Jax pension tax bill advances in Tallahassee

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Two Florida Senate committees have approved a bill allowing Jacksonville to vote whether to extend a half-cent sales tax to cover the city's pension debt.

But the bill is moving forward with a few changes from the original proposal by Mayor Lenny Curry.

Recommended Videos



Curry originally wanted to extend the sales tax approved by voters to pay for buildings and road projects under the Better Jacksonville Plan for another 30 years to pay off the $1.6 billion owed to the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund. He then added the measure would be put to voters to decide whether to extend the tax and repurpose the revenue.

The Legislature and City Council must first agree to a referendum. Sen. Rob Bradley (R-Orange Park) is leading the charge in the upper chamber.

In the Senate Finance and Tax Committee Monday, the tax extension got a hard end date of 2060 regardless of whether the city collects enough funds to cover the debt by then.  The bill must go through three more committee stops before reaching the House and Senate floors.