County auditors, school officials and utilities warn House Bill 15 would shift tax burden from generation‑hosting counties to urban areas

County auditors, school officials and several utilities told the House Energy Committee that House Bill 15, as drafted, would move tax revenue away from counties that host generation facilities and toward counties with more transmission infrastructure, with harmful consequences for local schools, emergency services and county governments.

Paul Knipp, Lawrence County auditor, said the bill “proposes eliminating the public utility personal property or PUP tax on electric generation properties while increasing, the PUP assessment rate by 4% for electric transmission properties.” He told the committee Lawrence County’s single natural‑gas peaking plant carries a public utility personal property (PUP) value he said is “a little over $219,000,000,” and that the county would face a net valuation loss he estimated at roughly $30,800,000 under the bill’s structure. Knipp said the Rock Hill Local School District alone would lose about $1,900,000 annually and that the county’s general fund, EMS, fire and other local entities face multi‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar losses.

Robbie Jackson, Gallia County auditor, and Jack Webb, treasurer of the Gallia County Local School District, gave similar testimony. Jackson estimated Gallia’s generation value at $173,000,000 and transmission value at roughly $96,000,000, projecting a countywide annual revenue loss he put at about $3,800,000. Webb said the district would lose about $2,700,000 in annual revenue, would likely reduce certificated staff by 20 or more positions and face larger levy burdens on remaining taxpayers. “We will struggle to continue operations with the $2,700,000 annual funding loss,” Webb said.

Lake County Auditor Christopher Galloway described Perry Nuclear Plant’s PUP value (listed in committee testimony as about $52,900,610) and said the plant currently generates more than $4.4 million in local revenue, including more than $2.3 million for Perry Local Schools. Galloway cautioned the bill would create a powerful NIMBY (not‑in‑my‑backyard) incentive if communities hosting plants no longer received tax benefit.

Several county witnesses pressed committee members to provide a credible, legally binding “hold harmless” solution if the legislature intends to change tax treatment. Witnesses said prior hold‑harmless promises have not always fully materialized and urged caution.

Utilities and power sector witnesses also testified. Craig Grooms of Buckeye Power (Ohio’s electric cooperatives) urged the committee to adopt tangible personal property provisions like those in Senate Bill 2 that target incentives to new generation rather than transfer revenues from existing resources. Mark Reiter, president and COO of AEP Ohio, opposed major provisions of HB15 that would repeal electric security plan (ESP) authorities and the legacy generation rider (LGR). Reiter told the committee AEP Ohio plans $5 billion in investments to meet demand and said, “If this bill passes without amendments, we won't invest because our balance sheet won't have the capacity nor the credit profile to support it.”

Buckeye Power and co‑op testimony warned that increasing taxes on transmission and distribution would ultimately raise costs for cooperative members and other consumers; Grooms said transmission costs for co‑ops had more than tripled over the past decade and that higher tax assessments on those assets would translate into higher bills.

An expert witness from Energy Policy Network summarized PJM and national reliability analyses, noting retirements and announced closures in PJM, supply‑chain constraints for gas turbines, and that most new capacity in the interconnection queue is intermittent wind and solar. The witness urged consideration of policies to preserve or replace base‑load capacity and cited examples of other states that have required replacement generation before closures or that preserve mothballed plants as spinning reserve.

Committee chairs and members responded that they hear the local fiscal concerns and that changes to the bill are expected. Chairman Holmes said the committee will work on a substitute bill and seek amendments; he asked stakeholders to submit amendment language to the vice chair’s office by Friday so a substitute could be circulated next Wednesday. Members emphasized the goal of encouraging new generation while protecting local governments and school districts from abrupt revenue shocks.