Public Notices

PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AND REVISIONS FOR THE 2026
GENERAL ELECTION
I, CORD BYRD, Secretary of State for Florida, do hereby give notice that the ballot title,
summary and proposed text for each of the following proposed amendments and revisions to
the Florida Constitution will be on the General Election ballot on November 3, 2026, in each
county. The full text may also be found at https://constitutionalinitiatives.dos.fl.gov/, at Flor￾idaPublicNotices.com, and at this newspaper’s website.
No.1 Constitutional Amendment
Article III, Section 19
ARTICLE III
LEGISLATURE
SECTION 19. State Budgeting, Planning and Appropriations Processes.—
(a) ANNUAL BUDGETING.
(1) General law shall prescribe the adoption of annual state budgetary and planning pro￾cesses and require that detail reflecting the annualized costs of the state budget and reflecting
the nonrecurring costs of the budget requests shall accompany state department and agency
legislative budget requests, the governor’s recommended budget, and appropriation bills.
(2) Unless approved by a three-fifths vote of the membership of each house, appropria￾tions made for recurring purposes from nonrecurring general revenue funds for any fiscal year
shall not exceed three percent of the total general revenue funds estimated to be available at
the time such appropriation is made.
(3) As prescribed by general law, each state department and agency shall be required to
submit a legislative budget request that is based upon and that reflects the long-range financial
outlook adopted by the joint legislative budget commission or that specifically explains any
variance from the long-range financial outlook contained in the request.
(4) For purposes of this section, the terms department and agency shall include the judicial
branch.
(b) APPROPRIATION BILLS FORMAT. Separate sections within the general appropri￾ation bill shall be used for each major program area of the state budget; major program areas
shall include: education enhancement “lottery” trust fund items; education (all other funds);
human services; criminal justice and corrections; natural resources, environment, growth man￾agement, and transportation; general government; and judicial branch. Each major program
area shall include an itemization of expenditures for: state operations; state capital outlay;
aid to local governments and nonprofit organizations operations; aid to local governments
and nonprofit organizations capital outlay; federal funds and the associated state matching
funds; spending authorizations for operations; and spending authorizations for capital outlay.
Additionally, appropriation bills passed by the legislature shall include an itemization of
specific appropriations that exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) in 1992 dollars. For
purposes of this subsection, “specific appropriation,” “itemization,” and “major program area”
shall be defined by law. This itemization threshold shall be adjusted by general law every four
years to reflect the rate of inflation or deflation as indicated in the Consumer Price Index for
All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, or successor reports as reported by the
United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics or its successor. Substantive
bills containing appropriations shall also be subject to the itemization requirement mandated
under this provision and shall be subject to the governor’s specific appropriation veto power
described in Article III, Section 8.
(c) APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS.
(1) No later than September 15 of each year, the joint legislative budget commission shall
issue a long-range financial outlook setting out recommended fiscal strategies for the state and
its departments and agencies in order to assist the legislature in making budget decisions. The
long-range financial outlook must include major workload and revenue estimates. In order to
implement this paragraph, the joint legislative budget commission shall use current official
consensus estimates and may request the development of additional official estimates.
(2) The joint legislative budget commission shall seek input from the public and from the
executive and judicial branches when developing and recommending the long-range financial
outlook.
(3) The legislature shall prescribe by general law conditions under which limited adjust￾ments to the budget, as recommended by the governor or the chief justice of the supreme
court, may be approved without the concurrence of the full legislature.
(d) SEVENTY-TWO HOUR PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD. All general appropriation bills
shall be furnished to each member of the legislature, each member of the cabinet, the gover￾nor, and the chief justice of the supreme court at least seventy-two hours before final passage
by either house of the legislature of the bill in the form that will be presented to the governor.
(e) FINAL BUDGET REPORT. A final budget report shall be prepared as prescribed by
general law. The final budget report shall be produced no later than the 120th day after the
beginning of the fiscal year, and copies of the report shall be furnished to each member of the
legislature, the head of each department and agency of the state, the auditor general, and the
chief justice of the supreme court.
(f) TRUST FUNDS.
