By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that both Florida Senate President Ben Albritton and former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo have publicly come out against Amendment 3?
The ballot initiative known as “Amendment 3” for Florida residents to eliminate property-tax measure previously voted on and passed by our Florida legislature then signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis to place on the upcoming November 2026 ballot, is being attacked by Passidomo and Albritton. Both now argue the proposal, which would expand the homestead exemption to $250,000 by 2028, is flawed and would severely harm rural counties by gutting funding for law enforcement and other essential services.
The Florida Senate passed the ballot initiative by a 30-9 vote during a special session. At the time, Senate President Ben Albritton at the time, celebrated the decision, calling it a “massive property tax cut” to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. Passidomo, then a senator and Albritton’s predecessor as Senate President, also voted “yes,” stating that voters should have the opportunity to decide, but now, each have suddenly flipped their decision. Passidomo, now advises citizens to vote out local officials they believe spend unwisely rather than adopt the amendment. This reversal follows a roughly 48-hour special legislative session where the measure was rushed through without thorough fiscal analysis, drawing criticism for lacking serious study of its impact on local government revenues.