[Times | Scott Keeler]

Unions and businesses both lodged serious objections to the Senate's take-it-or-leave-it property tax plan in a House Democratic caucus on Monday morning. And that may be sufficient political cover for Democrats to deny the Republican majority the three-fourths vote it needs to put the new version on the Jan. 29 ballot. 

Teacher union lobbyist Jeff Wright debunked the Senate's contention that portability under Save Our Homes will kick-start the economy and make up for a $2-billion-plus education cut over five years. Said Wright: "I can't go sell that to my leadership. I'm not going to try." Mike Williams of the building trades union warned that property tax cuts would mean the loss of public-sector jobs.

David Daniel of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, after making a pitch for the need for property tax relief, told Democrats the Senate's 10-percent cap on non-homestead assessments was too high and responded with silence when a Democratic lawmaker asked him how members should vote.

On top of all that, House Democrats are howling mad about having too
little information to cast an intelligent vote, and some said their
only information was the Senate plan summary posted here. Complained
Rep. Shelley Vana, D-Lantana: "We don't have a written version except
what we got off the blog."

"We're working with a bill that we don't know enough about. I think
that's going to be a problem," said House Democratic leader Dan Gelber,
D-Miami Beach, who scratched a caucus position and urged each member to
vote his or her conscience. "It's a very hard vote."

"This is meatball surgery," Gelber said.