State representative outlines tax, housing and consumer bills in Lebanon update
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Summary
State Representative Adam Matthews provided an extended update on the new state budget, a phased flat income tax, housing incentive grants, library funding proposals, and multiple House bills including measures on pregnancy-accessible parking and caregiver tax credits.
State Representative Adam Matthews updated Lebanon City Council and the public on a package of legislative and budget actions during the Jan. 13 meeting, answering public questions and outlining priorities for the coming legislative sessions.
Representative Matthews described recent budget wins, including a phased move to a single personal income tax rate (targeted at 2.75% once phased in) and other measures he said would return billions to taxpayers. He told the council his office increased prenatal and pregnancy-support funding and highlighted a proposal (House Bill 450) to allow accessible parking for pregnant people during the last three months of pregnancy and first three months postpartum; Matthews said the measure is modeled on approaches in other states and that he and disability advocates are working through implementation details to protect scarce van-accessible parking.
On caregiver supports, Matthews discussed House Bill 279, a proposed tax credit to help people retrofit homes and support multigenerational living. He acknowledged critics who noted tax credits benefit those who itemize and said the introduced bill highlights the need ahead of budget negotiations where he hopes to secure additional funding.
Matthews described a state grant program to incentivize municipal actions that expand housing options — for example, speeding permitting, reducing sewer/water hookup fees, reclaiming blighted properties and enabling accessory dwelling units — and said Lebanon and other municipalities can apply. He also said the house introduced a library-funding formula update to better reflect growth and thanked local library advocate Stacy Books for her work.
On other bills, Matthews previewed proposals that clarify product liability law, remove school directories from routine public-record disclosure, restrict certain telemedicine-only prescribing where a drug has high serious-adverse-effect rates (the 'Patient Protection Act'), update Uniform Commercial Code rules for cryptocurrency collateral, and establish name/image/likeness protections relevant to AI-generated content. He described additional procedural wins and said many bills remain active through Dec. 31, 2026.
Matthews responded to a question about environmental concerns linked in the public comment as 'AI wastewater,' saying the state will protect waterways and noting existing filtration and regulatory tools. He encouraged residents to follow the annual update his office will upload to the Ohio legislative website.
Representative Matthews left contact information for constituents (rep56@ohiohouse.gov) and said his office tries to respond within 24 hours to district inquiries.
The council thanked Matthews for his update and several members signaled appreciation; additional one-on-one conversations were expected after the meeting.
