Editorial board

FLORIDA TODAY

This vote on solar energy should be an easy one. Amendment 4 on your primary election ballot would exempt from property taxes the value of renewal-energy equipment such as solar panels installed by homeowners and businesses. We recommend you vote "yes."

If the owners of a $200,000 house installed $20,000 worth of solar panels and other equipment, they would not be reassessed and have to pay taxes on a $220,000 property. If the owner of a $1 million commercial building installed $100,000 worth of solar panels and fuel cells, the owner would not have to pay taxes on $1.2 million or raise the rent -- as is the case in Florida now..

Homeowners already get a similar break, which has helped many Floridians and hurt none. The amendment would extend the tax exemptions to business and ensure the breaks for everyone for 20 years, starting in 2018.

It's a straightforward concept, put on the ballot by the Florida Legislature.

Amendment 4 has been studied and endorsed by organizations of all kinds: the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Nature Conservancy, Christian Coalition, AFL-CIO, Florida Realtors, Progress Florida, Conservatives for Energy Freedom, the Sierra Club and the League of Women Voters. How often does that happen?

"Florida has no income tax, but higher property tax, and that has interfered with the market for solar," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "Amendment 4 is a winner. It passed the Legislature unanimously."

Amendment 4 doesn't pick winners or losers in business or impose new costs on homeowners. If Walmart wants to pursue its corporate goal of running its stores on 100 percent renewable energy, it can cover its roofs with solar and wind equipment for significantly lower cost in Florida. If home- and businessowners want to rely entirely on FPL, that's fine, too.

But for the sake of vetting, let's address two predictable objections and one complication.

Does solar energy belong in the Florida Constitution?

There's no alternative, if Florida wants to offer the same property-tax breaks statewide. The Legislature can't set or cut local taxes in Florida. This change to property taxes must be approved by voters and added to the state Constitution for it to govern cities and counties.

As for the common election-year gripe that the constitution is getting "cluttered" with amendments on fishing-net bans, class-size limits and humane treatment of pregnant pigs ... Google it. You'll see that even with those items, the Constitution remains fairly concise and easy to understand and navigate online.

Will this subsidize one form of energy over another?

Actually, state and federal governments already subsidize energy development of all kinds to improve national security and the environment.

For example, Congress subsidizes oil-and-gas exploration and technology by about $3.7 billion per year, the Congressional Budget Office reports. It subsidizes nuclear power by $1.8 billion a year.

Amendment 4 is nothing out of the ordinary.

What about that other solar amendment, on the November ballot?

It's not related to this.

The Legislature deliberately put Amendment 4 on the primary election ballot to avoid any confusion with the utility-backed "Smart Solar" amendment on the November ballot. It was a good decision, which we won't undermine here by describing and dissecting that complicated issue. That can wait.

Vote "yes" on Amendment 4.

Agree or disagree? Share your opinion in an email to Letters@floridatoday.com