Ohio committee hears bill to extend full homestead exemption to surviving military spouses

The Ohio House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday heard testimony on House Bill 22, which would extend a full homestead property-tax exemption to surviving spouses of military service members who died as a result of their service.

Sponsors and supporters told the committee the measure is intended as targeted financial relief for spouses who lost a military partner and in some cases are raising children alone. Representative Lorenz, the bill sponsor, said the exemption would apply retroactively to families already affected and protect future surviving spouses. “I believe that we, as a state, should take care of them and their families, and House Bill 22 would just do that,” Lorenz said.

The bill would add surviving spouses of deceased service members to existing homestead exemptions already available to people 65 and older, permanently and totally disabled residents, and disabled veterans. Sponsors said the exemption would apply to the dwelling and one acre of land and would end if the surviving spouse remarried or cohabited with an unrelated person; Rep. Lorenz said verification would rely on federal documentation such as Department of Defense casualty reports (DD Form 1300) and on county auditor processes for homestead renewals.

Legislative Service Commission (LSC) numbers cited by sponsors estimate roughly 1,200 surviving spouses would qualify and the state cost would be about $4,000,000 per year if the bill had been in effect last year. Rep. Thomas, a co-sponsor, told the committee the exemption is meant to be narrowly targeted and said many beneficiaries would not qualify for a long period, reducing long-term fiscal exposure.

Committee members questioned scope and parity. Representative Veil, a veteran, said she supports gold star families but expressed concern about granting a full exemption when other groups — for example, some first-responder survivors — would not receive the same treatment. Rep. Lorenz said first responders had been discussed in prior sessions but were not included in this bill to keep the measure narrowly focused. Several members suggested alternatives such as time-limited exemptions or partial exemptions but offered broad support for moving the measure forward for further consideration.

Representatives also discussed enforcement and program integrity. Committee members asked whether county auditors would perform renewals or audits and how cohabitation would be verified; sponsors pointed to application and renewal processes, affidavits and the auditors’ access to state income tax and other records as enforcement tools.

The hearing concluded without a committee vote; sponsors asked for continued consideration and support as the bill moves through the legislative process.