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House OKs Property Tax Plan Fix

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

Published: October 23, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - State House members approved a new rendition of their property tax proposal Monday, while the chamber across the Capitol remained dark without a guarantee of reopening this session.

House members returned to Tallahassee on Monday to sift through amendments and ultimately cast votes for a plan that promises a minimum property tax exemption equal to 40 percent of median county home value for homesteaded property owners in Florida.

Meanwhile, Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, told his charges Monday morning not to bother coming back until possibly Thursday.

His decision to stand by could save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars on special session expenses, but it also reflects the rift between the two chambers that has jeopardized their chances of achieving consensus by midnight Monday, the legal deadline to propose a tax-relief plan on the Jan. 29 presidential primary ballot.

'We do not know at this time whether you will need to return to Tallahassee,' Pruitt wrote to his fellow senators Monday.

The Senate voted Wednesday to ask voters to double the homestead exemption, allow those who move to take their Save Our Homes benefit with them and provide a discount to first-time homebuyers.

That resolution was based on an agreement among Pruitt, House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, and Gov. Charlie Crist at the start of the session.

Then the House shifted gears last week, and Monday approved its new, bipartisan plan to replace the doubled homestead exemption and first-time homebuyer perk with:

•A cap on yearly increases in valuation assessments on nonhomestead properties of 5 percent.

•A guaranteed exemption for homesteaded properties equal to 40 percent of their county's median home value (rising to 100 percent of median value for low-income seniors).

After Monday's 108-2 House vote for the plan, Rubio said the two chambers are not that far apart.

'If someone can show in a compelling way that the double homestead exemption is better than this 40 percent exemption, or that the 5 percent cap is a bad idea, we'd be willing to be persuaded,' said Rubio, who adjourned the House until Thursday. 'But right now, we put it through a pretty rigorous test here in the House.'

The two chambers will have to reach a deal in order to place tax relief on January's ballot. The House's willingness, even zeal, for going beyond the parameters of the session, has fueled frustrations in the Senate, which already has ruled several House proposals out-of-bounds.

'The only thing presiding officers can agree to in a legislative process is the starting point,' Rubio said, noting the Senate has made a few changes as well. 'That's what the committee meetings are about.'

On Monday, Senate leaders were guarded about the prospects for reaching agreement.

'I think what we were charged to do is pass what was in the special session call; the speaker and Senate president and governor all agreed to the call, and the limitations of the call,' said Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, one of the Senate's chief tax change negotiators.

Crist reiterated his mantra Monday that lawmakers are 'in a pretty good place. This is the time to leave them to legislate.'

Having previously expressed support for the Senate proposal, he tried to stay on the fence between the competing bills. Asked directly if he thought the House plan was 'doable,' Crist replied, 'I think the Senate plan is doable. Some potential modification thereof might also be doable.'

The new House plan - its detail, if not its main thrust - was still a work-in-progress Monday. House leaders mollified a mostly Democratic contingent by removing proposed new restrictions on local governments' authority to set property tax rates. The language remains in the Senate version, however.

House Democrats failed to persuade their GOP colleagues to protect public education by shielding the schools' portion of tax revenue from the proposed cuts for nonhomestead properties. The House plan would carve $964 million out of school revenue over four years, compared with the Senate plan's nearly $1.5 billion impact on school funding.

Reporters Catherine Dolinski and Jerome R. Stockfisch can be reached at (850) 222-8382,

cdolinski@tampatrib.com or

jstockfisch@tampatrib.com.

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