Amendment 3 sounds like relief. It isn't. It's a tax shift, not a tax cut. Renters and business owners get nothing. Homeowners still get a school tax bill. Sheriffs, police, and firefighters are warning this puts public safety at risk. And "finding the money somewhere else" means higher taxes, new fees, or cuts to the services we all rely on. Vote NO on Amendment 3 to stop this scam and tax shift that will raise our costs and cut our services.

Our first responders are speaking out against Amendment 3, and they're not holding back. Police, fire, and sheriffs across the state are warning it means slower response times, fewer deputies and firefighters on duty, and delayed road and stormwater repairs when the next storm hits. Some are sounding the alarm that Tallahassee could end up calling the shots on decisions that used to be made right here at home. These are the people who show up when we call for help. When they're this concerned, we should be too.

Fewer mosquito control crews means more mosquitoes. More mosquitoes means more disease. Florida is already in the middle of a serious dengue outbreak. Amendment 3 threatens to shrink the crews out spraying, checking standing water, and stopping outbreaks before they spread, right when we can least afford it. Some things are worth protecting no matter what.

A new Tax Foundation analysis estimates that by 2028, if local governments raise rates to replace lost revenue, property taxes could increase roughly: - $406/year on the average apartment - $1,081/year on a rental house - $1,196/year on an owner-occupied property without a homestead exemption Renters and working families with the least room in their budgets end up covering the bill, while the biggest homestead properties walk away with the biggest break. Vote NO on Amendment 3.

The same legislature that helped hide insurance company profits wrote Amendment 3, a scam & tax shift benefiting the very wealthy while raising our costs and cutting our services like police, firefighters, health care, and programs for kids/seniors.

Programs to help kids. That’s one of the many things at stake with Amendment 3. tallahassee.com/story/news/l…

Florida used to be where young people and working families came to build a life. That's changing fast. Nearly a quarter of everyone who left Florida recently was between 20 and 29. Net migration crashed from 511,000 people in a single year to just 22,517 by 2025. Home prices here rose faster than anywhere else in the country, now averaging $375,000, up from $253,000 before the pandemic. Amendment 3 makes it worse. Home prices are projected to rise if it passes, rent could climb as landlords pass along new taxes, and new fees will cost residents more. Real relief would help young people and working families afford to stay. This isn't that. Vote NO on Amendment 3 to stop this scam and tax shift that will raise our costs and cut our services.

Amendment 3 is just the latest Trump Republican idea that sounds good on the surface until you learn what it actually does. Voters need to kick it to the curb along with the politicians who voted for it. That includes you, @WymanDuggan!

More Floridians are waking up to the damage Amendment 3 would do to our communities. But this fight is far from won. A new St. Pete Polls survey shows the amendment sitting well short of the 60% it needs to pass, with a quarter of voters still undecided. That means every conversation, every share, every voter we reach between now and Election Day matters.

Amendment 3 promises relief. What it actually does is rob our communities of funding for police, sheriffs, firefighters, ambulances, health care, road repairs, and programs to help kids and seniors.   Even Governor DeSantis admitted the actual savings homeowners would see are "modest." Modest savings for some, a big tax break for the wealthy. Real, lasting harm for our communities, our kids and Florida’s working families and seniors.  Vote NO on Amendment 3 to stop this scam and tax shift that will raise our costs and cut our services.

My biggest takeaway from 18 months discussing Amendment 3 is how few people, including many state elected officials, actually understand how city and county budgets work. And part of that confusion has been fueled by the FAFO “audits,” which throw out big numbers without enough detail showing what is recurring versus one-time, what belongs to enterprise or restricted funds, what represents capital projects, and what is actually tied to the general fund. Those distinctions matter. Ending a one-time capital project doesn’t pay next year’s firefighters. Money sitting in a utility enterprise fund can’t simply be moved over to pay police officers. Eliminating parks, libraries and recreation may still not come close to closing a recurring budget hole. Just as few people seem to understand what inflation and growth actually do to local budgets. A city serving more residents, employees and businesses while paying higher wages, construction costs, insurance, fuel and equipment costs will spend more nominal dollars over time. That was true before Amendment 3, and it will be true after it. And restricting property-tax revenue doesn’t magically make the cost of government disappear. Cities and counties can shift costs to fire assessments, stormwater charges and other non-ad valorem fees. That doesn’t mean local government shouldn’t become more efficient. It absolutely should. But before Florida fundamentally rewrites how local government is funded, we should at least understand how it is funded today. Big numbers without context aren’t an audit. And moving a cost from your tax bill to your fee bill isn’t necessarily a tax cut.

Washington Post today

"The sheriff warned that the cuts could lead to a hiring freeze, the loss of up to 300 patrol positions, delays in police equipment repairs and fewer salary adjustments. “I know people will label me as fear-mongering,” the sheriff said. “You cannot reduce by 300 people and $41 million without a realistic expectation services are going to be compromised.” clickorlando.com/news/local/…

This is our Governor admitting local communities can’t afford Amendment 3 & will need to beg Tallahassee to help cover basic needs— giving up local freedom—and using up what’s left in FL’s surplus. State economists have projected a $1b deficit by 2029-30, w/o a major storm

Firefighters, teachers, sheriffs, police, nurses all agree: Amendment 3 would be a disaster for local communities—public safety, public health, children’s services

Florida Association of Realtors: sink $10 m to pass Amendment 3. Meanwhile, National Association of Realtors:

Once again, what happens in Florida never stays in Florida. & if we don’t stop Amendment 3 here— it’s coming to your part of the nation, too. And as it says - “states can’t afford these cuts.” No kidding. It’s $46 Billion from local communities over 5yrs with no plan to backfill

They call it a tax cut. It's a tax shift. Amendment 3 doesn't lower what you pay, it moves the bill. Other taxes go up, new fees show up, rent climbs, and on the other side: slower 911 response, delayed storm cleanup, fewer after-school programs, and cuts to senior and veterans services. Renters get $0 direct benefit and could see rent go up anyway. Working Floridians already pay 5x more of their income in taxes than the richest 1%. Renters. Seniors. Small business owners. First responders. Public sector workers. The rest of us, all left holding the bag. Vote NO on Amendment 3 to stop this scam and tax shift that will raise our costs and cut our services.

"We all want reasonable tax relief and that's possible. This is the most ludicrous piece of unresearched stuff i've seen. It's going to affect response times. It does not protect law enforcement, fire, emergency services, as earlier editions of it supposedly did. It doesn't provide for money to fix roads adequately, to clean stormwater adequately. It doesn't do any of that. It doesn't talk about libraries or parks. Its a train wreck." - Sheriff Grady Judd

Florida's growth rate dropped below 1% last year, the lowest in decades outside the Great Recession. Even the Florida Chamber of Commerce says younger residents are leaving in significant numbers. In Miami, nearly 6% of households include a "shadow buyer," an employed adult 25 to 39 still living with their parents because they can't afford to move out. Buying a median home here takes an income of $180,000+. The median wage of these buyers is just $33,600. Florida used to be where people moved to. Now young people can't afford to stay, and Amendment 3, backed by $10 million from real estate lobbyists, is expected to push prices even higher. Vote NO on Amendment 3.

Children's Services Councils don't make headlines, but they hold up Florida's youngest kids. Day care. After-school programs. Voluntary Pre-K. Maternity care. Infant mortality prevention. Almost all of it funded through local property taxes, in some counties, 90% or more of their revenue. Lose even a fraction, and that's fewer child care slots, shorter hours, families with nowhere else to turn. This is the safety net for kids and working parents across the state.