Governor Ron DeSantis signs major property tax and government transparency laws aimed at protecting Florida taxpayers
Bradenton, Florida – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed two new pieces of legislation that state leaders say will strengthen oversight of local governments, increase transparency in public spending, and make it more difficult for local officials to raise property taxes without broad support.
The measures, Senate Bill 4-F and House Bill 1329, were signed into law as part of the administration’s broader effort to improve government accountability while providing additional protections for homeowners facing rising property taxes.
Announcing the legislation, DeSantis pointed to Florida’s recent budget record and said the same level of fiscal responsibility should also apply at the local level.
“Florida has reduced its budget for four straight years and has demonstrated fiscal responsibility and respect for taxpayers,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Now, we are stepping in to protect taxpayers from taxes at the local level.”
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia also praised the legislation, arguing that it will give residents greater insight into how local governments spend public money.
“Local governments have continued to grow their budgets by resorting to scare tactics like threatening cuts to essential services,” said Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia. “This pivotal piece of legislation pulls the curtain back on local government’s wasteful spending so that Floridians are better equipped to hold their local officials accountable. Thank you, Governor DeSantis, for signing this bill and ensuring that local governments are good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
New limits on local property tax increases
One of the newly signed measures, Senate Bill 4-F, focuses on limiting how local governments can increase property taxes.
The legislation serves as the implementation bill for the proposed constitutional amendment known as Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes, a measure Florida voters are expected to consider during the November 2026 election.
Current law allows local governments to increase the maximum property tax rate they can adopt with a simple majority vote by adjusting the rolled-back tax rate based on growth in Florida’s per-capita personal income. Under the new law, that adjustment is removed, generally limiting local governments to the standard rolled-back rate when calculating maximum property tax levies.
The legislation also creates stricter voting requirements whenever local governments want to exceed those limits.
If a governing body wishes to adopt a millage rate up to 110 percent of the rolled-back rate, approval from two-thirds of the governing board will now be required.
For rates exceeding 110 percent of the rolled-back rate, even greater approval is necessary. Those increases must receive unanimous approval, a three-fourths vote for larger governing boards, or approval from voters through a referendum.
Supporters believe these changes will reduce the number of local governments that can raise property taxes without demonstrating broad agreement among elected officials or obtaining voter approval.
Another provision expands the ballot summary language that will appear with the proposed constitutional amendment, providing voters with additional information before they cast their ballots in November 2026.
New transparency requirements for local governments
House Bill 1329 introduces a wide range of financial transparency requirements affecting counties and municipalities throughout Florida.
Under the new law, local governments will be required to publish detailed financial information online so taxpayers can more easily review how public money is collected and spent.
The required information includes budget summaries, revenue and expenditure reports, departmental spending, staffing information, reserve levels, fund balances, and other financial and budget documents.
The legislation also requires quarterly reports detailing employee compensation and establishes annual budget development calendars designed to make the budgeting process more transparent throughout the year.
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One of the most significant changes requires every local government to complete a budget reduction exercise before adopting its final spending plan.
During that review, officials must identify ways to reduce proposed spending by 10 percent while protecting essential services such as law enforcement, fire protection, and other government functions required by law.
Supporters say this requirement will encourage local leaders to evaluate spending priorities and identify efficiencies before arguing that property tax relief would require reductions to critical public services.
The newly signed laws build upon the DeSantis administration’s broader affordability agenda, which has focused on reducing financial burdens for Florida families while increasing accountability throughout government.
State officials say the legislation provides taxpayers with stronger safeguards against unnecessary property tax increases, gives residents easier access to detailed financial information about local governments, and creates new standards intended to ensure elected officials carefully review spending decisions before adopting local budgets.
