Committee advances bill limiting inside millage growth, adds county budget-commission safeguards

The Ohio House Ways and Means Committee on March 1 favorably reported House Bill 335 after adopting a package of amendments that would limit growth of inside millage, add oversight by county budget commissions over replaced inside millage, and exclude new construction and expiring abatements from the millage cap calculation.

Policy Matters Ohio Research Director Zach Schiller testified in opposition to broad, across-the-board limits on inside millage, saying inside millage provided nearly $4 billion statewide in tax year 2024 and that curbing its growth would reduce funding for school districts, townships and other local services. Schiller told the committee the state should consider targeted relief such as a “circuit breaker” that directs state dollars to households paying an outsized share of income on property tax rather than broad cuts that can harm local services.

What the committee adopted Representative Thomas moved an amendment that, among other changes, copied county language to protect inside millage from being…