Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives could only muster the votes Monday to override one of Gov. Mike DeWine’s four vetoes of property tax changes in this year’s state budget.
The move, which still requires approval from 60% of the Ohio Senate, would eliminate the ability of local governments or specific entities, such as libraries and behavioral health boards, to propose “replacement” and “emergency” levies before voters. Both levies allow the governments to collect more tax revenue from citizens once approved on Election Day.
Voters tend to approve “replacement” levies rather than any new tax, making them politically favorable for the locals.
Republicans proposed a broader package of four “property tax relief” legislation measures within the budget that included eliminating replacement levies. Democrats described the proposals as unvetted gimmicks that would starve already-underfunded schools and local governments of much-needed revenue for police, fire and other services. They say Ohio, after decades of income tax cuts, has become overreliant on property tax revenue to fund services.
The issue has come to a head as increasing property valuations have forced sometimes eyepopping tax increases for homeowners.
House Speaker Matt Huffman told reporters Monday the House lacked the votes to override the other measures that DeWine rejected. This fairly high-profile failure came despite a pressure play on the caucus from Huffman, a Lima Republican known as one of the most influential figures in the Statehouse.
The legislature typically adjourns from the end of June through September. So several Republicans scuttled personal plans to attend the hastily scheduled vote Monday, which some members believed until the last minute would include a broader agenda than the lone item that passed.
For instance, Rep. Kevin Ritter of Washington County said he delayed a flight to Italy, forcing his family to leave on the trip days ahead of him. Huffman mentioned to reporters that another member, Rep. Ty Matthews of Lucas County, called off a planned trip to Taiwan to make the roll call. And Rep. Dianne Mullins of Butler County entered the chamber gingerly, escorted by another adult. She denied in an interview a media report that she had been hospitalized.
“I left home” and not the hospital to attend, she said. (Huffman made a tearful statement to “welcome back” Mullins during the session.)
DeWine rejected four property tax changes because he believed they hurt school districts
DeWine, a Republican, rejected four of the property tax changes among 67 vetoes, a record during his tenure. That includes the measure the House overrode Monday; a second to limit schools’ ability to receive funding increases when property values rise; a third to allow local officials to unilaterally reduce tax rates as they see fit; and a fourth to limit the amount of money schools can carry over from one budget year to the next.
DeWine said the provisions would be an “undue, very abrupt, significant problem for our local school districts,” which are heavily reliant on property tax funds. He proposed a working group to study the issue.
Senate still needs to sign off on override
All but a handful of Republicans backed the override, which passed by a vote of 61-28. All Democrats opposed it.
A Senate spokesman declined to offer any specifics on the timing of the high chamber’s plans. The Senate isn’t scheduled to meet until mid-September.
By Monday evening, GOP Senate President Rob McColley said in a statement posted on social media that the Senate has the votes to override the same veto.
“We also have the votes to override any other property tax veto the House is able to send us,” he said.
What are renewal levies?
When a levy runs out, local governments have a few options if they want to maintain revenue collection without proposing a new levy, and they come with somewhat misleading titles. The locals can offer a “renewal” levy, which preserves the status quo. Or they can propose a “replacement” levy, which keeps the same tax rate but absorbs increased property valuations into the total collection.
Governments can also propose emergency levies, which allow collections of a fixed dollar amount for up to 10 years.
If the Senate agrees to override the governor, local governments could no longer propose replacement or emergency levies, but they can still offer renewal levies.
GOP lawmakers, real estate agents insist levy language is confusing
Rep. Dave Thomas, an Ashtabula Republican who led the charge on reducing property tax rates, called both forms of levies “tools that make it easier to increase taxes.” Governments can still propose levies, he said, but without the “confusing” terminology of a renewal or the “inflammatory” language of an emergency.
Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, the ranking House Democrat, sidestepped the question of whether voters understand the difference between renewal and replacement levies. What’s more important, he said, is that the override amounts to the state depriving local governments and voters of their own discretion.
“The idea that we would limit the ability for school districts and communities to make those decisions together is outrageous, and it’s insulting to the local communities,” he said.
Earlier this year, associations of Ohio fire chiefs, parks and recreation departments, school boards, libraries, behavioral health boards and local governments lobbied against ending replacement levies. They characterized them as an important tool to preserve government services that’s politically easier to sell to voters than a new levy based on updated and increased property valuations.
Other interests, including Ohio’s real estate agents, the manufactured home industry and business leaders, supported the proposal, arguing it will limit voter confusion over ballot language to explain what likely amounts to a tax increase.
A Legislative Service Commission analysis found voters over the past few election cycles have almost always approved replacement levies, while new levy proposals are closer to a 50-50 win rate.
Other veto overrides on the horizon?
Huffman didn’t offer specifics but indicated the House may override the other property tax measures when all members return in September. The General Assembly can override a veto at any point within the two-year legislative session, which concludes at the end of 2026.
He also hinted that lawmakers may also seek to override a veto of one provision that restricted the placement of LGBTQ content in public libraries and another preventing local governments from using their powers of eminent domain to seize land to build a bike path.
An earlier version of this article transposed renewal and replacement levies.