Jan 16, 2008 9:41 pm US/Eastern
Property Tax Portability: Is It Legal?
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
As Governor Charlie Crist barnstorms around the state, he makes it clear that the big selling point for the property tax amendment is the provision known as "Portability", which will allow homeowners to take the tax savings they've earned over the years from Save Our Homes with them when they buy a new house.
But is it even constitutional?
CBS4's Jim DeFede did some research and discovered that before this issue was ever placed on the ballot, the Florida Legislature hired University of Georgia professor Walter Hellerstein, who is an expert on this issue. He wrote a 93-page analysis in which he warned them that what they were about to do stood a good chance of being struck down by a federal judge.
The legislature and the governor pushed it onto the ballot anyway.
Click Here to read Hellerstein's 93-page analysis or you can
Click Here to read a summary of Hellerstein's analysis.
Democratic state representative Dan Gelber told
CBS4'S DeFede, "We had this opinion and it was pretty instructive and we did exactly what the professor told us not to do".
Gelber points out the problem is that portability will create a huge disparity between current homeowners, who receive the benefits, and new and future homeowners, who will get nothing.
CBS4 caught up with the governor at a recent rally for the amendment and asked him why he was pushing a plan that many believe will be struck down by the courts.
Governor Crist replied, "Great question. They are wrong and we are right. It's constitutional. I listen to Florida lawyers more than Georgia lawyers,"
DeFede then asked the governor, "Well, if you didn't want to listen to Georgia lawyers, then why did the state pay them $50,000 to issue an opinion."
The governor then offered this, "We're changing the constitution. How can it be more constitutional."
The main concern, as the governor knows, is that portability violates the United States Constitution, not the state constitution.
Dan Gelber's response: "The governor is a good guy and I think his heart is in the right place, but at the end of the day if the legislature, not the governor, if the legislature puts on the ballot something that has even a modest chance of being declared unconstitutional, then we did something that was pretty irresponsible."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