(1) No trust fund of the State of Florida or other public body may be created or re-created
by law without a three-fifths vote of the membership of each house of the legislature in a sep￾arate bill for that purpose only.
(2) State trust funds shall terminate not more than four years after the effective date of the
act authorizing the initial creation of the trust fund. By law the legislature may set a shorter
time period for which any trust fund is authorized.
(3) Trust funds required by federal programs or mandates; trust funds established for
bond covenants, indentures, or resolutions, whose revenues are legally pledged by the state
or public body to meet debt service or other financial requirements of any debt obligations of
the state or any public body; the state transportation trust fund; the trust fund containing the
net annual proceeds from the Florida Education Lotteries; the Florida retirement trust fund;
trust funds for institutions under the management of the Board of Governors, where such trust
funds are for auxiliary enterprises and contracts, grants, and donations, as those terms are
defined by general law; trust funds that serve as clearing funds or accounts for the chief finan￾cial officer or state agencies; trust funds that account for assets held by the state in a trustee
capacity as an agent or fiduciary for individuals, private organizations, or other governmental
units; and other trust funds authorized by this Constitution, are not subject to the requirements
set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(4) All cash balances and income of any trust funds abolished under this subsection shall
be deposited into the
(g) BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND.
(1) For purposes of this subsection, the term “revenue collections” means the last com￾pleted fiscal year’s net revenue collections for the general revenue fund.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, an amount equal to at least 5% of the last
completed fiscal year’s net revenue collections for the general revenue fund shall be retained
in the budget stabilization fund. The budget stabilization fund’s principal balance shall not ex￾ceed an amount equal to 25% 10% of the last completed fiscal year’s net revenue collections
for the general revenue fund.
(3) The legislature shall transfer the lesser of $750 million or the amount required to
increase the principal balance of the budget stabilization fund to an amount equal to 25% of
revenue collections from the general revenue fund to the budget stabilization fund no later
than June 30th of each fiscal year. The legislature may suspend this transfer in a fiscal year
in which:
a. Funds are withdrawn from the budget stabilization fund pursuant to paragraph (4);
b. Funds are withdrawn from the budget stabilization fund for the purpose of funding a
critical state need pursuant to paragraph (5); or
c. The legislature determines there is a critical state need that requires the expenditure of
general revenue funds in an amount that exceeds the transfer amount required by this para￾graph. A suspension for a critical state need pursuant to this subparagraph must be approved
by a two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the legislature in a separate bill for
that purpose only and may not occur more than once every five years.
(4) The legislature shall provide criteria for withdrawing funds from the budget stabiliza￾tion fund in a separate bill for that purpose only and only for the purpose of covering revenue
shortfalls of the general revenue fund or for the purpose of providing funding for an emer￾gency, as defined by general law.
(5) If the principal balance of the budget stabilization fund exceeds an amount equal to
15% of revenue collections, the legislature may withdraw funds for the purpose of funding on
a nonrecurring basis a critical state need. Such withdrawal must be approved by a two-thirds
vote of the membership of each house of the legislature in a separate bill for that purpose only.
The withdrawal must not cause the principal balance of the budget stabilization fund to equal
an amount that is less than 10% of revenue collections.
(6) General law shall provide for the restoration of this fund. The budget stabilization fund
shall be comprised of funds not otherwise obligated or committed for any purpose.
(h) LONG-RANGE STATE PLANNING DOCUMENT AND DEPARTMENT AND
AGENCY PLANNING DOCUMENT PROCESSES. General law shall provide for a long￾range state planning document. The governor shall recommend to the legislature biennially
any revisions to the long-range state planning document, as defined by law. General law shall
require a biennial review and revision of the long range state planning document and shall
require all departments and agencies of state government to develop planning documents that
identify statewide strategic goals and objectives, consistent with the long-range state planning
document. The long-range state planning document and department and agency planning
documents shall remain subject to review and revision by the legislature. The long-range state
planning document must include projections of future needs and resources of the state which
are consistent with the long-range financial outlook. The department and agency planning
documents shall include a prioritized listing of planned expenditures for review and possible
reduction in the event of revenue shortfalls, as defined by general law.
