Florida Sheriffs Join Public Safety Groups in Opposing Amendment 3

Overview

• The Florida Sheriffs Association announced Monday that it is "significantly concerned" about Amendment 3 and joined police and firefighter groups in opposing the ballot measure.
• The Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research estimates the amendment would eventually remove about $11.86 billion a year from local government budgets once fully phased in.
• Counties would feel the pain unevenly, with fiscally constrained and commuter counties losing a large share of revenue and big urban counties facing large dollar shortfalls such as Miami-Dade’s projected $445 million loss by FY 2028‑29.
• Legal challenges over the amendment’s title and summary are pending in Leon County and a judge could order a rewrite that would compress county ballot preparations before the November vote.
• Public polling shows support drops when voters hear the fiscal estimate and the amendment still needs 60% approval to change the Constitution, while some leaders including Gov. Ron DeSantis have distanced themselves from the Legislature’s version.