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AMENDMENT 3 • FLORIDA BALLOT • NOV 3, 2026 THEY GET THE TAX BREAK. Amendment 3 hands billionaires and big corporations $11.86 billion a year in property-tax breaks — pulled straight from the budgets that keep your community running. SEIU FPSU says: Vote NO on 3. |
What Amendment 3 actually is
Amendment 3 is a constitutional amendment the Florida Legislature placed on the ballot in a June 2026 special session. It rewrites how property taxes work statewide — the taxes that fund your fire department, your county hospital, your library, and your kid’s school. It needs 60% voter approval to pass on November 3, 2026.
Four changes, in plain language
| 1 | Bigger homestead exemption. The current $50,000 exemption jumps to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then rises with inflation. Primary residences only — the biggest dollar savings flow to the most expensive homes. |
| 2 | Lower cap for other properties. Annual assessment increases on commercial property, rentals, and second homes get capped at 5% instead of 10%. The bigger the property portfolio, the bigger the break. |
| 3 | A path to zero. Counties and cities get a procedure to raise the homestead exemption to a home’s full value — effectively eliminating non-school property taxes on homesteads, and the revenue that goes with them. |
| 4 | State limits on local spending. Local governments could only spend property taxes on a state-approved list of categories — moving budget decisions from your community to Tallahassee. |
That $11.86 billion isn’t abstract
Property taxes are how Florida communities pay for the things we all count on:
- The paramedics who show up when you dial 911
- Clean water when you turn on the tap
- The pothole on your street that finally gets fixed
- The library where your kid does homework
- The park where your family spends Saturdays
| Cut $11.86 billion from local budgets, and things on this list start to disappear — or new fees show up on your bill to keep them. There’s no free lunch. Amendment 3’s cost is your money and your services. |
Who really wins?
| THE WINNERS | THE LOSERS |
| Billionaires Big corporations Commercial property owners Multi-million dollar homeowners |
Working families Renters — 3 million Floridians Small business owners Seniors on fixed incomes |
Amendment 3 picks winners and losers. Guess which side you’re on?
The fine print they’re not advertising
Renters get nothing. Three million Floridians who rent see zero benefit from this amendment — but when local budgets crater and landlords’ costs shift, rent and fees go up. Amendment 3 gives renters nothing and could still raise what they pay every month.
Buying a home after 2026? Full benefits phase in over years. New homebuyers — young families trying to get their first place — pay full freight while the biggest property owners cash in on day one.
Fees can rise to plug the hole. Nothing in Amendment 3 stops cities from hiking water, trash, and permit fees to make up lost revenue. You still pay — just under a different name.
Tallahassee takes the wheel. Right now, your city and county decide how to spend local tax dollars. Under Amendment 3, communities lose that autonomy and have to look to the state capital for money. Less local control means less responsive government.
Floridians show up for each other
We take care of our communities. But billionaires and big corporations have rigged the rules to avoid paying what they owe — and Amendment 3 would let them dodge billions more. That means less money for the hospitals that save lives, the fire departments that protect us, the schools that educate our children, and the public service workers who hold it all together. This November, we’re voting to protect our services, keep power in our communities, and stop tax breaks for billionaires that raise our costs.
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Election Day: November 3, 2026 SEIU FPSU SAYS: VOTE NO ON 3 |
