As Florida voters prepare to decide on three constitutional amendments this November, one measure has come to dominate the political conversation across the peninsula: Amendment 3.
The proposal would raise the state's homestead exemption from $50,000 to $250,000 of taxable value by 2028 — an unprecedented property tax reduction that could reshape how local governments are funded.
The proposed amendment, which requires 60% voter approval to pass, has split Miami-Dade's top government leaders. County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava strongly opposes the measure, while County Commissioner Roberto J. Gonzalez supports it.
If Amendment 3 passes, nearly $12 billion in property tax revenue could be lost statewide. For Miami-Dade County alone, Levine Cava estimates the loss at $378 million in the first year and nearly $700 million in the second.
"Property taxes fund the essential local government services we depend on, from garbage pickup to paramedic response," the mayor told WLRN during an interview Friday on WLRN's South Florida Roundup.
Levine Cava warned that passage could force cuts to transit corridors, shorten bus hours, close parks and fire stations, and leave libraries shuttered.
A central argument from opponents is that Amendment 3's backers have not outlined how local governments would replace the lost revenue.
"A lot of people who support Amendment 3 are under the impression that there's a plan. There is no plan," Levine Cava said. "We don't have a source that has been identified by the [Florida] Legislature, by the governor, or by the amendment itself. So every local government is going to be on their own scrambling to figure out: do we cut here, do we raise there?"
The mayor predicted that counties would likely shift the burden to non-homesteaded commercial properties, raising millage rates on landlords and businesses — who would in turn pass costs on to renters. "There is no free lunch here," she said. "There will be a cost shift and not really a tax cut."
Commissioner Gonzalez, who represents District 11, frames the amendment as a necessary correction to years of government bloat. He points to Miami-Dade's budget.
"For many years, government has just continued to grow and grow and grow," Gonzalez said during an interview on WLRN's South Florida Roundup. "And unfortunately, what we haven't seen is services or government function better."
READ MORE: WLRN Amendment Guide
"The best way to create affordability is by putting money back into people's pockets," Gonzalez said. "The only way you're going to force local governments to do that is by taking the extra money away."
Law enforcement organizations have emerged as a key battleground. The Florida Sheriffs Association opposes Amendment 3, arguing it will compromise public safety and emergency response. At a recent roundtable with Governor Ron DeSantis, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz countered that "tax relief and public safety are not competing priorities."
Levine Cava pointed to what she called a contradiction in the sheriff's position: "She is saying on one hand that we need to give her more money, and on the other, that she can do with less, that she's already made cuts. The math is not adding up." Cordero-Stutz had recently asked the county for a 12% increase in her budget.
Gonzalez dismissed the warnings as fearmongering, noting that the Legislature specified public safety should be a priority when drafting the amendment. "At the top of that list is going to be public safety," he said. "I have advocated for the sheriff to receive more money."
A recent University of North Florida poll suggests Amendment 3 does not yet have the 60% support needed to pass. Even Senate President Ben Albritton, who helped place the amendment on the ballot, now opposes it, citing concerns about smaller towns and counties.
“As a native of Florida’s heartland, our rural communities are near and dear to my heart. It’s who I am,” Albritton said in a rece t statement posted on the Florida Sherriff’s Association social media page. “Amendment 3 would eliminate up to 30% of resources for Florida’s rural counties, gutting essential services for law enforcement, emergency response services, and critical infrastructure.”
Albritton goes to say the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is scheduled to meet in 2027 and suggests that is a better venue to vet such a major proposal.
Listen above to the Oct. 23, 2026, interview with Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez and find The South Florida Roundup wherever you get your podcasts.
