by Nicole Piscitani • July 21, 2025
Gov. Mike DeWine signed the biennial budget, House Bill (HB) 96, on June 30. As he did in the three previous budgets, he used his power of the line-item veto to remove 67 provisions from this budget. Several of the provisions vetoed would have impacted public education funding at the local level. In response to DeWine’s line-item vetoes, the Ohio House considered overriding three of them in a House Session on July 21.
Item 55 — Property tax: County budget commission authority and procedure
This provision was included in a larger group of changes that the legislature made to increase the authority of county budget commissions. Each county budget commission is made up of the county treasurer, county auditor and the county prosecutor. Their authority, which comes from the Ohio Revised Code, has been interpreted differently across the 88 counties. HB 96 included provisions that not only clarified their authority but gave them additional oversight. DeWine approved most of the changes to the county budget commission, but he did line-item veto a provision that would allow county budget commissions to reduce millage on any voter-approved tax levy aside from a debt levy.
This provision presents concerns about constitutional uniformity. More than 250 school districts span multiple counties. All residents of a school district vote on school levies, regardless of their county of residence. Under these provisions, a single county budget commission could lower the millage for residents in its county, creating uniformity issues for residents in the other counties in which the district is located.
The Ohio House had included this item on its July 21 agenda but didn’t call up the issue for a vote. This provision remains vetoed, but the legislature could bring it to an override vote at a later date. The legislature has until the end of 2026 to pursue an override vote on this item.
Item 65 — 20-mill floor calculation
Over the past year, the Ohio General Assembly has considered altering the types of local funding included in the 20-mill floor calculation through stand-alone bills introduced in both the Ohio House and Ohio Senate. HB 96 contained provisions that would include emergency levies, substitute levies, incremental growth levies, conversion levies and the property tax portion of combined levies in the 20-mill floor calculation. DeWine used his line-item veto to remove all provisions that would have changed the 20-mill floor calculation.
The number of school districts on the 20-mill floor has rapidly increased over the past few years. This is due to the reappraisal process and the high property valuations that have resulted from that process. The Ohio Constitution includes a provision that mostly protects property owners from inflationary growth on their property tax bills; however, there are a few exceptions that allow growth, one of which is the 20-mill floor. The Ohio Constitution requires that millage be reduced on operating levies as valuations increase to prevent a school district from receiving an unvoted increase in local revenue. Fixed-sum levies are not included in the 20-mill calculation and are not reduced by the Ohio Constitution. Approximately 400 school districts are on the 20-mill floor, and only half have other types of levies that are currently not included and would be impacted by a change to the calculation.
The Ohio House had included this item on its July 21 agenda but didn’t call up the issue for a vote.
Item 66 — School district property tax levy restrictions
School districts and other political subdivisions rely on local funding to pay for the services their constituents expect. Over the years, the legislature has created, through statute, a variety of levy types that political subdivisions can take to their voters. Communities vary significantly across the state, and the different types of levies reflect that uniqueness. HB 96 contained provisions that would have eliminated replacement property tax levies as well as fixed-sum emergency, substitute emergency and combined school district income tax and fixed-sum property tax levies. Additionally, the bill eliminated the renewal with an increase levy.
Ohio’s property tax system is one of the most complicated in the country, and there is a need to simplify it. The name and definition of a levy type should be cohesive and provide voters with an understanding of its purpose. However, eliminating these types of levies is not needed. DeWine vetoed all provisions that eliminated these levies, stating, “These levies serve as important tools for school districts as they seek to maintain their long-term financial stability. The DeWine-Tressel Administration recognizes the great need for property tax reform in Ohio and will convene a working group that will include legislators, agency officials, school officials, community members, and property tax experts to ensure this critical topic is given the attention deserved. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.”
The Ohio House included this line-item veto in their agenda on July 21 and voted 61-29 to override DeWine’s veto. Now that the Ohio House has voted, the Ohio Senate will have to return to the Statehouse to vote on Item 66. A three-fifths vote is required to override a veto.
The Senate cannot consider any additional override votes at this time. Since HB 96 originated in the Ohio House, the House must first override an item.