JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As Florida’s legislative session begins, Clay County leaders Ted Yoho and Sam Garrison shared their perspectives on the proposed property tax repeal and other key issues facing the region.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed to reduce or eliminate property taxes on homesteaded properties, a topic Garrison said will be a major focus this year.
Garrison said that essential services must be protected.
“We’ve made it very clear that public safety, police and fire, teachers, education...that there’s absolutely no reduction in essential services.”
Garrison also highlighted UF’s downtown graduate campus and UNF as major growth drivers, calling UNF “a growth stock” and saying, “it’s an amazing asset that we have as a region to recruit, train, and retain top talent.”
Yoho also joined us to speak about Florida’s property tax repeal push, agricultural labor, and the national debt.
On eliminating or drastically reducing property taxes, he said, “it sounds great on the surface, but then you have to look at the unintended consequences,” warning that when government runs short of money, “they’re gonna have to make it up somewhere.”
Drawing on his experience, he suggested alternatives like taxing “maybe on square footage…or maybe per capita,” and even eliminating property taxes for older, long‑time residents.
Yoho called the national debt “the primary existential threat to our nation.”
He noted that when he arrived in Congress, the debt was about $12.5 trillion and that now it is $38.4 trillion.
Both leaders acknowledged the challenge of balancing tax relief with maintaining funding for essential public services. Garrison said local governments with rapidly rising property values have become “a bit fat” on tax revenue, while others run lean and need support to maintain core services.
To watch our full interviews with Garrison and Yoho, tune in to This Week In Jacksonville on Sunday at 9 a.m. We touched on topics like agricultural labor challenges, national debt, and drug policy.