Governor Mike DeWine speaks during the signing of the bill. (Photo: Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal.)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed six pieces of legislation Friday during a ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse. The list included five property tax measures, as well as a bill known as Avery’s Law aimed at preventing dog attacks.
After these signings, DeWine explained that he signed “reluctantly.” Ohio Senate Bill 293which will eliminate the grace period for absentee ballots. He pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case outside Louisiana, where the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has set a similar grace period.
“If it weren’t for the Supreme Court case, if it weren’t for this case,” he said, “not only would I want to do it, but I would veto it.”
The governor expressed concerns about an unfavorable ruling on landing overdue next summer and the possibility of different rules governing state and federal racing. House Speaker Matt Huffman said ballots need to be finalized well before Election Day. Unless lawmakers approve legislation that includes an emergency clause, they may not have enough time to harmonize state law with the ruling. The problem, Huffman said, is that the emergency clause requires majority support in both chambers.
“Will we have immediate agreement or sufficient agreement among all members of the House, Republicans and Democrats, to pass emergency legislation?” he asked. “I don’t think so.”
Governor DeWine is considering whether to eliminate the waiting period for absentee voting in Ohio
DeWine said at least voters are now “on notice” of the changes, and despite his doubts, he sided with certainty “and avoiding what could be a real mess in the run-up to our election.”
The Ohio Voting Rights Coalition was not joyful. The group noted that shortly before the bill passed, lawmakers changed the bill to add “several unwarranted, unnecessary provisions” related to state voter rolls.
These changes “will dramatically increase the number of provisional ballots, remove eligible voters from the rolls, and place an additional heavy burden on election officials,” the coalition said.
“Rather than increasing the credibility of Ohio’s elections so that eligible voters can freely and fairly participate in our democratic processes,” the group said, “Ohio leaders have decided they would rather continue to punish voters and leave valid ballots unaccounted for due to delays by the U.S. Postal Service.”
How we got here with property taxes
State lawmakers are increasingly concerned about growing support for a citizens’ initiative to eliminate property taxes. Grassroots signature-gathering organizers say people are being taxed in their homes and are fed up with waiting for lawmakers to address the problem.
The simplest solution would be to expand the homestead exemption, which provides a break for low-income seniors, or create a “circuit breaker” that would provide relief based on a homeowner’s income. Republican lawmakers have largely rejected the approach, likening it to writing a check to bail out homeowners.
Property taxes fund several local services, but the lion’s share of revenue comes from schools. So during the last budget cycle, lawmakers introduced several provisions that make it harder for schools to raise funds through voter-approved fees or move money from year to year.
DeWine vetoed these proposals and promised to establish a working group to develop recommendations. Lawmakers quickly overrode one DeWine’s veto, but otherwise kept the powder droughty. In closing, the task force highlighted several proposals that have already passed the state house, and DeWine said he will operate its recommendations in making decisions.
“I knew when I created this group that I wouldn’t like anything they proposed,” DeWine said at the annual breakfast this month. “But they made good recommendations, so I’m going to take a look at those recommendations again and compare them to what the legislature has done.”
What did the legislator do?
Property tax is calculated in mills – like a percentage, but it is calculated on 1,000 instead of 100. The state constitution guarantees local governments the right to collect up to 10 mills (or 1%) of property tax. This is called “internal” milling. Any other property tax levy must be approved by voters. This is called an “outside” mill.
The internal mill has always increased with inflation; as a property becomes more valuable, it generates more tax. However, legislation in the 1970s restricted non-wage payments by lowering tax rates to keep taxes constant. So even as a property becomes more and more valuable, it generates Same thing tax.
However, at a certain point, interest rates cannot fall any further, and external revenues rise with inflation, as do internal holdings. That point is the $20 million floor – the state-mandated minimum amount for public school spending.
How much of a difference will Ohio’s property tax proposals make?
Two of the bills signed by Governor DeWine limit property tax increases by limiting tax increases to the rate of inflation in the overall economy. Ohio House Bill 335 does this for internal milling and Ohio House Bill 186 applies these restrictions to external settlements.
The next proposal concerns the 20 billionth floor. Under applicable law, extraordinary or in lieu fees are not included in this minimum funding requirement. But Ohio House of Representatives Bill 129 it would include them, creating more room for the 1970s reduction factor that could lower interest rates.
DeWine also signed up Ohio House Bill 309which gives county budget committees the power to reduce ballot levies if they deem taxes to be “unnecessary” or “excessive,” and Ohio House Bill 124which gives county auditors more control over property valuations.
“I think what happened today with the signing of these bills,” DeWine said, “brings significant tax relief and provides clarity. People will no longer see the spikes they saw.”
He described a relative who is a realtor telling him about people selling their homes because of a 30-35% raise in property taxes. However, when it comes to the citizens’ initiative, he warned that it would be a “big mistake”.
“We have a problem,” he admitted. “And I think the solution of those people who are putting it to a vote is, in my opinion, unsustainable and makes no sense.”
Avery’s Law
Impulse to Avery’s Law was the attack on 11-year-old Avery Russell of Reynoldsburg last June. During an Ohio House committee hearing, she described how two dogs mauled her while playing and that she had already had five surgeries and had another one coming.
“We are grateful that she has brought her story to the public and is taking it to the state,” DeWine said. “Because she did it, you can sign this bill today.”
The measure imposes criminal penalties on negligent owners of perilous or vicious dogs and requires courts to euthanize an animal that kills or seriously injures a person. It also requires owners of dogs previously deemed perilous under state law to purchase liability insurance of at least $100,000.
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