The House and Senate held their first full sessions this week and action has already been taken which will impact our members.
The Senate today voted to override Governor DeWine’s veto of a provision banning replacement property tax levies. This follows similar House action in July. Therefore, replacement levies will not be permitted in elections held after January 1, 2026.
In other action, the House Ways and Means Committee has passed an amended version of House Bill 335 which expands the authority of county budget commissions to reduce levy payments to agencies with budget surpluses. Like similar budget language, it is unclear what would trigger such reductions. I expect full House action on this next week. While it is clear to me that the House passed this, it does not hurt to reach out to House members if you have relationships with them. This bill still will require Senate action and could end up being a vehicle for other property tax changes, including recommendations made by the Governor’s property tax task force yesterday.
On balance, those recommendations seem fairly innocuous, but at the end of the day, I think they have little chance of being acted upon by the legislature.
This issue is going to move very quickly over the next few weeks. We will continue to advocate on behalf of parks and recreation interests and will continue to keep you posted.
UPDATE!
A quick positive update. The House committee stripped the budget commission language from HB 335 this afternoon. Additional hearings on HB 335 are expected next week. It appears our efforts are making at least some difference.