Bay County, FL -- On Tuesday, Florida voters resoundingly approved a constitutional amendment that many hope will give them some relief from high property taxes.

According to unofficial results from the Florida Division of Elections, Amendment 1 passed by 64%, with more than 2.6 million residents approving the proposal.  The plan needed 60% to pass.

Bay County Property Appraiser Zane Spitzer says homeowners should see the double homestead exemption on their TRIM notices in August.

Spitzer says that double exemption will be automatically granted if you already have a homestead exemption, so no application is necessary.

State estimates put the average savings for homeowners at $240 a year, but the amount you save could vary widely, depending on the value of your home and the millage rate for your city and county.

"Even though caps are placed on properties, even though assessments come in higher in some cases, has nothing to do with the amount of taxes people pay. The taxes are predicated on how much the millage rates are by the taxing authorities," says Spitzer.

Spitzer says there's one problem with the 10 percent cap on non-homestead properties. Those savings will appear on 2009 tax bills.

"The law is written to say that all of the people must apply for this exemption, so they're looking at an awful lot of properties in Bay County, somewhere in the neighborhood of 70,000, where people will have to fill out some form of paperwork," he says.

Spitzer says he's asking state lawmakers to make the cap automatic, to avoid what could be a mountain of paperwork.

If you have any questions about your property taxes, you're asked to call the Bay County Property Appraiser's Office at 784-4095.

For an explanation of all the provision of Amendment 1, click here.