Ohio House Democrats: People Need Real Property Tax Relief from the State, Not More Studies.

COLUMBUS - The Ohio House Democratic Caucus today released the following statements concerning the 20 recommendations made public today by Governor Mike DeWine's Property Tax Reform Working Group:

"Property taxes are way too high in Ohio. They are out of control, and Ohioans are desperate for relief. For years the legislature has failed to do anything to help people besides suggest defunding our schools to pay for temporary help. What people need are real solutions. That's why Democrats have been leading the fight to get more cash back in people's pockets and solve the long-term crisis by adequately funding our schools. But this should not be a partisan issue, so we were encouraged when the Governor convened the Working Group. Unfortunately, while a few of the working group's recommendations follow our lead to actually do something to solve the problem, such as the circuit breaker and expansion of the homestead exemption, too few of them would do anything other than pass the buck onto our schools and local communities." said Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati). "The state can't keep putting school funding on the backs of local homeowners, it needs to pay the fair share to fund our schools so we can finally bring down our outrageous property taxes."

Recommendation #20, which considers expanding the Homestead Exemption and implementing a Property Tax Circuit Breaker, is one item consistently supported by House Democrats. Democrats have long introduced direct, state-funded property tax relief bills, as Republican-led legislatures have eliminated relief programs and underfunded schools and local governments, leaving Ohio with one of the highest property tax rates in the nation.

"I'm glad this Republican-led committee finally admitted what Democrats have been saying for years: the only real way to deliver property tax relief is with state dollars. This isn't complicated. We don't need more studies. We don't need more reports. What Ohioans need is relief-and they need it now," said Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake), ranking member on the House Finance Committee. "It's disappointing that most of the recommendations don't guarantee real relief, but I'm encouraged to see support for widely popular, Democratic-led ideas like expanding the Homestead Exemption and creating a circuit breaker. Still, Ohioans have waited long enough. No more games, no more gimmicks. Lawmakers need to pass real, state-funded relief-or explain to families why we found nearly $2 billion for giveaways just two months ago but can't find the money to keep people from being taxed out of their homes."

House Democrats have introduced several bills, half of them bipartisan to help lower Ohioans property taxes:

• House Bill 103 (Troy, T. Hall) - Increase the homestead exemption and income limit
• House Bill 143 (Brennan, Mathews) - Authorize property tax exemption for certain long-term homeowners
• House Bill 156 (Isaacsohn, T. Hall) - Authorize a property tax freeze for certain owner-occupied homes (Recommendation #7 from the Property Tax Reform Working Group)
• House Bill 365 (Brennan, D. Hall) - Enact the Property Tax Refund Act

The full report released Tuesday by the Property Tax Reform Working Group can be found here.