Proponent says House Bill 129 would stop "unvoted" tax spikes by counting emergency levies toward Ohio's 20-mil floor

Representative testimony in favor of House Bill 129 described the measure as a change to how Ohio calculates the minimum guaranteed property-tax rate (the "20-mil floor"). The proponent told the Senate Local Government Committee that the bill would count emergency levies — which previously did not count toward the 20-mil floor — when calculating a district's guaranteed tax rate. According to the proponent, that change would remove roughly 237 school districts from the 20-mil floor, which the testimony said would reduce the unvoted tax spikes some districts have experienced when property values rise.

The proponent called the bill the "Truth and Guaranteed Tax Rate Act" and said it provides a "glide path" for districts that currently rely on emergency levies. Key provisions described in committee…