OhioHB 309136th General Assembly (2025-2026)HouseWALLET

Regards budget commissions, property tax, and certain funds

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.

School aid requires minimum local taxes

Most Ohio school districts must levy at least 20 mills for operating costs to receive state school funding. Educational service centers and joint vocational and cooperative education districts are exempt from this tax requirement. Districts can levy less after reductions under laws allowing them to forgo tax collections. Districts must also meet the prior school year's instructional-hour and related requirements; noncompliance can block payments without good cause. The Department of Education and Workforce calculates and certifies payments based on enrollment reports for the July 1–June 30 fiscal year. It pays for specified student groups and state-funded services, subject to Controlling Board approval and legislative funding limits. State funding generally must cover current operating costs.

Library funding protected with local options

The law replaces prior school-funding, property-tax, and library-fund statutes rather than simply removing those programs. County library distributions must preserve at least the average share of county classified taxes libraries received in 1982–1984. Library allocations reflect need and cannot be cut because libraries receive new revenue, grants, or private funding. Under the standard method, remaining funds go to cities and villages, the county for areas outside them, and township park commissioners. Each unit's fixed 1984 classified-property-tax share determines its allocation, which must be certified for budgeting. Counties can instead adopt a yearly county-wide method using factors the budget commission considers appropriate. Adoption requires county commissioner approval, approval from the largest city, and a majority of township and municipal boards excluding that city. Small counties have exceptions to the largest-city approval requirement. The alternative must be adopted annually by the first Monday in August and governs that year's distributions. Decisions are final except for abuse of discretion or failure to follow the formula; repeal restores the standard method. Library-fund meetings require at least five days' notice. Libraries receiving construction funds must be open to inhabitants and keep financial records available to the public.

Counties can cut excess property taxes

County budget commissions review local budgets and can reduce unnecessary or excessive property tax collections after considering balances and other revenue. Before a cut, they must provide public notice and let the taxing authorities present information at a public hearing. For units that are not qualifying subdivisions, collections generally cannot fall below the prior year's amount without offsetting funds. Those offsets can include reserve balances, nonexpendable trust funds, or carryover money. Cuts cannot put covered school districts below the 20-mill operating-tax requirement. Commissions must approve levies for unpaid debt charges and levies required by the specified laws without changes. After required levies, a school's operating levy cannot fall below 45% of the millage available within the 10-mill limit. A subdivision also keeps a historical minimum unless it requests less: two-thirds of its average current-expense and debt-service levy from the last five years the 15-mill limit applied.

First-year levies protected; lower requests allowed

County budget commissions must approve properly authorized first-year property tax levies above the 10-mill limit without changing them. This protection does not apply to renewal levies. It also does not apply when a local taxing unit requests an amount requiring a lower rate. A lower-rate request applies only to the next fiscal year unless the unit expressly makes it permanent.

Fixed-amount property tax rates adjust yearly

Ohio's Tax Commissioner checks qualifying fixed-amount property tax levies each year and determines the rate needed to collect their set amounts. The commissioner sends any rate change to the county auditor by September 1. The auditor applies the adjusted rate for the current tax year, so rates can rise or fall. The rule includes fixed-amount levies authorized under section 5705.199 but excludes debt-payment levies above the 10-mill limit.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

David Thomas
Republican • House

Cosponsors

Adam Holmes
Republican • House
Adam Mathews
Republican • House
Angela N. King
Republican • House
Bernard Willis
Republican • House
Bill Reineke
Republican • Senate
Bill Roemer
Republican • House
Bob Peterson
Republican • House
Brian Lampton
Republican • House
Chris Glassburn
Democratic • House
Daniel P. Troy
Democratic • House
Gary Click
Republican • House
Heidi Workman
Republican • House
Jack K. Daniels
Republican • House
James M. Hoops
Republican • House
Jason Stephens
Republican • House
Jennifer Gross
Republican • House
Jerry C. Cirino
Republican • Senate
Jodi Salvo
Republican • House
Johnathan Newman
Republican • House
Josh Williams
Republican • House
Kellie Deeter
Republican • House
Kevin Ritter
Republican • House
Kristina D. Roegner
Republican • Senate
Kyle Koehler
Republican • Senate
Levi Dean
Republican • House
Marilyn John
Republican • House
Mark Hiner
Republican • House
Mark Johnson
Republican • House
Mark Romanchuk
Republican • Senate
Mark Sigrist
Democratic • House
Matthew Kishman
Republican • House
Melanie Miller
Republican • House
Meredith Craig
Republican • House
Michael D. Dovilla
Republican • House
Monica Robb Blasdel
Republican • House
Nick Santucci
Republican • House
Phil Plummer
Republican • House
Riordan T. McClain
Republican • House
Rodney Creech
Republican • House
Roy Klopfenstein
Republican • House
Sandra O'Brien
Republican • Senate
Sarah Fowler Arthur
Republican • House
Sean P. Brennan
Democratic • House
Steve Demetriou
Republican • House
Tex Fischer
Republican • House
Theresa Gavarone
Republican • Senate
Thomas F. Patton
Republican • Senate
Thomas Hall
Republican • House
Tim Schaffer
Republican • Senate
Tom Young
Republican • House
Tracy M. Richardson
Republican • House
Ty D. Mathews
Republican • House

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 182 • No: 56

House vote • 11/20/2025

Concurred in Senate amendments

Yes: 64 • No: 25

Senate vote • 11/19/2025

Local Government: Reported

Yes: 5 • No: 2

Senate vote • 11/19/2025

Passed

Yes: 23 • No: 10

House vote • 10/8/2025

Passed

Yes: 77 • No: 19

House vote • 10/8/2025

Ways and Means: Reported

Yes: 13 • No: 0

Actions Timeline

Signed by Governor
12/19/2025Governor
Sent to Governor
12/9/2025Governor
Concurred in Senate amendments
11/20/2025House
Passed
11/19/2025Senate
Reported
11/19/2025Senate
Refer to Committee
10/15/2025Senate
Introduced
10/14/2025Senate
Passed
10/8/2025House
Reported
10/8/2025House
Refer to Committee
5/28/2025House
Introduced
5/27/2025House

Bill Text

As Enrolled
12/19/2025
HTML PDF
As Introduced
HTML PDF
As Passed by the House
HTML PDF
As Passed by the Senate
HTML PDF
As Reported by the House Ways and Means Committee
HTML PDF
As Reported by the Senate Local Government Committee
HTML PDF

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