On Thursday, DeSantis again raised the idea of abolishing property taxes or rolling them back significantly, saying that Florida residents need relief — a message he has repeated in recent weeks.

READ MORE: 15 counties with the sharpest increases in property taxes

"Property tax says that you never really own your property, because you have to pay rent to the government," DeSantis said at a press conference, criticizing local governments for swelling their coffers with revenue from the state's booming real estate market. 

It's a radical proposal that would require overhauls of both state and local government budgets. In Florida, like most states, property taxes are collected from homeowners and businesses and provide a crucial source of funding for public schools, law enforcement and infrastructure. 

"It's fine for those people who will never need fire or rescue or have kids in school," said Jason Pizzo, the Democratic leader of the Florida Senate. "We don't have real viable substitute, we just don't have income to offset the shortfalls."

In Miami-Dade County, the state's most populous, officials estimate they'll collect nearly $3 billion in property-tax revenue in the current fiscal year, amounting to 37% of its operating budget. To offset the elimination of those levies statewide, lawmakers would have to raise $43 billion to maintain the same level of public services, according to estimates from the Florida Policy Institute. 

Residents in every US state pay some type of property tax, though the rates vary by jurisdiction. Hawaii has the lowest effective property tax rate at about 0.32% while New Jersey has the highest at 2.23%, according to data from Rocket Mortgage. Florida falls right in the middle with an effective rate of 0.91% and an average payment of $6,489 per year. 

Any rollback in property taxes would require a constitutional amendment, a step DeSantis said he would support. Such a move would need enough signatures to place a question on the ballot and pass with at least 60% of support from Florida voters.

Still, the effort is garnering support among lawmakers. Republican State Senator Jonathan Martin filed a bill in the legislature that would launch a study to research eliminating property taxes. If passed, the state's Office of Economic and Demographic Research would work to establish a framework to abolish the levies and replace revenues through budget cuts and sales taxes, according to draft legislation. 

In a post on X, DeSantis said he would veto any increase in the state's sales tax should the legislature propose one. While details of what would supplement property-tax revenue were slim, the governor said the state could "offload" its taxes onto tourists and non-residents. The governor's office didn't reply to requests for comment.

Thomas Brosy, a senior research associate at the Tax Policy Center, said abolishing the property tax would effectively devastate Florida's tax base, calling it "unlikely" and "unusual."

Florida's constitution requires a balanced budget, which would force officials to come up with alternative sources of revenue to keep the government running.

Brosy said eliminating property tax would require spending cuts and hamstring local government's ability to raise funds. In Florida, property taxes account for 18% of county revenue, 17% of municipal revenue and as much as 60% of school district revenue, according to the Florida Policy Institute.

"It would certainly consolidate power and decision-making with the state government in Florida," Brosy said.