CINCINNATI — A break for Ohio homeowners could be on the horizon after state lawmakers passed a flurry of legislation last week aimed at property tax reform.
The bills — House Bills 129, 186, 309 and 335 — tackle of slew of issues and could save Ohioans $2.4 billion over several years. This is what is in them.
WATCH: Here's a breakdown of property tax reform legislation passed by Ohio lawmakers last week
House Bill 129 changes the funding calculation for school districts at the 20-mill floor. The floor forces a minimum tax collection based on home values.
HB 129 would have emergency/substitute levies, incremental growth levies, conversion levies, and property-tax components of combined levies be included in the 20-mill floor. The goal is to prevent spikes in the amount of taxes homeowners pay to those school districts.
House Bill 186 also has to do with the 20-mill floor. It limits the tax rate for homeowners in those school districts to the rate of inflation instead of the inflation of the real estate market.
The bill also would expand the Owner Occupancy Credit over the next four years by phasing out the Non-Business Credit on all non-agricultural properties.
The capped funding fallout from both of those bills would result in less money for certain school districts.
"I've met with different school districts, and I believe they find it very painful," Butler County Auditor Nancy Nix said. "I imagine there's no school district that's going to be happy, but I don't think there was a choice. Our taxpayers are in open revolt, trying to get a ballot initiative to get rid of property taxes altogether."
In a joint letter sent out last week, Butler County treasurers and superintendents, speaking about property tax reforms, said, "Property taxes are the symptom, not the cause. The real problem is that the state has changed how schools and local services are funded. Over time, the state has taken on less of the cost, pushing more of the burden onto homeowners and farmers. Now, several new bills in Columbus could take millions of dollars from Butler County schools with no plan to replace it."
House Bill 309 gives county budget commissions across the state more authority by allowing them to modify or reduce levies deemed "unnecessary" or "excessive."
House Bill 335 would cap inside millage, or property tax increases that have not been voted on by residents, to the rate of inflation. It would do this by requiring county budget commissions to adjust levies so they do not exceed the rate of inflation.
"I would say (it's the) most historic (reforms) in the last 40 years," Nix said. "But it's still it's not going to decrease your tax bill. These changes are impactful, but I don't know that every day taxpayers are going to say, 'Oh, it's a game changer.'"
Hamilton County Auditor Jessica Miranda said in a statement that the legislation is a step in the right direction but not nearly enough.
"Ohio's new bills are a step toward property tax relief, but they fail to deliver the scale homeowners need," she wrote. "The state must expand the homestead exemption and fully implement Fair School Funding to achieve sustainable relief."
The four bills now head to Governor Mike DeWine for his signature. When we reached out to the governor's office asking if DeWine plans to sign the measures, a spokesperson said he will review them when he gets them.
