ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Republican Rep. Berny Jacques said that property taxes remain the top concern among his constituents, especially seniors on fixed incomes, and reaffirmed his commitment to delivering meaningful tax relief while preserving essential services.
During the state GOP conference over the weekend, speaking to Florida’s Voice with Drew Steele on-scene, Jacques said he is often approached by voters who are cautiously optimistic about the possibility of eliminating or significantly reducing property taxes.
“It’s very rare to go somewhere without somebody coming up to me and saying, ‘Berny, are we really getting rid of property taxes?’” Jacques said. “They think it’s too good to be true, but what they’re conveying is they want relief.”
Jacques, a member of the Florida House Select Committee on Property Taxes, cited stories from constituents struggling with rising home valuations and static incomes. One elderly couple, he said, told him they had to pick up side jobs just to afford their property tax bill.
“That shouldn’t be the case in the U.S. of A., or the state of Florida, when you own your own home,” Jacques said.
He said Florida’s post-pandemic population boom has inflated housing prices— and with them, property tax bills— especially in areas that became popular refuges for those fleeing pandemic restrictions in other states.
Jacques stressed that any changes to the property tax system must be carefully designed to maintain critical services like emergency response and infrastructure. He praised efforts by state officials, including CFO Blaise Ingoglia and Gov. Ron DeSantis, for “DOGE-ing some of these places” to investigate and reduce wasteful municipal spending.
“If you’re a county, if you’re a city, you’ve been placed on notice,” Jacques said. “You can’t be surprised anymore when the DOGE folks come for you. Start getting your house in order now.”
Targeting “woke” ideology in libraries
Jacques also addressed cultural issues, denouncing what he described as inappropriate material being made available to children in public libraries — including in traditionally conservative areas like Largo, part of his district.
Jacques said his office uncovered promotional materials and books in the children’s section that he believes push “sexual ideology” and “gender ideology,” calling it “deliberate indoctrination.”
“I mean, books that I never thought could exist were right there, and it’s being funded by our dime,” Jacques said. “That is the issue that a lot of folks have. They’re like, ‘We don’t even agree with this, but then you’re going to make me pay for it.’ […] It has to stop. I’m not going to let this go. I’m going to fight this and get this corrected.”
He urged other lawmakers to investigate their local libraries and said the pushback is not about banning books, but about preventing taxpayer-funded exposure to what he sees as harmful content for children.
Jacques also pointed to how “there was a time” when people were getting fired on the spot if “you spoke out for some basic truths,” but said the “tide is changing.”
“The tide is turning, and it’s on our side, and we have to seize the moment, and we can’t let an opportunity go to waste,” Jacques said. “We have to take back the institutional capture that occurred at the hands of the leftists. We now have to remake these institutions in our image and how the Founders intended them to occur.”
Jacques credited the COVID-19 pandemic for opening parents’ eyes to classroom content, thanks to remote learning. He called for continued vigilance and urged conservatives to stay engaged in education and local governance.
“It’s a few small, committed leftist elites who are pushing this, [but] the vast majority of Floridians, the vast majority of Americans, do not support this garbage, and that’s why we have to be bold. If not now, I don’t know when we will be,” he said.