A bill to be entitled

An act relating to homestead assessments; amending s. 193.155, F.S.; providing for a decrease or no change in the assessed value of homestead property under certain circumstances; providing for retroactive operation; providing an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 193.155, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

193.155 Homestead assessments.‑‑Homestead property shall be assessed at just value as of January 1, 1994. Property receiving the homestead exemption after January 1, 1994, shall be assessed at just value as of January 1 of the year in which the property receives the exemption unless the provisions of subsection (8) apply.

(1)(a) Beginning in 1995, or the year following the year the property receives homestead exemption, whichever is later, the property shall be reassessed annually on January 1. Any change resulting from such reassessment shall not exceed the lower of the following:

1.(a) Three percent of the assessed value of the property for the prior year; or

2.(b) The percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, all items 1967=100, or successor reports for the preceding calendar year as initially reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(b) If the just value of the property has decreased from the prior year, the assessed value of the property shall be decreased by the same percentage decrease in just value. If there is no change in the just value of the property from the prior year, there shall be no change in the assessed value of the property.

Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009, and shall operate retroactively to January 1, 2009.