Now that Florida lawmakers have passed a property tax plan, there are new concerns the idea of limiting taxes on homesteads could be
unconstitutional. The argument was raised during debate, and Tuesday,
reporters asked the governor if he thought the new tax language, if
adopted by voters, could be ruled unconstitutional. He called on his
Chief of Staff George Lemieux.
"It’s been the position of this office and of our legal council that the
current system of Save Our Homes as well as making it portable, which is just really taking the current system with you, is constitutional. It does not treat out-of-state folks any different then it treats in-state
folks. What it does is it prefers homesteaders, whether they’re in-state
or out-of-state. So we believe it’s constitutional and it will be defended," says Lemieux.
To date, there has been no aggressive court challenge to the
constitutionality of the Save Our Homes provisions, but making the
difference even larger between homestead and non homestead properties might draw such a challenge.