(i) GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY TASK FORCE. No later than January of 2007, and
each fourth year thereafter, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of represen￾tatives, and the governor shall appoint a government efficiency task force, the membership
of which shall be established by general law. The task force shall be composed of members
of the legislature and representatives from the private and public sectors who shall develop
recommendations for improving governmental operations and reducing costs. Staff to assist
the task force in performing its duties shall be assigned by general law, and the task force
may obtain assistance from the private sector. The task force shall complete its work within
one year and shall submit its recommendations to the joint legislative budget commission, the
governor, and the chief justice of the supreme court.
(j) JOINT LEGISLATIVE BUDGET COMMISSION. There is created within the legis￾lature the joint legislative budget commission composed of equal numbers of senate members
appointed by the president of the senate and house members appointed by the speaker of
the house of representatives. Each member shall serve at the pleasure of the officer who
appointed the member. A vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as
the original appointment. From November of each odd-numbered year through October of
each even-numbered year, the chairperson of the joint legislative budget commission shall be
appointed by the president of the senate and the vice chairperson of the commission shall be
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. From November of each even-num￾bered year through October of each odd-numbered year, the chairperson of the joint legislative
budget commission shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the
vice chairperson of the commission shall be appointed by the president of the senate. The
joint legislative budget commission shall be governed by the joint rules of the senate and the
house of representatives, which shall remain in effect until repealed or amended by concurrent
resolution. The commission shall convene at least quarterly and shall convene at the call of
the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives. A majority of the
commission members of each house plus one additional member from either house constitutes
a quorum. Action by the commission requires a majority vote of the commission members
present of each house. The commission may conduct its meetings through teleconferences or
similar means. In addition to the powers and duties specified in this subsection, the joint leg￾islative budget commission shall exercise all other powers and perform any other duties not in
conflict with paragraph (c)(3) and as prescribed by general law or joint rule.
No. 2 Constitutional Amendment
Article VII, Section 3, and Article XII
ARTICLE VII
FINANCE AND TAXATION
SECTION 3. Taxes; exemptions.—
(a) All property owned by a municipality and used exclusively by it for municipal or
public purposes shall be exempt from taxation. A municipality, owning property outside the
municipality, may be required by general law to make payment to the taxing unit in which the
property is located. Such portions of property as are used predominantly for educational, liter￾ary, scientific, religious or charitable purposes may be exempted by general law from taxation.
(b) There shall be exempt from taxation, cumulatively, to every head of a family residing
in this state, household goods and personal effects to the value fixed by general law, not less
than one thousand dollars, and to every widow or widower or person who is blind or totally
and permanently disabled, property to the value fixed by general law not less than five hun￾dred dollars.
(c) Any county or municipality may, for the purpose of its respective tax levy and subject
to the provisions of this subsection and general law, grant community and economic develop￾ment ad valorem tax exemptions to new businesses and expansions of existing businesses, as
defined by general law. Such an exemption may be granted only by ordinance of the county
or municipality, and only after the electors of the county or municipality voting on such
question in a referendum authorize the county or municipality to adopt such ordinances. An
exemption so granted shall apply to improvements to real property made by or for the use
of a new business and improvements to real property related to the expansion of an existing
business and shall also apply to tangible personal property of such new business and tangible
personal property related to the expansion of an existing business. The amount or limits of
the amount of such exemption shall be specified by general law. The period of time for which
such exemption may be granted to a new business or expansion of an existing business shall
be determined by general law. The authority to grant such exemption shall expire ten years
from the date of approval by the electors of the county or municipality, and may be renewable
by referendum as provided by general law.
(d) Any county or municipality may, for the purpose of its respective tax levy and subject
to the provisions of this subsection and general law, grant historic preservation ad valorem
tax exemptions to owners of historic properties. This exemption may be granted only by or￾dinance of the county or municipality. The amount or limits of the amount of this exemption
and the requirements for eligible properties must be specified by general law. The period of
time for which this exemption may be granted to a property owner shall be determined by
general law.
(e) By general law and subject to conditions specified therein:
(1) Twenty-five thousand dollars of the assessed value of property subject to tangible per￾sonal property tax shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation.
(2) The assessed value of solar devices or renewable energy source devices subject to
tangible personal property tax may be exempt from ad valorem taxation, subject to limitations
provided by general law.
