Politics

As Gov. Ron DeSantis tries to land one of his final acts in office — nearly eliminating property taxes for Florida homeowners — he intends to use millions of dollars in state money alerting voters about his proposal.

On Monday, Florida lawmakers will return to Tallahassee to debate and ultimately vote on DeSantis’ property tax plan, which would initially raise the homestead exemption to $150,000 and compel the Legislature to create a schedule for “full elimination” of property taxes.

But they’ll also vote on a related proposal from DeSantis’ office to spend $5.5 million in taxpayer dollars to have property appraisers send mailers to property owners about the amendment. The mailers would point homeowners to a state-run website showing them how much they could save if voters approve the amendment in November.

“I don’t recall that happening before,” said Paul Polk, president of the Property Appraisers’ Association of Florida.