JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Opposition is mounting against Amendment 3, the property tax phaseout proposal set to appear on the November ballot.
Vote No On 3, 3 Degrees Florida and Floridians for Shared Prosperity are all recently formed political committees with a shared goal: Convince voters to reject the property tax phaseout amendment this November.
“I think people are clearly realizing that these cuts are going to directly impact citizens across the communities across the state,” said Vote No On 3 spokesperson Edie Ousley.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
Vote No On 3 was the first of the opposition campaigns to form.
It’s also the only campaign to see any donations at this point, sitting at just over $800.
But Ousley expects that fundraising to skyrocket in the coming weeks.
“And we are excited to share and help educate about what Amendment 3 is, how it’s actually going to harm people, that many people are going to pay more while the wealthy pay less,” Ousley said.
A recent poll from Sachs Media found Amendment 3 with 64 percent, which is just above the 60 percent needed to pass.
But the opposition recently got a free gift, with Governor Ron DeSantis saying he won’t be fronting any major efforts to support the proposal.
“Cause while I support it, I do think it’s not all that I was hoping to see,” said DeSantis at a recent news conference.
“I mean, it’s very significant that Governor DeSantis has said that he’s not gonna spend any of his political capital trying to get this passed because it really was his idea in the first place.”
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
UCF Political Science Professor Dr. Aubrey Jewett explained it often doesn’t take much to chip away at support for ballot measures.
“You only need to look at his [DeSantis’] efforts two years ago to kill two amendments. He spent a lot of time and even questionably a lot of state money to try to fight those amendments and in the end it worked,” Jewett said.
And without the Governor or a well-funded support campaign to counter the opposition it may have a hard time hitting that magic 60 percent threshold.
“I mean, it’s very significant that Governor DeSantis has said that he’s not gonna spend any of his political capital trying to get this passed because it really was his idea in the first place,” Jewett said.
In addition to the trio of opposition campaigns, Amendment 3 is also facing a trio of lawsuits, the outcome of which will determine the words you see on your ballot explaining the property tax phaseout proposal this November.
Former State Senator Jeff Brandes joined with former Congressman Al Lawson to file the most recent of the three legal challenges contesting the ballot language approved by the legislature.
“It doesn’t fairly describe the Amendment itself; it leads itself to political conclusions,” Brandes said.
He cited examples like the ballot language’s claim that the amendment protects small businesses and ensures funding for core services like police and fire.
“We’re already seeing cities having conversations about shifting and getting rid of their police departments and moving to county sheriffs. We’re already seeing county fire departments looking to assume cities’ fire departments,” Brandes said.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
If successful, a court could order the Florida Attorney General to rewrite the ballot language in a neutral way.
“As a factual matter, the ballot summary is not accurate,” said Jewett. ”I mean, I don’t know what the judges will decide.”
Jewett argued that at the end of the day, it’s important that voters fully understand the possible benefits and downsides.
“That it’s not just like a free tax cut that has no impact. It will have a very big impact. That doesn’t mean it won’t pass; maybe people still decide it’s worth it, but it either is going to cost services, or it’s going to shift taxes to somebody else,” Jewett said.
Brandes said he expects all three pending lawsuits to be consolidated into a single challenge.
The first hearing for his suit is set for later this month, and a final ruling will likely need to come down in August to ensure there would be time to rewrite the language before ballots are printed.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
