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No Property Tax Deal On Table

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By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH and CATHERINE DOLINSKI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 18, 2007

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TALLAHASSEE - The state Senate approved a core tax-relief package Wednesday but sharply rebuked far-reaching proposals from the House, dimming lawmakers' hopes of leaving the Capitol with a property tax overhaul today.

While the Senate dug in its heels, House leaders signaled that they might alter their plan even more after Democrats introduced an alternative they said would target relief to those who need it most.

The two chambers eventually must pass identical bills this month to put a tax proposal on the Jan. 29 primary election ballot. Lawmakers, though, appeared to be in no rush to reach a quick consensus, after earlier saying they would be through with business and out of Tallahassee by today.

The House chamber stayed empty most of the day, while the Senate passed a tax package that mirrored an original template for an interchamber agreement. Dozens of amendments from Democrats who felt the Senate package cut too much money from education, as well as from Republicans who felt the tax cuts were too small, failed.

The Senate's passage of its resolution opens the door to direct negotiations with the lower chamber.

The special legislative session began with what appeared to be an agreement in both chambers and by the governor's office to double the homestead exemption from the existing $25,000 to $50,000; offer portability of the Save Our Homes benefit when a homesteader moves; and provide a discount on taxable value for first-time homebuyers.

The focus in the special session, though, has turned to the House, where lawmakers added a penny increase to the state sales tax to reduce the portion of local tax bills that go to school districts. House members also sought to extend the Save Our Homes cap on tax assessments to all properties, not just homesteads.

Senate leaders ruled those proposals out of order in their own chamber Wednesday and later said they aren't on the table with the House. 'There is nothing the Senate has discussed on those issues,' said Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie.

Democrats Want To See Changes

The Senate voted 26-11 in favor of the joint resolution that would go to voters, but Democratic leaders warned they still want changes. Outnumbered 26-14 in the chamber, Democrats still have the power to keep any amendment off the January ballot, which requires 30 votes on the final bill. Sen. Steven Geller, the Democratic leader from Cooper City, made it clear he may use that leverage.

'Don't mistake this for weakness, Mr. President,' he told Pruitt after the vote approving the amendment. 'If we end up with a bill that ends up taking hundreds of millions of dollars from education ... we will do our best to enforce a caucus position.'

Despite appearances that the chambers were pulling in opposite directions, Gov. Charlie Crist remained upbeat. 'I would just encourage them to keep working,' he said.

Alternate Idea Proposed

House Democrats Dan Gelber and Jack Seiler pitched an alternate plan to House leaders.

Democrats would drop the doubled homestead exemption that Crist has championed, as well as the 25 percent break on valuation assessments for first-time homebuyers. In place of that, Democrats would grant all homeowners a tax exemption equal to 40 percent of their county's median home value.

Democrats would also give low-income seniors a tax exemption equal to 100 percent of their county's median home value. In both cases, property owners would retain their Save Our Homes protection that caps rises in their assessments at 3 percent a year. Neither exemption would touch property taxes that support public education.

'I like the economic policy of a percentage-based exemption, because it enables you to target relief,' said Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, who is leading House negotiations on tax reform.

Several South Florida Republican senators opposed the joint resolution in their chamber. Their objection: the scaling back of the property tax exemption for seniors to the first $100,000 of a property's assessed value. That, they said, unfairly penalizes cash-poor seniors living in areas where homes carry higher assessments.

'How can you, within the same class, discriminate against certain people just because they live in Hillsborough, or Miami-Dade, and not in the boonies?' said Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami. 'What you're doing is screwing some seniors, in some areas, and Hillsborough is one of them.'

Reporters Catherine Dolinski and Jerome Stockfisch can be reached at (850) 222-8382, cdolinski @tampatrib.com or jstockfisch @tampatrib.com.

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