TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s debate over property-tax relief is moving from the Capitol to the courtroom, as a newly filed lawsuit challenges the wording voters would see on the November ballot.
The complaint, filed in Leon County, argues the ballot title and summary for a proposed constitutional amendment approved by lawmakers are biased, misleading, and inaccurate.
WATCH: Florida property-tax fight heads to court over ballot wording
The amendment would increase the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. It would need support from at least 60% of voters to pass.
The lawsuit—filed by the creators of the nonprofit “Save Our Voters From Misleading Ballot Language”—focuses on how the proposal is presented to voters, rather than on whether lawmakers should pursue property-tax reform.
The title approved by the Legislature reads: “Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes.” Attorney Jamie Cole, who represents the plaintiffs, argues that the wording sounds more like political advertising than a neutral summary.
“A ballot amendment is supposed to be fair, neutral, and not biased, and it's supposed to be accurate,” Cole said.
Cole successfully challenged a similar property-tax amendment nearly two decades ago. In 2007, a judge found the ballot language for a proposed “Super Exemption” misleading and ordered the measure removed from the ballot.
Cole said accurate wording matters because many voters will not study the full legal text before casting a ballot.
“A lot of people just go and read for the first time what the ballot is — the ballot summary is,” Cole said. “That has to be fair. If that's not fair, the whole system is going to fall apart.”
The new lawsuit disputes several claims included in this year’s summary.
It challenges language, saying the amendment would ensure funding for core services, arguing the measure does not guarantee money for police, firefighters, schools, or infrastructure. It also disputes the claim that the proposal would protect small businesses, noting the amendment does not specifically mention them. Instead, the proposal would more broadly limit future assessment increases on non-homesteaded property.
The complaint also argues that the summary goes too far in stating that the amendment requires a schedule for the full elimination of non-school property taxes on homesteaded properties. According to the plaintiffs, the text instead establishes a process that allows local governments to provide additional exemptions in the future.
“This is just a very inaccurate and very biased ballot question,” Cole said.
Democrats raised similar concerns during the June special session, arguing the proposal could shift costs rather than eliminate them.
“Absolutely, we're concerned about the language,” House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell said just prior to final approval. “You consider that it is a wolf in sheep's clothing, because the Republicans are trying to couch this as, ‘Let's Save Our Homes,’ but the reality is that this is hurting our local communities.”
Republican supporters have argued that local governments can absorb the reductions and that homeowners would receive meaningful relief.
After the measure passed, Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf acknowledged a legal challenge was possible.
“Any time that you have any kind of an issue that passes the House and the Senate, certainly there's that option,” Overdorf said. “We'll see what happens.”
The plaintiffs are asking a Leon County judge to declare the ballot wording biased and misleading and direct the attorney general to rewrite it within 10 days.
The legal fight comes before the political one. Even if the proposal survives court scrutiny, supporters would still need to persuade at least 60% of voters to approve it in November.
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