“This is a bill that no one is asking for,” Thurston said.
The proposed constitutional amendment needs 24 votes to hit the three-fifths mark and pass the Senate. But Republicans are one vote shy of that number because of the resignation last week of Miami Republican Frank Artiles and the absence of Sen. Dorothy Hukill, a Port Orange Republican who is being treated for cancer.
In an unusual move, the Senate had already scheduled the proposal for floor discussion Friday before the measure had made it through the Rules Committee. But during a Rules Committee meeting Friday morning, the proposed constitutional amendment was approved in a 9-2 vote and the accompanying bill was approved 7-1. Democrats joined the majority in support in both votes.
Even if approved by the Senate, the proposal will return to the House because of the way it would be structured.
Currently, homeowners receive a tax exemption on the first $25,000 in value of their properties. They pay taxes on the value between $25,000 and $50,000 and then receive an exemption on the portion from $50,000 to $75,000.
