The Amendment 3 ballot lawsuit, explained

Florida's biggest property-tax vote in decades has a courtroom gate to clear first. Before Amendment 3 — the homestead tax cut headed for the November 3 ballot — reaches voters, a Leon County judge has to decide whether the ballot language voters will read is fair. Here's the case, the calendar, and what each outcome would mean. Current as of July 29, 2026 — this page tracks a live case and is updated as rulings land.

What's actually being challenged

Not the tax cut itself — the wording. A trio of lawsuits, brought by former elected officials and a group called Save Our Voters from Misleading Ballot Language (former state Sen. Jeff Brandes among the voices), argues the ballot title and summary the Legislature wrote for Amendment 3 mislead voters about what it does. The state — Attorney General James Uthmeier and Secretary of State Cord Byrd, defended by attorney Ben Gibson — answers that voters have "common sense" and will understand the measure extends Florida's long-standing homestead protections.

The July 29 hearing

Circuit Judge David Frank heard more than two hours of argument in Leon County on July 29 and ruled on nothing that day. He gave both sides until August 3 to file their final written arguments, and did not say when he would rule — but he acknowledged the real deadline himself: county election supervisors start assembling November ballots once the August 18 primary results are final. Whatever he decides, an appeal is widely expected — the losing side can take it up, and questions like this one tend to end at the Florida Supreme Court.

The two ways it can go

The suits are dismissed: Amendment 3 goes to the November 3 ballot as written, needing 60 percent approval to pass.
The summary is ordered rewritten: the Legislature already gave itself room for that — SB 4-F (Chapter 2026-240, signed July 1) expressly authorizes this amendment's ballot summary to exceed the usual 75-word statutory limit, so a longer, more detailed summary is a legally available fix.

What Amendment 3 would do (the 60-second version)

For non-school levies: the homestead exemption rises to $150,000 for 2027 and $250,000 for 2028, inflation-indexed after that; a new $50,000 five-year tier for new Florida residents; and the cap on assessment growth for non-homestead property tightens from 10 percent to 5 percent. The full mechanics, with sources — and what it does NOT change (school taxes) — are in our TRIM notice guide, and you can model your own parcel's savings with the homestead exemption calculator.

What changes for you right now

Nothing until November. Your August TRIM notice is governed by the law already in force — including SB 4-F's new supermajority rule for raising millage above revenue-neutral, which our TRIM guide covers in detail. If you're budgeting a purchase, the buyer estimator models today's law; if Amendment 3 passes, we'll update every affected calculator the same week.

Sources

Hearing coverage: Florida Phoenix, "No ruling on Amendment 3 tax initiative challenges as primary inches closer" (C. Sexton, July 29, 2026). Bill record and staff analysis: Florida Senate, CS/SB 4-F (Ch. 2026-240). Amendment mechanics: verified against the enrolled joint resolution and legislative analyses (see the TRIM guide's source list). Informational only — not legal or tax advice.