(f) There shall be granted an ad valorem tax exemption for
real property dedicated in perpetuity for conservation purposes, including real property en￾cumbered by perpetual conservation easements or by other perpetual conservation protections,
as defined by general law.
(g) By general law and subject to the conditions specified therein, each person who re￾ceives a homestead exemption as provided in section 6 of this article; who was a member of
the United States military or military reserves, the United States Coast Guard or its reserves,
or the Florida National Guard; and who was deployed during the preceding calendar year on
active duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii in support of military op￾erations designated by the legislature shall receive an additional exemption equal to a percent￾age of the taxable value of his or her homestead property. The applicable percentage shall be
calculated as the number of days during the preceding calendar year the person was deployed
on active duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii in support of military
operations designated by the legislature divided by the number of days in that year.
(h)(1) Tangible personal property that meets all of the following conditions shall be ex￾empt from ad valorem taxation:
a. Habitually located or typically present on land classified as agricultural.
b. Used in the production of agricultural products or for agritourism activities.
c. Owned by the landowner or leaseholder of the agricultural land.
(2) The exemption provided by this subsection is subject to conditions and limitations and
reasonable definitions as specified by the legislature in general law.
ARTICLE XII
SCHEDULE
Ad valorem exemption for tangible personal property on land classified as agricultural.—
The amendment to Section 3 of Article VII, providing for a tax exemption for certain tangible
personal property, and this section, shall take effect upon approval by the electors and shall
first apply for assessments for tax years beginning January 1, 2027.
No. 3 Constitutional Amendment
Article VII, Sections 4, 6, and 9, and Article XII
ARTICLE VII
FINANCE AND TAXATION
SECTION 4. Taxation; assessments.—By general law regulations shall be prescribed
which shall secure a just valuation of all property for ad valorem taxation, provided:
(a) Agricultural land, land producing high water recharge to Florida’s aquifers, or land
used exclusively for noncommercial recreational purposes may be classified by general law
and assessed solely on the basis of character or use.
(b) As provided by general law and subject to conditions, limitations, and reasonable
definitions specified therein, land used for conservation purposes shall be classified by general
law and assessed solely on the basis of character or use.
(c) Pursuant to general law tangible personal property held for sale as stock in trade and
livestock may be valued for taxation at a specified percentage of its value, may be classified
for tax purposes, or may be exempted from taxation.
(d) All persons entitled to a homestead exemption under Section 6 of this Article shall
have their homestead assessed at just value as of January 1 of the year following the effective
date of this amendment. This assessment shall change only as provided in this subsection.
(1) Assessments subject to this subsection shall be
changed annually on January 1st of each year; but those changes in assessments shall not
exceed the lower of the following:
a. Three percent (3%) of the assessment for the prior year.
b. The percent change in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers, U.S. City
Average, all items 1967=100, or successor reports for the preceding calendar year as initially
reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(2) No assessment shall exceed just value.
(3) After any change of ownership, as provided by general law, homestead property shall
be assessed at just value as of January 1 of the following year, unless the provisions of para￾graph (8) apply. Thereafter, the homestead shall be assessed as provided in this subsection.
(4) New homestead property shall be assessed at just value as of January 1st of the year
following the establishment of the homestead, unless the provisions of paragraph (8) apply.
That assessment shall only change as provided in this subsection.
(5) Changes, additions, reductions, or improvements to homestead property shall be as￾sessed as provided for by general law; provided, however, after the adjustment for any change,
addition, reduction, or improvement, the property shall be assessed as provided in this subsec￾tion.
(6) In the event of a termination of homestead status, the property shall be assessed as
provided by general law.
(7) The provisions of this amendment are severable. If any of the provisions of this
amendment shall be held unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, the decision
of such court shall not affect or impair any remaining provisions of this amendment.
(8)a. A person who establishes a new homestead as of January 1 and who has received a
homestead exemption pursuant to Section 6 of this Article as of January 1 of any of the three
years immediately preceding the establishment of the new homestead is entitled to have the
new homestead assessed at less than just value. The assessed value of the newly established
homestead shall be determined as follows: