Realty Blog

The advantage of the new proposal for Crist and lawmakers is that it is straightforward compared with the June proposal now facing legal questions. That proposal would have replaced Save Our Homes with an exemption of 75 percent on the first $200,000 in value and 15 percent of the next $300,000, but Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Francis ruled that the ballot question was misleading because it didn't tell voters that it was replacing Save Our Homes.

For the Democratic Leaders who have complained about how budget cuts could affect local governments, the new proposal has the advantage of easing the cuts required of cities and counties.

It also would take care of complaints from many Democratic districts in South Florida that homeowners feel trapped in their homes.

"The biggest thing that people are complaining about is portability," said Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller, who has become one of Crist's most influential advisers on property taxes.

That is partly because Republicans need Democratic votes to put a ne proposal on the Jan. 29th ballot. Placing a question on a special ballot requires a 75 percent vote in each chamber, and Republicans control only about 66 percent of the votes in each.

An additional advantage, especially for Crist and Democrats, is that the new plan would protect school districts, which face cuts of at least several hundred million dollars a year and as much as $1.9 billion a year under the "Super" exemption.

Crist has promised, to "hold education harmless" by replacing whatever was lost in property tax money with state money, and Democrats have made an issue of the cuts education would face under the super exemption.

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