Ohio House Lawmakers Plan to Override Governor's Property Tax Veto

Strategic Insights -

Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman and Finance Chair Brian Stewart have announced their plan to override Governor Mike DeWine's vetoes on provisions aimed at lowering property tax bills. The House plans to take up three of the governor's vetoes in a July 21 session, with the possibility of overriding more vetoes down the line. The move comes as lawmakers and advocates call for property tax reform, criticizing DeWine's decision to strike out provisions that would have given county officials authority to roll back voted levies and changed the way levies get calculated. The governor argued that imposing these changes would create a huge problem for local schools.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Ohio House plans to override Governor Mike DeWine's vetoes on three provisions aimed at lowering property tax bills, including giving county officials authority to roll back voted levies and changing the way levies get calculated.
  • The governor's vetoes also included limiting the kind of levies school districts can put on the ballot and the amount of cash districts can carry over year-to-year.
  • State Rep. Tex Fischer argued that a working group proposed by DeWine is not needed, instead calling for action on property tax reform.
  • Ohio Democrats, including Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, criticized the GOP for advancing provisions that benefit the state's highest earners and failing to provide real property tax relief.
  • Lawmakers want to restrict what kinds of levies school districts can get on the ballot, including replacement levies, fixed-sum or substitute emergency levies, and combined income and property tax levies.
  • The governor vetoed a change to the way school district millage gets calculated, which would have required additional levies to be counted as part of the 20-mill floor.
  • The Ohio Taxpayer Protection Coalition, led by Tom Zaino, supports the proposed override of the governor's property tax vetoes, saying it will address their efforts to reduce inflationary growth in revenues.
  • Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, argued that the override effort is misguided and that the provisions DeWine vetoed were meant to solve the state's property tax problem on the backs of public school students.

Statistics:

  • The average effective rate of property taxes in Columbus is about 49.6 mills.
  • The 20-mill floor reduction factor in Ohio's constitution prevents school district tax rates from being reduced below 20 mills.
  • The proposed override of the governor's property tax vetoes includes rolling back voted levies and changing the way levies get calculated.
  • 40% of operating revenue is the proposed cap on cash reserves districts can carry into the following year.
  • The Ohio Taxpayer Protection Coalition, led by Tom Zaino, has the backing of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Ohio Realtors.

Sources:

  • Ohio Capital Journal
  • Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman's announcement
  • Governor Mike DeWine's press conference outlining his vetoes
  • State Rep. Tex Fischer's social media statement
  • Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn's statement
  • The Ohio Taxpayer Protection Coalition's statement
  • Scott DiMauro's statement as president of the Ohio Education Association