During a news conference in Jacksonville on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis discussed his role in supporting the Amendment 3 ballot measure later this year.

While the briefing was geared around investments to strengthen the state’s industrial base, DeSantis was also asked about his involvement in the measure, which will drastically reduce property taxes for homesteads statewide if approved.

DeSantis said he wouldn’t be leading the initiative — particularly because it was altered from his original vision — but he believes he will still be involved on some level.

“I’ll be involved somehow. I don’t know if it’s going to be like barnstorming and holding campaign events,” he said.

STRUGGLING COUNTIES?

Critics of Amendment 3 have argued that cuts to property taxes will leave many local governments struggling to maintain core services, such as fire departments, police departments, and libraries. Rural counties are expected to be among the hardest hit.

On the flip side, DeSantis claimed that Florida can potentially cover such gaps by digging into surplus state funding.

[RELATED: Florida Sheriff Grady Judd rails against Amendment 3]

“To fully offset homestead revenue in our 32 rural counties, it would have been like $200 million a year,” he said. “We have $117 billion budget and $17-18 billion surplus. We have a maxed-out rainy day fund.”

In DeSantis’ original proposal, a state fund would have been established to do exactly that. However, the proposed fund was ultimately removed from the final version, so it remains to be seen whether the state would actually cover such shortfalls on the local level.

Legislative analysts posted that if the amendment is passed, it will result in nearly $12 billion in lost revenue to local governments by fiscal year 3031-32.

OTHER CHANGES

Beyond that state fund, DeSantis said he wanted a full elimination of property taxes on homesteaded properties — not just cuts.

Current homestead exemption rules in the state operate as follows, with two different brackets of assessed value being tax exempt:

Under Amendment 3, though, the exemptions would apply solely to non-school taxes, though the exempted amount would rise dramatically:

• 2027 — First $150,000 of assessed value
• 2028 — First $250,000 of assessed value
• 2029 onward — First $250,000 of assessed value, indexed to inflation

This only applies to homeowners who are permanent residents of Florida before the proposed amendment takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027 (if it gets approved, that is). For newcomers, the timeline is a bit different.

Amendment 3 instead provides new residents with a five-year homestead exemption that comes out as follows:

After this five-year period, the new residents will then be eligible for the higher exemption.

Meanwhile, the amendment also reduces the annual non-homestead property assessment growth cap from 10% to 5%, limiting how much these sorts of properties may be assessed each year.

In addition, the plan limits how local governments may spend property tax revenue:

• Public safety, including law enforcement, EMS and fire services
• Education and public schools
• Infrastructure, including roads, bridges and stormwater controls
• Natural resource projects, including flood control measures
• Issue local bonds for approved uses or to make debt service payments
• Meet obligations and retirement benefits of local government employees
• Fund the operations and administration of county officers and commissioners

WHEN WILL IT TAKE EFFECT?

Because property taxes are a local issue, Amendment 3 must first garner approval from at least 60% of voters in the general election on Nov. 3.

If it clears that hurdle, the amendment is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.