DeWine signals willingness to reconsider vetoes of property tax relief measures

There may be an opportunity for property tax reform after all.

After vetoing four property tax-related provisions included in an amended version of House Bill 96, the state’s two-year budget, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine now says he is open to considering the changes, particularly if a working group suggests them.

“Everything is everything,” DeWine told Cleveland.com this week at the Ohio State Fair.

DeWine, who just named the cadre of members to the newly formed Property Tax Reform Working Group, told reporters he will support whatever it recommends, Cleveland.com reported. That includes the ideas he previously nixed.

“As property values have increased in Ohio over the last decade, the resulting property tax increases have strained many family budgets and challenged the financial security of many on fixed incomes,” the governor said in a previous statement. “Building upon previously expressed concerns and work done at many levels of government, I am forming this Property Tax Reform Working Group to issue concrete recommendations for meaningful property tax reforms that address the needs of property owners, are affordable to our state budget, and protect local schools and other services.”

Earlier this month, DeWine announced that former Republican state Reps Bill Seitz and Pat Tiberi will co-chair the working group. The group also includes county commissioners, school superintendents, and other county officials.

The governor informally announced the group last month as he signed the budget and issued vetoes.

The working group is tasked with studying issues related to providing “meaningful property tax relief.” However, the group must ostensibly navigate concerns that some critics have that changing the state’s property tax landscape will cut funding for local schools, government services, and support for people with developmental disabilities.

The governor wants the group to file its report with “concrete proposals” by Sept. 30.

“The people of Ohio are demanding action, and we’re not doing enough at the state level,” Ohio Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Boardman, told the Ohio Capital Journal.

However, House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, indicated the group isn’t even necessary.

“I’m, I guess, flabbergasted that the governor would veto these and say, ‘Well, let’s just keep studying it,’” Huffman told News 5 Cleveland.

The Ohio House of Representatives voted to override one of DeWine’s vetoes, specifically one related to school district property tax levy restrictions. However, lawmakers fell short of the more dramatic action they seemingly promised.

The Senate has not yet scheduled a time to consider the House’s veto override.

“The legislature spent months studying property tax issues through the Ohio Joint Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform,” Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, told Cleveland.com. “Both chambers made their thoughts known already through the reforms made in the most recent operating budget.”

Attorney General Dave Yost also called on county officials to take charge and lead the effort to overhaul the state’s property tax system. Yost, who previously flirted with a gubernatorial run in 2026, called on elected county officials to form a coalition to address property taxes before a citizen-led ballot initiative eliminates them.

“I will not be surprised if they get enough signatures to put it on the ballot,” Seitz told the Ohio Capital Journal about the repeal effort. “But I would be shocked if it passed.”

It’s not entirely clear at this point what action Buckeye State legislators might take. However, it appears there is a critical mass for taking some measure of action.

“We really need to do something,” Ohio Rep. Bill Roemer, R-Richfield, told the Ohio Capital Journal. “We need to fix property taxes in Ohio.”