Representative Hoops and Representative Thomas delivered sponsor testimony on substitute House Bill 186 before the Ohio Senate Local Government Committee, describing the measure as a targeted response to large property-tax bill increases tied to recent revaluations.

Supporters said the bill would create a credit on tax bills for properties in school districts that have hit the 20-mill floor. Representative Thomas said the proposal “says the government should not receive more than inflation from property owners without a vote of the people.” He told the committee the cap would be applied starting in the second half of 2026 so counties that recently revalued would show the credit sooner rather than waiting until their next triennial revaluation.

Sponsors framed the bill as a response to what Representative Hoops called “the perfect storm” of factors that pushed valuations — and therefore unvoted taxes — sharply higher in the past five years, including pandemic-era market shifts and investor purchases. Thomas said property-sale prices used by county auditors in revaluations produced increases of “25% to 40%” in many places and produced unvoted spikes in homeowner tax bills.

How the bill would work

Under the version discussed at the hearing, HB 186 would calculate a credit equal to the dollar difference between (a) the property tax calculated on full revaluation-based value and (b) the tax calculated if the value increase were capped at the inflation rate for the revaluation period. That credit would appear on bills for properties in districts at the 20-mill floor. Thomas said the sponsors estimate the unvoted spike that would otherwise hit property owners over the next three years totals roughly $1,700,000,000, and the bill’s backfill would make schools whole until their next revaluation at an estimated one-time cost of “roughly about 470 or so million dollars” (about $350 million in the first year and about $100 million in the following year, according to Thomas’s testimony).

Committee members raised targeting and state funding questions. Ranking Member Smith read testimony urging a circuit-breaker approach that directs relief to taxpayers who pay more than a set percentage of income in property tax; he said a circuit-breaker exists in 29 states and is paid for by the state. Thomas answered that circuit breakers are one targeting mechanism but said HB 186 specifically targets the spike caused by revaluation in 20-mill floor school districts and that relief under HB 186 would be larger for properties that experienced the largest valuation increases.

Questions and context

Senators asked clarification questions about the history and purpose of the 9/20 process and the 20-mill floor, whether the proposal would affect other local levies, and how the measure would work alongside other bills addressing valuation and inside millage. Sponsors said the 20-mill floor applies only to traditional school districts and joint vocational schools; other local levies (parks, health districts, development disabilities levies) operate under different rules and will be considered in separate legislation.

No formal committee vote or amendment action was recorded during the hearing. The hearing concluded after members’ questions and sponsor responses; sponsors said additional property-tax bills would follow so legislators could modulate different parts of the property-tax system.

Ending

Committee Chairwoman O’Brien closed the hearing after the question-and-answer period. Sponsors said they sought a balance between taxpayer relief and preserving school funding while proposing a temporary state backfill until affected schools receive revenue at their next revaluation.