by Nicole Piscitani • Dec. 11, 2025
The Ohio General Assembly passed a quartet of property tax bills on Nov. 19, but Gov. Mike DeWine received them on Dec. 9. He has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to either sign or veto the bill. If he doesn’t act on the bill, it becomes law without his signature. However, it is extremely rare for a governor to not act on a bill. A bill goes into effect 90 days after a governor signs it. Keeping the required timings in mind, the delay in sending these bills to DeWine could impact the ability of county auditors and treasurers to meet the statutory deadlines outlined in the proposed bills.
As mentioned in an earlier issue of the Legislative Report, the focus of this and the next few issues will be the property tax bills that were sent to DeWine. House Bill (HB) 129 was explained in the OSBA Update distributed on Dec. 9.
This article will cover HB 335, a bill that, if enacted, would make changes to inside millage. Before detailing the changes in the bill, it is important to understand what inside millage is and its history. Inside millage is often referred to as unvoted millage because voters do not approve the first 10 mills or 1% that are levied on a property. The authority to levy these 10 mills are found in the Ohio Constitution. Voters provided the legal authority in 1929 but had set the millage rate at 15. In 1933, an amendment to Ohio’s Constitution changed the limit to 10, which remains unchanged.
In 1980, voters approved a constitutional amendment that prohibits unvoted tax increases due to inflation. A levy’s millage rate will gradually be reduced to maintain the same approved dollar amount. There are certain instances when the reduction factors are not applied, and inside millage is one of those instances. The general reason for inside millage not applying to the reduction factors is due to the constitution indicating a certain millage or percent and not a dollar amount.
Starting in tax year 2026, the provisions of HB 335 would limit the growth of inside millage to inflation by requiring that each county budget commission (CBC), in the county’s reappraisal or update year, adjust the rate of each inside millage levy. All local taxing entities that receive inside millage would be subject to the bill’s provisions. School districts tend to receive the majority of inside millage, which typically ranges from four to six mills. HB 335 requires that the GDP deflator growth be used to determine the inflation rate over the three preceding years. The bill also allows a subdivision to request that the CBC increase the levy rate so as to collect the same amount as the previous year if the local taxing authorities’ inside millage collections would not increase in a reappraisal year. Finally, the bill allows a local taxing authority that elects to temporarily reduce an inside millage levy to base the calculation of the bill’s limit in subsequent years on the collections of the year preceding the voluntary reduction.
If DeWine approves HB 335, property tax owners will not see a change in calendar year 2026, which may lead to confusion in communities. Additionally, if the bill passes, it will be important for school districts to understand when their communities will be impacted by the provisions and communicate the changes to their residents.