Florida TaxWatch issued a scathing report Thursday on the negative impact Amendment 4 would have on the states economy and insisting "it should not be in Florida's Constitution."
If passed, the report states, Amendment 4 could cost Florida 260,000 jobs per year, $16.7 billion in personal income, $21.6 billion in gross state product and $2.2 billion in state tax revenue. It would also mean the loss of $227 million in property tax revenue, or roughly $3.4 million per county -- although the effects of the amendment wouldfeel greater in areas that rely on development for growth.
This analysis shows that Florida simply cannot afford Amendment 4 and it should not be in Floridas Constitution, said Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic Calabro.
Amendment 4 has been pushed in recent years by Hometown Democracy, which seeks to give voters a greater say in land-use changes sought by developers in order build their projects. The amendment would put every land-use change on the ballot for the voters to decide. Currently, such decisions are typically made by local governments.
Opponents say the amendment would push developers -- one of the main sources of Floridas economic growth in recent years -- out of the state at a time when the economy needs them most.
The cumbersome task of putting every single land-use change up for a general election is also likely to prove costly. The report estimates that special elections held across the state could cost between $44.6 million and $83.4 million annually. Although the land-use changes could be put on the ballot for the next election, that would cause further delays to an already lengthy process.
All of these added costs would mean the state and local governments would likely raises taxes in order to pay for them.
Hometown Democracy, however, disputed the report and denounced Florida TaxWatch, which describes itself as a nonpartisan organization, as a player in the effort to defeat Amendment 4.
Florida TaxWatch is far from an independent broker in this campaign. TaxWatch is an arm of Florida's retail industry and, as such, is practically part of the 'No on 4' effort, the group said in a released statement on its website.
In fact, far from hurting Floridas economy, Hometown Democracy is convinced Amendment 4 will help foster sober, steady growth.
Amendment 4 would end the boom-and-bust cycle of Florida real estate speculation and provide a more stable economic platform, resulting in more investment in our state, not less, the statement reads in part.
Dr. Rick Harper, director of the Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development, which contributed to the report, said Hometown Democracy is ignoring the likely residual effects of the amendment. For instance, because urban voters are not likely to approve of developments near them, they will be pushed to more rural areas, thus contributing to urban sprawl -- one of the very things Amendment 4 supporters hope it will combat.
In my estimation, Amendment 4 is going to have these unintended consequences that supporters of the amendment dont want to see, Dr. Harper said.
The report came out the same day as former Gov. Jeb Bush announced his opposition to Amendment 4 in the form of a commentary in the Tampa Tribune.
It has the potential to completely stall our economy, making it harder to create and grow jobs and to responsibly manage the growth of our beautiful state, Bush stated.
A Mason-Dixon poll released earlier this month showed 44 percent of voters supported the amendment, down from 53 percent in September.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
