Ohio House Passes Property Tax Reform Bills: HB 129 and HB 309

The Ohio House of Representatives passed two property tax reform bills – HB 129 and HB 309. HB 129 modifies school funding calculations and provides a transition for some districts, while HB 309 allows county commissions to reduce property taxes deemed excessive after five years.

These proposals stem from recommendations made by Governor Mike DeWine’s Ohio Property Tax Working Group, which was convened after he issued line-item vetoes in the July 2025 state budget that struck down earlier property-tax provisions.

HB 129 details: In this bill, lawmakers incorporated a recommendation to study property taxes.

• 20-mill floor modification: HB 129 modifies the 20-mill floor calculation, a mechanism that ensures a minimum level of funding for schools, by including more sources of revenue in the calculation.
• Levy inclusion: This bill includes emergency and substitute levies in the 20-mill floor calculation for school funding purposes.
• Impact on unvoted increases: By incorporating these levies, the bill aims to prevent unvoted tax spikes for residents in approximately 200 districts, according to supporters.
• Income tax inclusion: It requires school district income taxes to be factored into the overall tax rate calculations, expanding the definition of “qualifying taxes” and potentially impacting tax rate calculations for around 200 school districts.
• One-time renewal: The bill includes a one-time renewal option for emergency levies, allowing affected districts more time to adjust to the changes

HB 309 details: In this bill, lawmakers looked to fix an unintended consequence of the override of one of those vetoes.

• County Budget Commission (CBC) authority: HB 309 expands the authority of county budget commissions to reduce property tax levies.
• Excessive and unnecessary levies: The bill empowers CBCs to reduce levies if they are deemed “unnecessary” or “excessive”.
• County-level control: This gives local officials the ability to prevent sudden property tax spikes and maintain stable funding for schools and local governments.
• Five-year restriction: Under HB 309, county budget commissions cannot reduce a levy during the first five years after voters initially approved it.

Status and legislative actions

• Passed by the Ohio House: On October 8, 2025, the Ohio House of Representatives approved HB 129 (75–19) and HB 309 (81–16).
• Heads to the Ohio Senate: Both bills now move to the Ohio Senate for further consideration, where provisions like these were approved in early October when the Senate voted to override one of the governor’s vetoes.
• Political divisions remain: Despite bipartisan support for the bills in the House, disagreements persist.  Democrats and school groups contend that the bills do not offer meaningful property tax relief and may negatively impact school funding. Republicans also acknowledge that these measures won’t solve the broader property tax issues.

Andy Hardy
Vice President of Government Relations
andyhardy@columbus.org