What you need to know about the 6 constitutional amendments on Florida's 2024 ballot

Homestead exemptions allow Florida residents who own and live in their homes to lower the assessed value of a property, thereby lowering their tax bill. There are two $25,000 exemptions available to most homeowners, who can knock up to $50,000 off the taxable value of their homes.

Amendment 5, placed on the ballot by Florida lawmakers, would create an inflation adjustment for the second of those two $25,000 homestead exemptions. As the cost of living increases, so would the value of the exemption, which does not apply to taxes levied by local school boards.

The amendment would also apply the inflation adjustment to any newly created homestead exemptions, as long as they don’t apply to school board taxes.

Critics worry about the money that local governments would lose due to reduced tax income. A state analysis found that local governments, excluding school districts, could lose more than $111 million annually by 2029. The Florida League of Cities also raised concerns about the potential compounding affect of the amendment, saying that the savings enjoyed by homeowners is likely to become an additional tax burden for commercial property owners, who may in turn pass that burden on to tenants.

If passed, the amendment would take effect in 2025.

Campaign Money

Amendment 6 attempts to repeal public campaign financing.

In 1998, Florida voters changed the state constitution so that candidates running for governor and other state cabinet positions could subsidize their campaigns with public money in exchange for agreeing to cap the amount of money spent by their campaign. In 2022, more than $12 million went to candidates running for governor.

Those in favor of the state’s public campaign financing measure see it as a way to give more Floridians access to running for office, and to level the playing field among candidates. But for over a decade, Republican lawmakers have attempted to repeal the measure.

Conservative policymakers in support of Amendment 6 say it’ll save taxpayers money.

In 2010, a similar proposal to repeal public campaign financing from the Florida constitution was on the state ballot, but it did not receive the needed 60% approval from voters.