Byron Donalds calls for a multi-tier property tax system beyond Amendment 3

Byron Donalds, the Republican nominee for Florida governor, said Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, that the state should move past its "one-size-fits-all" property tax system and create separate tiers for urban and rural communities, a plan he said would go beyond Amendment 3, the homestead exemption measure on the Nov. 3 ballot. Speaking at a town hall in Ocala, the Naples congressman also said he would rather work out disagreements with legislative leaders face to face than repeat the feuds that marked Gov. Ron DeSantis' final years in office.

The remarks, reported by Florida Politics, came less than three weeks before voters decide both the governor's race and Amendment 3, a constitutional change that Donalds supports and his Democratic opponent, David Jolly, says he expects to vote against.

A multi-tier property tax system

Donalds told the Ocala audience that his thinking on property taxes has shifted over the past few months toward treating different parts of the state differently.

"One of the things that's come up that I've been thinking through the last couple of months is right now we have a one-size-fits-all property tax system. But Miami-Dade is different from Marion, and they're both different from Madison. So I actually think Florida needs a multi-tier property tax system," Donalds said.

He did not lay out how the tiers would work or what rates would apply. He said he wants to use the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission to study all taxes and fees and to work with local governments on what a new tax system would look like, particularly for property. He has previously called for what he described as a full and complete reform of property taxes and fees in Florida.

Seniors, portability and business taxes

Donalds singled out older homeowners who stay in houses they no longer need because moving would raise their tax bills. Under Florida's Save Our Homes system, the taxable value of a homestead property can grow only slowly each year, so long-time owners who sell can face a much higher assessment on their next home.

"We have seniors in our state that are not selling their homes. They're not downsizing their homes," he said. "Under Florida's current property tax system, if empty nesters then have all of their kids leave and go off to do things, and they decide to downsize, their property tax bill goes up. That's what happens in our current system. That has to be reformed."

He said any overhaul should consider portability, so that homeowners can carry their Save Our Homes credits to another property. For businesses, he argued that inconsistent depreciation schedules for tangible personal property taxes create extra burdens, especially for companies that operate in more than one county, according to Florida Politics.

What Amendment 3 would do

Amendment 3, titled "Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments," would change the Florida Constitution in two main ways, according to a voter guide by News 6 in Orlando. It needs at least 60% of the vote to pass, WLRN reported, and it would raise the current homestead exemption, now $50,000, to as much as $250,000.

The measure's main changes, as described by News 6:

The larger exemption would not apply to school district property taxes. If approved, the changes would take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The measure also includes provisions on how counties and cities use property tax revenue, including for public safety.

Donalds continues to campaign for the amendment even though the Florida Sheriffs Association opposes it. "The deputies, they pay property taxes too. The firefighters, they pay property taxes too; the guys doing EMS, they pay property taxes too; our teachers, they pay property taxes too," he said Wednesday. He added that the state has to provide relief while still funding critical services in all parts of Florida.

He also predicted legal trouble for part of the measure. Even while arguing for it, Donalds said he believes that if it passes, courts will strike at least the five-year waiting period for new residents. "There's a lot of things that are going to be very nebulous if it passes about what happens to the legal system," he said.

Recent polls show Amendment 3 struggling to reach the 60% threshold, Florida Politics reported.

Where David Jolly stands

Jolly, the former Republican congressman running as a Democrat, has said he anticipates voting no on Amendment 3, siding with sheriffs and law enforcement groups who warn it would cut money for public safety. "That's essentially what Amendment 3 is gonna do. It's gonna defund law enforcement along with critical services that communities need," Jolly told News4JAX earlier this month.

Jolly has argued that the measure was rushed through without a sufficient funding backstop. He has proposed targeted relief instead: a homestead exemption of up to $250,000 for first-time homebuyers, income-based relief for seniors and returning expanded exemption authority to local governments. "Let's target first-time homebuying tax relief," he said, noting that the average age of a first-time homebuyer in Florida has risen from 28 to roughly 40 or 41, according to News4JAX.

In the same News4JAX interviews, Donalds argued that property taxes on Florida residents have effectively doubled over the past seven years and said the amendment's language requires public safety to be funded first. He proposed a dedicated funding formula for fiscally constrained counties so they would not have to lobby Tallahassee for help.

Scotch over feuds with the Legislature

Donalds also used the Ocala town hall to signal a different approach to the Legislature than DeSantis, who spent much of the past two years publicly criticizing House Speaker Daniel Perez after the House blocked much of his agenda.

Donalds said he envisions a friendlier working relationship with incoming Senate President Jim Boyd and Sam Garrison, who is expected to become House speaker. Both endorsed Donalds weeks before he won the Republican primary, Florida Politics reported.

"Sometimes I think things are just solved over a Scotch at 11 o'clock at night," Donalds said. He said the key is "always about having those meetings face-to-face and working out the details. And I think once you can get to that level, then a lot of the other stuff kind of dies down."

He framed cooperation as both good government and good politics for Republicans, who control both chambers. "When the people of Florida see all they're doing up there is fighting and bickering, and stuff's not getting done, that's how you lose majorities," Donalds said. "And that's how you lose Governors' Mansions and Cabinet seats, and that's how a state like Florida ends up becoming a state like California. Because California used to be red. We all see what it is right now."

What it means for Florida homeowners

Whatever happens with Amendment 3, a broader rewrite of the kind Donalds described would require action by the Legislature, and likely more constitutional changes put before voters, since key parts of Florida's property tax system, including Save Our Homes and the homestead exemption, are written into the state constitution. His comments about working closely with Boyd and Garrison suggest he sees that relationship as central to any tax overhaul.

What's next

Floridians vote Nov. 3 on both the governor's race and Amendment 3. Donalds said he will keep pushing for broader property tax reform regardless of what happens with the amendment, according to Florida Politics. Jolly told a WLRN economy summit in September that he would support whatever voters decide, and that if the amendment passes he would use state general fund dollars and re-examine how tourist development tax revenue could backfill lost local services.