Representative Melissa Romano opened the hearing on House Bill 22 in the House Taxation Committee and described the bill as a straightforward cleanup to align levy reporting rules with valuation benchmarks updated in 2023.

Romano told the committee that previously school districts provided estimated tax impacts using an older set of home value benchmarks; House Bill 22 updates levy‑notice requirements so districts use the same larger benchmark values that were put into other tax notices by House Bill 543 (2023). "To maintain consistency and transparency, House Bill 22 simply aligns school levy reporting requirements with these updated values," Romano said.

Why it matters: the bill standardizes the values school districts must use when estimating taxpayer impacts for notices about raising non‑voted levies, which proponents said improves transparency and uniformity in public notices so homeowners can better compare potential effects across districts.

Details and context: Romano said the measure came as a bipartisan recommendation from the education interim committee and passed that committee unanimously. No proponents, opponents, or informational witnesses registered in the hearing record for HB22, and committee members recorded no substantive questions.

Technical note: Romano cited specific benchmark numbers in her remarks; the transcript phrasing of those numbers was unclear in places. The sponsor said the bill aligns levy notice benchmarks with the set adopted by House Bill 543 in 2023; readers and staff should consult the bill language and fiscal note for precise benchmark amounts.

Ending: Representative Romano urged a due pass; the committee closed the hearing and scheduled executive action with other bills heard that day.