For more than a decade as Hillsborough County Property Appraiser, I have had the privilege of serving the homeowners, families and businesses that make our community home.
That experience has given me a front-row seat to the robust discussion now taking place across Florida related to Property Tax reform. As Property Appraiser, my responsibility is to provide accurate information about property values, exemptions and the property tax system, not to tell voters how they should vote. Reasonable people can look at Amendment 3, its potential benefits and its potential consequences and reach different conclusions. My role is to make sure that discussion is grounded in facts.
Every day, our office deals with property values and the realities of a changing real estate market. And while the Property Appraiser does not set tax rates or insurance premiums, we see firsthand the financial pressures facing property owners.
For many families today, the question is no longer simply what their home is worth. It is whether they can afford to keep it.
And regardless of the outcome of Amendment 3, I believe Florida needs to turn its attention to another major factor driving the cost of homeownership: property insurance.
Over the past several years, homeowners have seen significant increases in the cost of insuring their homes. For many families, insurance has become one of the largest and fastest-growing expenses associated with owning a home.
That is why I believe David Jolly’s proposal to fundamentally rethink how Florida finances hurricane risk deserves serious consideration and an honest debate based on facts.
Florida’s property insurance crisis did not develop overnight, and it will not be solved with political sound bites. Homeowners need meaningful solutions that address one of the largest expenses associated with owning a home in our state.
And I think there is something important about Jolly’s proposal that deserves recognition regardless of where someone ultimately stands on it.
Bob Henriquez is the Property Appraiser for Hillsborough County, Florida, first elected in 2012.
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This article appears in Oct. 08 – 14, 2026.