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Read. Follow. Verify.Florida Legislature proposes constitutional amendment freezing homestead property assessments after 20 years and adding a 50% tax exemption after 30 years
Last action · March 13, 2026: Died in Finance and TaxSponsors: Mack Bernard and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
The Florida Legislature proposes a constitutional amendment to freeze the assessed value of after 20 years of continuous ownership and residency, and to provide an additional homestead tax exemption equal to 50 percent of the assessed value for long-term residents of 30 years or more. These proposed changes require approval by state electors at the next general election or an earlier special election.
Long-term homeowners who have maintained permanent residence in Florida for 20 or 30 years face potential reductions in property tax growth and overall tax liabilities, excluding school district levies.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Long-term Florida homeowners
County property appraisers
Appraisers must maintain records to verify ownership and residency periods, including tracking previous properties for which homestead exemptions were granted.
Local taxing authorities
Local governments may experience changes in ad valorem tax revenue growth due to assessment freezes and exemptions for long-term residents.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies for the property assessment freeze?
Does the 30-year tax exemption apply to all property taxes?
Can time spent living in different homes within Florida be combined to reach the 20 or 30-year requirement?
When would these tax changes take effect if passed?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Bias ratings based on AllSides / Media Bias/Fact Check
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died in committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Mar 13, 2026SenateFloorDied in Finance and Tax
- Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced
- Nov 17, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Finance and Tax; Appropriations; Rules
- Oct 23, 2025SenateIntroducedFiled
Version history & redline
2 versions on fileOfficial version history is partial: 1 linked text is unavailable or incomplete. Source links remain available below.
The text diff for this stage has not been computed yet.
official version host penalty: 429 Retry-After 300 s
Finance Connection
| Candidate | Donor | Amount | Industry | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mack Bernard | ARROWGROUP | $1,000 | GOVT. AFFAIRS / CONSULTING | Mar 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | FPF FIRE PC | $1,000 | POLITICAL COMMITTEE | Nov 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | HCA EAST FLORIDA DIVISION AND GOOD GOVERNMENT PAC | $1,000 | POLITICAL COMMITTEE | Dec 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | HCA NORTH FLORIDA DIVISION AND GOOD GOVERNMENT GROUP | $1,000 | POLITICAL COMMITTEE | Dec 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | HCA WEST FLORIDA DIVISION AND GOOD GOVERNMENT PAC | $1,000 | POLITICAL COMMITTEE | Dec 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | HELENA AGRI-ENTERPRISES | $1,000 | AGRICULTURAL SERVICES | Jan 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | JM FAMILY AUTOMOTIVE LLC | $1,000 | AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY | Nov 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | PITTMAN LAW GROUP | $1,000 | LAW FIRM | Feb 2025 |
Show 12 more contributions
| Mack Bernard | TURO INC. | $1,000 | CARSHARING COMPANY | Dec 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | UNIVERSAL CITY DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS GOVERMENT RELATIONS | $1,000 | OPERATIONS/ THEME PARK | Dec 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | BECKER & POLIAKOFF PA | $1,000 | LAW FIRM | Dec 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | BESTBET HOLDINGS, INC | $1,000 | ENTERTAINMENT VENUE | Jan 2026 |
| Mack Bernard | DOSAL TOBACCO CORPORATION | $1,000 | TABACCO SUPPLIER | Feb 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | ERICKS CONSULTANTS INC. | $1,000 | BUSINESS MANAGEMENT | Dec 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | FLORIDA ACRE | $1,000 | POLITICAL COMMITTEE | Sep 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | FLORIDA BANKERS ASSOCIATION | $1,000 | POLITICAL COMMITTEE | Jul 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | FLORIDA ARCHITECTS | $500 | POLITICAL COMMITTE | Nov 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | FDA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE | $500 | POLITICAL COMMITTE | Mar 2025 |
| Mack Bernard | BAUDET FRANKLIN | $25 | - | Mar 2026 |
| Barbara Sharief | BUTTS KEITH | $15 | MANAGER | Jan 2025 |
Reported financial relationships and timing signals. This does not prove motive or influence. Readers draw their own conclusions.
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Homestead Tax Protections
The measure introduces a tiered property tax relief structure based on multi-decade residency durations (20 and 30 years) that goes beyond existing annual assessment caps and portability rules.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.flsenate.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz55Current news / social attention level
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