House Bill 96 (State Operating Budget)

 The OTA is an Interested Party for this bill.

Status

This bill was signed by the Governor on June 30, 2025, and is effective immediately. The OTA is reviewing the provisions that survived the Governor's vetoes and will provide guidance on township operational impact moving forward.

The following provisions were included in the final version of the bill. These were sent to the Governor for line-item veto:

Local Government Fund - Support

• • Increases the Local Government Fund by 0.05% (from 1.70% to 1.75%)

Fire Department Grants - Support

• • Increases the grant program by $8 million for fire departments in counties with populations of 70,000 or less

Pay Increases

• • Increases elected official pay from 1.75% to 5% through 2029. Removes Cost of Living Adjustments after 2030. Please note that elected officials may not receive a mid-term pay increase.

County Budget Commission - Oppose

• • Keeps the County Prosecutor on the County Budget Commission, but should the County Prosecutor recuse themselves, a County Commissioner is the alternative

New Community Authority - Support

• • Allows a township that has adopted limited home rule prior to January 1, 1995, within a county with a population of over 400,000, to adopt a new community authority district

Eminent Domain

• • Allows for eminent domain use, but with a prohibition for parkways or recreational trails if the property sought was subject to a previous taking but was dismissed on or after January 1, 2024, and no right of appeal remains from the original action

Brownfield Remediation - Support

• • Increases the Brownfield Remediation Fund by $25 million in each fiscal year

Opportunity Zone

• • Limits the total amount of the Ohio Opportunity Zone Investment Income Tax Credit that can be issued for a single project to $5 million

Property Tax Appeals

• • If seeking an increase in the valuation of the property, the local government must provide a conveyance fee statement that declares the value of the property conveyed and that was filed during the two years preceding the tax lien date for the tax year in which the complaint is to be filed

Megaproject Community Reinvestment Area

• • Allows for a legislative authority to extend a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) for a site with a megaproject or a future megaproject for up to 30 years

Video Public Records

• • Expands the definition of victim to a person who suffered a loss and could seek a remedy through a tort action
  • Permits a fee to be waived only after the receipt of an affidavit by the victim or the victim's legal counsel
  • Specifies that legal counsel means an attorney who provides a retention agreement or letter of representation

Local Liquor Option - OTA Priority

• • Requires a local option petitioner for alcohol sales to pay the entire ballot cost of an election when there is no candidate or issue on the ballot

Battery-Charged Fences

• • Prohibits a county, township, or municipality from adopting or enforcing a regulation that prohibits the installation of a battery-charged fence
  • Retains a permit or fee for the installation or use of such fence

State Income Tax

• • Phase down the state income tax to a flat rate of 2.75% over a two-year period
  • Revenue losses of $529 million in FY 2026. GRF would bear 96.6% of the loss, with the remaining 3.4% revenue loss split between the Local Government Fund and the Public Library Fund

Adult-Use Marijuana Support

• • Allocates 36% of the 10% tax in perpetuity to the Host Community Cannabis Fund for townships that have dispensaries in their community
  • All other revenue is credited to the General Revenue Fund
  • Allows a township to limit or prohibit adult-use marijuana dispensaries within its jurisdiction
  • Does not provide a payment mechanism for those currently with adult-use dispensaries

OPWC Small Villages & Townships - Support

• • Increases the OPWC Small Government Program percentage from 10% to 12%
  • Requires the first $10 million in FY 26 to be used for projects for townships with populations of less than 5,000

Replacement Levies - Oppose

• • Eliminates replacement levies after January 1, 2026

Property Tax Abatement

• • Permits a township to apply within one year for an abatement of delinquent property taxes owed by the township

Burial Permit Fee Increases - OTA Priority

• • Increases the Burial Permit Fee to $10 and allocates $6 of that fee to the Cemetery Grant Program

County Budget Commission Reduce Millage - Oppose (The OTA will request a veto from Governor DeWine)

• • Allows a county budget commission (CBC) to reduce millage on any voter-approved tax levy
  • CBCs may not reduce a levy that collects less revenue than in the preceding year
  • Requires political subdivisions to disclose all funds in their control
  • Requires the CBC to offer testimony describing how inside millage is allocated to the jurisdictions in the county

Township Referendum - Oppose (The OTA will request a veto from Governor DeWine)

• • Increases the zoning referendum threshold from 15% to 35% of the total vote cast for all candidates for governor
  • Increases the referendum threshold from 15% to 35% for any planned-use development projects for limited home rule townships and municipalities

Township Referendum Megaprojects

• • Exempts township zoning amendments related to megaprojects from referendum

Referendum Threshold Increase - Oppose (The OTA will request a veto from Governor DeWine)

• • Increases the zoning referendum threshold for municipalities and limited home rule townships from 10% to 35% of the total vote cast for all candidates for governor

Brownfield Remediation

• • Provides grants for Brownfield Remediation projects

Auditor of State

• • Requires township fiscal officers to retain documentation of required completed continuing education courses
  • Requires the AOS to audit for compliance with the continuing education courses

Public Record Law Changes - Support

• • Codifies case law that personal notes of a public official or public employee are not public record

Limitations on Property Tax Complaints

• • Limits subdivisions' authority to file a property tax challenge only if the subdivision filed a conveyance statement within two years or if a sale was recorded with the County Recorder

Resort Tax

• • Allows municipalities and townships to increase resort area taxes to 2% or 2.5% if approved by electors

County Lodging Tax

• • Allows the Board of County Commissioners to increase the lodging tax by no more than 1% so long as the total rate does not exceed 5%

Cybersecurity Programs

• • Requires all political subdivisions to adopt a cybersecurity plan that protects the subdivision’s data.

Village Dissolution

• • Includes providing electric utilities as a condition that must be met by the village to avoid being subject to dissolution

Fiscal Emergency Receivership

• • A board of township trustees may request the Attorney General to create a receivership if the township is in fiscal emergency for a period of 10 consecutive years, or twice in a period of 10 years

Next Gen 911 Support

• • Raises Next Gen 911 Access Fee from 0.40 cents to 0.60 cents

Opportunity Zone Investment Tax Credit

• • Provides $50 million per fiscal year for the grant program

Residential Economic Development Districts

• • Provides grants for subdivisions within 20 miles of "major economic development projects" to provide housing, utilities, and tax abatements

See the links below for more information on the Ohio Legislature's website, such as proponent and opponent testimonies, a summary of the bill, and more. 

House Bill 96

OTA Interested Party Testimony 2/27/2025

OTA Interested Party Testimony 3/12/2025

OTA Interested Party Testimony 5/30/2025

OTA Conferee Letter 6/13/2025

Watch the testimony from the February 27, 2025, House Agriculture Committee hearing below. If the video does not load, click here to view the video on the Ohio Channel.

Watch the testimony from the March 12, 2025, House Finance Committee hearing below. If the video does not load, click here to view the video on the Ohio Channel.

Watch the testimony from the May 30, 2025, House Finance Committee hearing below. If the video does not load, click here to view the video on the Ohio Channel.