A Tallahassee judge on Friday removed Amendment 3 from the November ballot, saying the summary that voters would see is misleading. An appeal and eventual hearing in the Florida Supreme Court is expected.
Amendment 3, approved by lawmakers in 2009, would give buyers who haven’t owned a home for eight years a homestead exemption on some new property, but only if purchased it after Jan. 1, 2010. However, the ballot title and summary don’t mention the effective date.
Representing the Florida AFL-CIO and a Jacksonville homeowner who doesn’t qualify for the exemption, Tallahassee attorney Barry Richard urged Circuit Judge John Cooper to throw out the ballot question, saying it leads voters to believe the benefits will be extended to some homeowners who are not eligible.
Russell Kent, an attorney representing the Florida Department of State, said the Jan. 1 date represents a “detail” that did not need to be in the ballot title and summary because it would not rise to a level of importance that would make the proposal misleading.
The amendment would offer qualified homebuyers an additional 25 percent homestead exemption in the first year and a declining exemption schedule for four more years.
Another provision would reduce the cap on taxable value increases of commercial and non-homestead properties to 5 percent a year, down from a 10 percent cap now in place.
Source: Florida Realtors®; News Service of Florida contributed from Tallahassee.
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