Judge Orders Neutral Ballot Language for Florida’s Amendment 3

Overview

• Attorney General James Uthmeier submitted a rewritten title and summary Friday to comply with Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank’s order and that filing starts a 10‑day window for the plaintiffs to object.
• The new summary replaces the slogan with plain language that raises the homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 and reduces the annual assessment‑increase cap on non‑homestead property from 10% to 5%.
• Florida’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research projects roughly $4.93 billion in local revenue loss in the first affected year and about $11.86–$12 billion annually once fully phased in, and polls show support drops below the 60% needed to pass when those numbers are disclosed.
• A broad coalition of county officials, law enforcement, firefighters, unions and civic groups opposes the amendment while Gov. Ron DeSantis says he will vote for it but will not actively campaign and no major statewide pro‑Amendment campaign has emerged.
• The calendar is compressed with an Aug. 18 primary and mail ballots due to print in late August, so final ballot wording and any last‑minute appeals could decide whether voters see the explicit tax and spending limits that would force cuts to public safety, schools and infrastructure and hit commuter counties hardest by share of revenue lost.