(The Center Square) – Ohio lawmakers plan to interrupt their summer recess to override at least three of Gov. Mike DeWine’s 67 vetoes in the state budget.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives plan to return to work July 21 to reinstate property tax relief provisions DeWine has said went too far, too fast.
Senate and House Republicans last week questioned DeWine’s vetoes of areas they say will bring property tax relief to Ohioans, specifically areas that give county commissions unilateral authority to reduce school levies, adds items to be included in the 20-mill floor calculations for school funding, and ban schools from asking for replacement or emergency levies.
DeWine, a Republican, said imposing all the changes could have created serious financial problems for school districts across the state.
Instead, in his veto message, he said he will create a working group to study property taxes.
Americans for Prosperity-Ohio praised lawmakers for returning to work to override the vetoes.
“The Legislature’s decision to return and override these vetoes shows a commitment to putting Ohio taxpayers first,” AFP-Ohio State Director Donovan O’Neil said in a statement. “These commonsense reforms were crafted to stop the unchecked growth of property taxes and restore a stronger voice for voters. Lawmakers are doing the right thing by fighting to get them back on the books.”
State Democrats, however, said a series of bills they introduced to double the homestead exemption for seniors and long-term homeowners, freeze property taxes for seniors and offer a tax credit for homeowners and renters whose property taxes exceed more than 5% of their income.
“Real property tax relief is one of the most pressing needs for everyday Ohioans and should absolutely be our focus,” said House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati. “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. Gov. 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. 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.”
