Youngstown Times

State Representative Monica Robb Blasdel (R-New Waterford) has supported two bills, House Bill 129 and House Bill 309, aimed at addressing the recent increase in property tax burdens for Ohio residents. Both bills are part of ongoing efforts by the Ohio House to provide property tax relief.

"Ohioans are feeling the impact of rising property taxes, and these bills take meaningful steps to provide relief," said Rep. Robb Blasdel. "By improving transparency and ensuring fairer calculations, we’re helping protect homeowners from unexpected spikes while maintaining strong local schools and services."

House Bill 129 proposes that several types of levies—including emergency, substitute, incremental growth, conversion levies, and the property tax portion of combined income tax and property tax levies—be included in the 20-mill floor calculation used for school funding. Currently, about 200 school districts in Ohio use emergency and substitute levies to generate significant revenue increases due to being on the 20-mill floor. These additional revenues are not currently counted in the calculation. If enacted, this bill would require these levy rates to be included when a district undergoes its regular reappraisal or update, which could help prevent unvoted property tax increases for residents.

House Bill 309 would expand the authority of County Budget Commissions to adjust or reduce millage if it is determined that a local government is set to receive more property tax revenue than necessary. The bill also seeks to clarify existing commission powers and improve transparency around unvoted revenue increases.

Both pieces of legislation were included in the state budget and received unanimous support with minor changes from the Governor’s Ohio Property Tax Working Group. This group consists of leaders from schools and local governments.

The bills will now move to the Senate for further review.