Representative Stevens presented sponsor testimony for House Bill 179, which would create a statewide screening system to verify residency for property tax deductions such as the owner-occupied rollback and the homestead exemption. Stevens said the system would be administered by the Department of Taxation and accessible to county auditors to improve verification and prevent duplicate claims.

“Currently, there are 88 different methods in Ohio to make sure homeowners actually qualify for these reductions,” Stevens said. He described the state’s reimbursement of property tax relief from the General Revenue Fund as “exceeding $1,100,000,000 per biennium,” and said the bill “does appropriate 7,500,000.0 per year to operate the system.” Stevens characterized the proposal as a “simple fix” to reduce fraud and ensure accurate payments of state-funded property tax relief.

Committee members asked detailed questions about scope and mechanics. Chairman Romer asked whether the bill would make it “relatively easily” to detect public officials claiming homestead in multiple counties; Stevens said that is one of the bill’s aims. Representative Troy asked whether the bill defines how long a homeowner must live in a property to qualify for the owner-occupied 2.5 percent rollback; Stevens replied the bill “does not touch any of the requirements for the 2 and a half percent” or the homestead eligibility rules.

Vice Chair Thomas expressed strong support and asked whether the system could address cross‑state residency issues such as residents claiming homestead in Florida. Stevens and other members noted data-sharing and standardized records would be essential to that function. On clawbacks, Stevens said the bill does not address recovery or penalties for past overpayments; those provisions would be governed by existing code and enforcement practices.

Stevens and members framed the proposal as a tool to improve accuracy for county auditors and to reduce state reimbursements to people who no longer qualify. The committee took no vote; the item was recorded as the first hearing.