Florida Veterans Property Tax, Amendment 2 (2012)

Amendment 2
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Type:	Constitutional amendment
Constitution:	Section 6, Article VII
Referred by:	Florida State Legislature
Topic:	Taxes on the ballot
Status:	a

The Florida Veterans Property Tax Amendment, called Amendment 2, was on the November 6, 2012 state ballot in Florida as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure allowed for property tax discounts for disabled veterans. This bill explicitly extends the the rights to ad valorem tax discounts, made available in 2010 to all veterans who were residents of Florida prior to their service, to all combat-disabled veterans currently living in Florida whether they were residents prior to their service or not.

The measure was proposed by Senator Michael Bennett.

The measure required 60 percent voter approval for adoption.

Election results

See also: 2012 ballot measure election results

Florida Amendment 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		4,907,341	63.25%
No		2,850,880	36.75%

These results are certified and final.

Results via the Florida Department of Election's website.

Text of measure

The official ballot text reads as follows:

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
ARTICLE VII, SECTION 6
ARTICLE XII, SECTION 32

VETERANS DISABLED DUE TO COMBAT INJURY; HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX DISCOUNT.—Proposing an amendment to Section 6 of Article VII and the creation of Section 32 of Article XII of the State Constitution to expand the availability of the property discount on the homesteads of veterans who became disabled as the result of a combat injury to include those who were not Florida residents when they entered the military and schedule the amendment to take effect January 1, 2013.

Support

According to the Collins Center for Public Policy, supporters argued that the amendment is intended to benefit older veterans who were injured in combat but did not live in Florida at the time they entered the military. They further said that the property tax discount is needed to help with medical bills and may allow disabled veterans to stay in their homes longer as they age. It has also been stipulated that the amendment could improve the state's housing market by enticing more veterans to move to Florida.

Opposition

According to the Collins Center for Public Policy, opponents of the measure said that state and local governments face mounting budget deficits at least partly due to diminished property tax returns brought about by the collapse of the housing market. They argued that tax breaks should not be given out right now in order to maintain roads, schools, and other public services.

Path to the ballot

See also: Florida law for legislatively-referred constitutional amendments

In order to qualify for the November 2012 ballot the proposed amendment required approval by a minimum of 60% in the both the House and the Senate. The bill was referred to the ballot following unanimous votes in both the House and the Senate. On May 2 the Senate voted 38-0, while the House voted 117-0 on May 4.

Timeline

The following is a timeline of events surrounding the measure:

Event	Date	Developments
Approval	May 2, 2011	Florida Senate approved the measure unanimously with a vote of 38 to 0.
Final Approval	May 4, 2011	Florida House approved sending the measure to the ballot unanimously, 117 to 0.

See also

By Eric Veram Ballot measure writer

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• 2012 ballot measures
• Florida 2012 ballot measures

External links

• SJR 592 (status) and (full text)

Additional reading

• The Miami Herald,"Lawmakers ask voters to weigh in on abortion, taxes and more issues in 2012," May 11, 2011
• The Herald Tribune,"Legislature passes 7 ballot items for 2012," May 6, 2011