A pair of former state lawmakers will head up a group tasked with exploring property tax relief in Ohio.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine formally announced the formation of the Property Tax Reform Working Group, which he informally announced as signed House Bill 96, the state’s two-year budget, and issued various line-item vetoes.
Former state Reps. Bill Seitz and Pat Tiberi, both Republicans, will co-chair the working group. Tiberi is a former congressman and president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable.
DeWine tasked the group to examine issues related to providing “meaningful property tax relief” to homeowners and businesses. The governor said the idea is to ensure adequate funding for local schools, fire, police, EMS, libraries, and services for people with developmental disabilities, while providing property tax relief.
“As property values have increased in Ohio over the last decade, the resulting property tax increases have strained many family budgets and challenged the financial security of many on fixed incomes,” DeWine said in a release. “Building upon previously expressed concerns and work done at many levels of government, I am forming this Property Tax Reform Working Group to issue concrete recommendations for meaningful property tax reforms that address the needs of property owners, are affordable to our state budget, and protect local schools and other services.”
The governor is asking the working group to issue a report with concrete proposals by Sept. 30. In addition to Seitz and Tiberi, DeWine is expected to name additional members of the working group shortly.
The Ohio House of Representatives will return Monday, July 21, for a rare summer session to vote on overriding three line-item vetoes Gov. Mike DeWine issued for House Bill 96, the state’s two-year, $60 billion operating budget. Lawmakers will focus narrowly on vetoes 55, 65, 66, three property‑tax provisions DeWine nixed.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in session to override the governor on essential property tax reform,” state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Twp., told Ohio.news. “We have studied this issue long enough. It is time for action, not more work groups. Ohioans are demanding property tax relief, and they deserve a legislature that delivers it.”
While Republicans are excited about the special session and the change to override DeWine’s vetoes, it drew a rebuke from House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn.
“Real property tax relief is one of the most pressing needs for everyday Ohioans and should absolutely be our focus,” Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, said in a statement. “Instead of using state resources to put money back in the pockets of taxpayers, Republicans chose to give hundreds of millions in handouts to billionaires for sports teams and tax cuts for the richest people in the state.
“Governor DeWine saw through the sham and knew these provisions would hurt our public schools and local governments, and that’s why he vetoed several of them,” Isaacsohn added. “If Republicans were serious about real property tax relief, they wouldn’t pass the buck, they would use this session to vote on bipartisan, commonsense solutions that would make a real difference. We’re ready and willing to work together to get that done, but it isn’t the choice they have made.”
