic alternative).
  • June 2, 2:44 AM – 11:36 AM: Seven House amendments filed on CS/HJR 1F.
  • June 2, 2:05 PM – 3:48 PM: House Reads CS/HJR 1F second time; five amendments fail, one withdrawn.
  • June 2, 3:49 PM: House Reads CS/HJR 1F third time.
  • June 2, 4:29 PM: House passes CS/HJR 1F 75–26.
  • June 2, 4:31 PM: Message sent to Senate.
  • June 2, 4:35 PM: Senate withdraws CS/HJR 1F from Appropriations.
  • June 2, 4:41 PM: Senate substitutes CS/HJR 1F for CS/SJR 2F, reads twice.
  • June 2, 4:42 PM: Senate Reads third time.
  • June 2, 4:57 PM: Senate passes CS/HJR 1F 30–9.
  • June 2, 5:17 PM: House orders CS/HJR 1F enrolled.
  • June 2, 5:36 PM: HJR 11F dies in House Ways & Means Committee.

The entire substantive legislative process — from committee hearing to enrolled constitutional amendment — took approximately 26 hours.

The Revenue Replacement Question

CS/HJR 1F is structurally a property tax limit, not a property tax elimination. The amendment narrows the Save Our Homes assessment cap, expands the homestead exemption, and limits ad valorem use by counties and municipalities — three changes that, in combination, will reduce the property tax revenue base on which Florida's local governments and school districts currently operate.

CS/HJR 1F does not include a constitutional revenue backfill mechanism. The Democratic alternative HJR 11F did include one, in the form of a trust fund to replace lost revenues. With HJR 11F dead, the backfill question shifts to either local-government action (alternative revenue sources) or future state-level statutory or constitutional action to address the gap — particularly for the K-12 Required Local Effort, which provides the structural backbone of Florida's constitutional school-funding obligation under Article IX.

What Comes Next

The most immediate question is the ballot. CS/HJR 1F was enrolled and will be transmitted to the Secretary of State to appear on the November 2026 general election ballot. Florida constitutional amendments require 60% voter approval for ratification. The Department of State is expected to issue the official ballot summary; CS/SB 4F authorizes that summary to exceed the standard word limit, signaling that the legislature expects the substance to require more explanation than typical.

What lobbyists should watch in 2026 and 2027

November 2026 ballot

The ratification campaign

Likely supporters: homeowner groups, real estate associations, homebuilder organizations. Likely opponents: Florida Education Association, Florida League of Cities, Florida Association of Counties, and public-employee unions.

2027 Regular Session

FEFP and RLE adjustments

If ratified, the legislature will almost certainly need to address how K-12 school funding adapts. Watch the House and Senate Pre-K-12 Education Appropriations Subcommittees.

Local action

Local-option ballot questions

County commissions across the state are already discussing local-option referendums to establish or expand alternative revenue (sales surtaxes, tourist development taxes, special assessments) for the November cycle.

State revenue

Sales tax conversation

The structural budget hole that ad valorem reduction creates puts pressure on state-level revenue alternatives. Expect joint resolutions in 2027 examining sales tax structure.

Statutory cleanup

Technical adjustments to CS/SB 4F

Implementing statutes typically need cleanup in the next regular session. Watch for substantive technical amendments in 2027.

Administrative

Property appraiser guidance

County property appraisers will need to issue guidance on how the new assessment limitations apply at the parcel level. Watch the Florida Property Appraisers' Association for collective positions.

How LobbyScape Tracked This

Every action, every vote, every amendment, every committee hearing, every substitution between chambers, and every procedural step in Special Session 2026F is in the LobbyScape database — and was indexed within minutes of each official action. The data sourced above (bill numbers, sponsors, vote-by-vote breakdowns, action timestamps, amendment numbers and outcomes) came directly from the platform.

If you represent a Florida county, a municipality, a school district, a real estate group, a homebuilder, a chamber of commerce, a public-employee union, a property appraiser, or any other entity touched by this amendment, the next 18 months are going to require continuous tracking — committee discussions, fiscal analyses, conference dynamics, and the November ballot campaign itself. Schedule a 30-minute demo and we'll pull up the actual bill timeline, the votes, and the amendment history on your screen.