The Florida Department of State has approved the format for a petition to help Florida homeowners with homestead exemptions keep lower tax bills even if they move – popularly known as “portability.” “The approval clears the way for supporters to begin collecting signatures needed to place “Save Our Homes Portability” on the November 2008 ballot,” said Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits. “The Florida Legislature could add the issue of Portability to its January special session agenda and adopt our ballot language,” said Nikolits, a member of the Board that sponsors the petition drive. “That would save us the work of gathering the nearly 750,000 signatures needed to place the issue on the ballot,” he added.

Property appraisers who must administer the program if it is adopted wrote the portability language, Nikolits said. “It simply makes sense that if property appraisers have the responsibility of implementing portability, they would be the best ones to write the proposal. Property appraisers understand how it should work to make it fair to taxpayers and taxing authorities alike.” Nikolits said.

Under the proposal, a homeowner with a Homestead Exemption could transfer a cap valued up to $400,000 to a more expensive property. If a homeowner is moving down in the market, that transfer could not exceed 50 percent of the market value of the new property. Portability would be permitted throughout the state.

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