DeSantis announces executive order to extend property tax deadlines after Hurricane Ian

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced on Tuesday an executive order to provide some tax relief for residents in counties severely impacted by Hurricane Ian. 

DeSantis said at a news conference that the order will extend property tax deadlines in the 26 counties designated for damage by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and will include real property, personal and commercial businesses that were destroyed or were made uninhabitable by hurricane damage. 

The Republican governor added that he does not have the authority to eliminate property taxes, and the order will serve as a delay to give time for the members of the state legislatures to come back for a special session.  

“We will have a formal announcement very soon on the exact dates but because this is going to be necessary, we are going to have the legislature come back before the end of the year for a special legislative session,” DeSantis said. “And one of the purposes of that legislative session will be to address these tax obligations, and to make sure that homeowners and business owners can get rebated on the property tax.” 

“The last thing we want is someone loses their home and then they are getting hit up for property taxes on a home that doesn’t exist anymore. Today’s effort is the first step and making sure that that won’t happen,” DeSantis added. 

Hurricane Ian made landfall on Sept. 28, bringing destructive storm surges that killed more than 100 people. 

Ian became the latest of 15 storms among a growing list of billion-dollar weather and climate related disasters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

DeSantis’s announcement follows news from the Treasury Department on Tuesday that it is seeking to gather information from insurance providers about whether climate change will impact both availability and affordability of insurance policies. 

“The recent impacts in Florida from Hurricane Ian demonstrate the critical nature of this work and the need for an increased understanding of insurance market vulnerabilities in the United States,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.  

The data collection would “add to the work of regulators and policymakers across the Administration to assess climate-related risks to the financial system, the U.S. economy, and the American people,” Yellen said.