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Schools and local officials urge care on property‑tax breaks; developers praise mercantile self‑power and priority investment areas
Summary
School district representatives and municipal officials asked the committee to limit tangible personal property tax exemptions to new assets and preserve mitigation for lost local revenues; developers and industry witnesses supported priority investment areas and clearer rules for mercantile self‑power systems to attract private investment.
Local school officials and municipal representatives asked the Senate Energy Committee to preserve local tax revenues while supporting new generation investment proposed in SB2.
Keijan Keaton, treasurer/CFO for Benton Carroll Salem Local School District, and Louis Galante, consultant for Perry Local Schools, told the committee that changes to the tangible personal property (TPP) tax can drastically shrink school and local revenues. Keaton said the district’s public utility valuation fell from roughly $184 million (2016) to about $14 million, and urged the committee to favor the Senate version’s narrower exemption (new assets only) over broader exemptions that would remove current assets from the tax base.
Both witnesses suggested mitigation: sunset review of exemptions, a one‑time transition payment for jurisdictions losing large shares of public utility value, or phased approaches that preserve some local revenue while incentivizing new generation investment. They said abrupt, unrestricted exemptions would shift property‑tax burdens to residential and agricultural taxpayers and could reduce local service capacity.
Industry witnesses including 1 Power and the Ohio Business Roundtable supported the bill’s mercantile self‑power language and creation of Priority Investment Areas (PIAs). Developers said explicit statutory clarity that co‑located behind‑the‑meter projects serving multiple customers will not be treated as public utilities will attract private capital. The PIA concept — expedited siting and temporary tax exemptions for projects in brownfields or former coal sites — drew support as a way to direct generation to lower‑conflict land and speed development.
Committee members indicated they will consider mitigation language to protect affected local governments while continuing to examine PIA design and TPP scope.
