The working group called by Gov. Mike DeWine when he vetoed four property tax related items in the state budget will meet again this week. The group has until the end of next month to come up with recommendations to help struggling homeowners and farmers, while still funding local services such as schools, police and libraries.
"It's to provide that additional set of eyes and try to solicit recommendations," said longtime Republican lawmaker Bill Seitz, who left the House last year and chairs the working group. "I do not view this as being adversarial to the legislature at all."
Some lawmakers criticized the working group as being unneeded, since a bipartisan legislative commission reviewed property tax laws last session and released 21 recommendations earlier this year. Four of them were included in the budget in some form, though three of them were vetoed.
A provision that was vetoed but was not in the 21 recommendations is a limit of property tax collected at 40% of a district’s operating budget, with the rest refunded to taxpayers. Seitz said the working group members are opposed to that provision, which schools have said would be disastrous.
“A one-size-fits-all cap probably does not really work. And so the task force members, I think, unanimously, do not want to see that," Seitz said.
But he said he likes House Bill 186, which would tie property tax revenue growth to inflation.
"That basically says, when the rate of increase in property valuations greatly exceeds the consumer price index inflation, these districts would only get the rate of actual inflation, and not the much higher increase caused by the much higher valuations. That's a good approach," Seitz said. "A variant of that approach is to limit the rate of increase to a specified percentage, 3%, 4%. Those are all fit subjects for discussion. But I know that the leading advocates in the legislature for more property tax reform are with me in saying that House Bill 186 must pass."
Seitz said he wants to look at two property tax relief ideas that have been previously proposed in Ohio and have passed in 30 states: a circuit breaker, which cuts taxes at a set percentage of income, or an increase in the homestead exemption for older and disabled homeowners. But both of those would require state funding.
"I'm very aware that the legislative leaders have said we don't want to spend any money. Okay, maybe you don't want to spend it today, but maybe you might want to spend it later as economics improve," Seitz said. "Those measures all take state contribution. So we're going to look into those measures, but we're very cognizant of the legislature's desire to spend as little state money as possible. They're elected. I'm not anymore. So they kind of get to call that shot."
DeWine wants the group to have recommendations on property tax law changes to him by Sept. 30.
