Florida Property Tax Push Exposes Rift Between DeSantis and Lawmakers

The impasse surrounding property tax reform in Florida is deepening a rift between Governor Ron DeSantis and House Speaker Daniel Perez, with Perez recently airing his frustration at the lack of a plan to reduce homeowners' bills in next week's special session's agenda.

"For the last 18 months or so, he's been saying to the public and on Fox News and on anyone that's willing to listen that he's going to abolish property taxes," Perez said of DeSantis last weekend during an interview with WPLG's This Week in South Florida.

"I'm still waiting for a proposal that has anything to do with property taxes," he added.

Where Is Florida Standing on Property Tax Reform?

Before the end of the last legislative session in Tallahassee, the state House had come up with a proposal to phase out property taxes in Florida, something that the governor has very publicly been calling for since early last year.

The bill, HJR 203, would phase out non-school property taxes on primary residences, or homesteads, over 10 years, starting in 2027. The proposal includes measures to prohibit local governments-cities, counties, and special districts-from cutting law enforcement funding in response to expected revenue losses.

But the Florida Senate failed to pick up the House proposal, suggesting they would instead work on their own version of property tax reform. While DeSantis has expressed support for completely eliminating property taxes, he has not shown particular support for the House's proposal.

While speaking in St. Augustine in February, the governor said he "didn't see" property tax reform "necessarily happening in this regular session" and believed the Senate felt the same.

"We're going to be coming back. There's going to be opportunities to be doing it. I think you have to do it right," he added.

But state lawmakers are running out of opportunities, and Perez is growing frustrated with the governor. A special session set by the governor to start on Tuesday, April 28 and run through Friday, May 1, does not have property taxes on the agenda.

Perez's Growing Frustration With DeSantis

"Where is our proposal on property taxes that the governor proposed over a year and a half ago?" Perez told WPLG earlier this week.

"I'm open to having a conversation on anything, but the governor hasn't proposed absolutely anything yet. And so, it's kind of uh tough to hear this rhetoric over and over again," he said, talking about DeSantis' promise of a proposal and his failure, so far, to deliver on one.

The House came up with a proposal, but "the Senate did not take it up and the governor didn't support it," Perez added.

"The person who has started this conversation has kind of just been up in the air with the lack of a proposal. And time is ticking. because he's out of power any day now. But I hope that eventually he can come up with a proposal and we pass something," he said.

"I think the people of Florida should have the right to vote at the ballot in November whether or not they want to abolish property taxes. I'm open to the conversation, but it seems like I'm the only one."

DeSantis Promises Property Tax Reform ‘Got to Go' to November Ballot

DeSantis said on In Depth with Graham Bensinger in an episode that came out this week that a proposal for property tax reform "got to go on the ballot in November of 2026."

The governor suggested it would likely be "something that would be phased in" and "could get to a point very quickly in Florida where 90-something percent [of homeowners] are not paying anything. And eventually we'd phase in the elimination."

Speaking at Florida State College Jacksonville earlier this week, DeSantis said the proposal still lacks sufficient enthusiasm and rebuffed responsibility for putting a policy on the ballot.

A recent poll found that a majority of midterm voters in Florida support phasing out property taxes in the state-but their numbers are below the 60 percent threshold required to amend the Florida Constitution.

"We've been working with legislators on this. Obviously, I have a role in terms of being governor and talking to the public about it, but I don't have any authority to put it on the ballot-got to go through both houses of the Legislature. You need 60 percent of each house," the governor said.

"I know the House took up some stuff, and I've given them credit for doing that. The Senate, it wasn't that they're dragging their feet. They've just been working with us to get something that people will find meaningful on the ballot. But you've got to get the votes to do it, and you've got to make sure that you have all that lined up."

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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 7:06 AM.