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Effort To Lower Property Tax Headed To Ballot Box Next

COLIN HACKLEY / The Tampa Tribune

Gov. Charlie Crist, center, enjoys a laugh with Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, left, and Sens. Daniel Webster, R-Winter Garden, and Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, after the legislature passed the property tax reform bill, Monday at the Capitol in Tallahassee.

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By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 30, 2007

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TALLAHASSEE - Voters will have final say on a property tax overhaul after a reluctant state House overcame 'tremendous disappointment' with the final package of legislation on Monday and placed it on the Jan. 29 primary election ballot.

The potential for lower local property tax bills will hinge on two key provisions of a resolution that will appear at the polls as a constitutional amendment: a doubling of the current $25,000 homestead exemption, and the ability of homeowners to take their Save Our Homes benefit with them if they move.

Those were chief goals originally outlined by Gov. Charlie Crist and the heads of both legislative chambers when the special session was called Oct. 11. But in ultimately getting there, lawmakers came perilously close to a Capitol meltdown on the final day of the special session.

That rancor stemmed from several factors: differences between chambers in how to attack soaring property tax bills; timing, with the special session ticking toward a mandatory midnight Monday close; and a little political hardball by the state Senate.

The two chambers were required to pass identical bills to get the resolution on the ballot. Late Monday, the House was admittedly on the spot.

Rep. Faye Culp, R-Tampa, called it a 'very awkward situation.'

'Yeah, it's a tough day,' said House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami.

Senate Told House, Take It Or Leave It

The Senate first passed a resolution reflecting the doubled homestead exemption and portability of Save Our Homes, with additional provisions, on Oct. 17.

The House then shifted gears, rejecting the doubling of the homestead exemption in favor of a benefit totaling 40 percent of the median just value in the home county. The House also added a 5 percent cap on annual valuation increases for non-homestead property, which includes second homes and businesses.

The Senate then took a week off, ostensibly to study the House proposal. Monday, the upper chamber returned to the Capitol, passed a slightly modified version of its original resolution and sent it to the House with the strong message of take-it-or-leave-it. Senate President Ken Pruitt dismissed his members saying their work was done, all but eliminating any possibility of considering any House amendments.

Rubio acknowledged that many of his charges had expressed 'tremendous disappointment' with the Senate proposal. But the prospect of a second failed special session on property tax relief pressured Rubio and the House into accepting it.

'I think it's terrible, what's going on here,' said Rep. Julio Robaino, R-Miami. 'To come back at the last minute with this nonsense is a slap in my face. It's insulting to this body, and it should be an insult to everybody in the state of Florida.'

Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, said he would vote to approve the resolution 'with a grimace.' Plant City Republican Rich Glorioso said, 'When this bill comes up, I will hold my nose as I press the green button.'

Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, brushed off House members' complaints of brinkmanship. 'There can be disagreements in any family,' he said. 'If they're offended, hopefully they'll come and see me and we'll talk it through. Today was for the people of the state of Florida. It had to happen today.'

The original House plan would have sliced about $1,000 off the tax bill of the average home in Hillsborough County, where the median just value is about $190,000. The plan that goes to voters in January to double the exemption would provide a discount of just more than $300. Advocates said the benefit statewide would average about $240 per household.

$2.4 Billion Subtracted From Education

The bottom line on Save Our Homes portability is difficult to predict because the benefit would vary greatly depending on how long a home was owned and the value of the new home.

Taxpayers will be left to decide whether the numbers fulfill Crist's oft-repeated pledge to make taxes 'drop like a rock.' But the governor said the big-picture look - $12.4 billion in local revenue cutbacks over five years in the resolution, combined with $15 billion in cuts already approved by the Legislature - is 'getting pretty close to something larger than a pebble, I think.'

In what appeared to be a spirit of compromise, the Senate added to its proposal an annual valuation cap for nonhomestead properties similar to the 3 percent Save Our Homes cap that now protects homestead taxpayers from spikes in value. But the Senate put the annual cap at 10 percent a year, where the House was calling for 5 percent.

The National Federation of Independent Business said that during the past 30 years, the average annual assessment increase for nonhomesteaded property has been less than 5 percent. During the recent real estate boom years, it was about 7 percent. The Senate move provides 'little to no relief,' the NFIB said.

Of the $12.4 billion forecast to be trimmed from local tax collections over five years, education takes a $2.4 billion hit. While some of the provisions exclude school district levies from the cutbacks, that level drew protests from House Democrats.

'This plan was born more out of disagreement and panic than good, meaningful judgment,' said Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. 'We're not supposed to just simply put something on the ballot. Our obligation is to give people a good choice. At the end of the day, if you balance a tax break on public school children, that is simply not a good choice.'

Reporter Jerome R. Stockfisch can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or jstockfisch@tampatrib.com.

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