Alongside the homestead exemption fight over Amendment 3, Florida's Nov. 3 ballot carries Amendment 1, a measure about how much money the state may set aside for hard times.
What it would change
Florida's Budget Stabilization Fund, its rainy-day savings account, was created in 1992 after 83% of voters approved it, according to the League of Women Voters of Florida's Vote411 guide. The constitution now requires the balance to stay at or above 5% of the prior year's general revenue collections and caps it at 10%.
For the 2024-25 fiscal year the fund held about 9.3% of collections, the guide says.
Amendment 1 would lift the ceiling to 25%. Each year the Legislature would have to move the lesser of $750 million or whatever it takes to reach the new cap into the fund.
Lawmakers could tap the money with a bill to cover an emergency or a revenue shortfall. A third route, for a one-time "critical state need," would require a two-thirds vote and would be open only while the fund holds more than 15% of collections.
The yearly deposit could also be skipped in a year with an emergency or shortfall withdrawal, or, no more than once every five years, by a two-thirds vote. State analysts call the fiscal impact indeterminate but likely insignificant.
