Saturday Stats

1 of 3: Number of Governor DeWine’s property-tax line-item vetoes that the Ohio House was able to muster the votes to override, out of those they initially targeted. On July 21, the House overrode the veto of Item 66, which eliminates replacement and emergency levies currently allowed under Ohio law, from the biennial operating budget bill. This will make it harder for local governments and schools to raise revenue in the future. Now the Senate has the opportunity to stop this veto override, so contact your State Senator now!

$330M: Estimated amount of funding that schools would have lost had all three of the vetoes been overridden. Fortunately, enough legislators stood up for their communities that schools were spared that additional loss over the next three years. Policy Matters produced fact sheets that show how the budget and the three so-called property tax provisions would affect each school district in Ohio, so if the legislature wants to return to override vetoes protecting the 20-mill floor, they and their constituents can know what is at stake.

4,000: Number of Type A childcare providers who will see payment rates reduced when certain provisions are allowed to go into effect. Reducing payment rates for Type A providers offering publicly funded childcare (PFCC) to the payment rates for Type B providers will disrupt the childcare supply and disincentivize Type A providers from continuing to invest in their businesses at the same level. Work & Wages Researcher Heather Smith submitted public comment to the Department of Children and Youth demonstrating how payment rate changes, as well as raising the level-of-service thresholds, will further exacerbate Ohio’s childcare crisis.

4.9%: Ohio’s unemployment rate in June (same as May), which is 0.7 percentage points higher than the U.S. rate of 4.2%, and among the highest in the nation. “Despite monthly job gains, [Ohio’s] labor force is now shrinking,” wrote Smith in this month’s JobWatch. “In the coming months, we will learn whether this is a blip or a trend. As Ohioans and businesses alike are unable to predict economic conditions due to a whiplash of policy choices and restricted spending, we can expect more turbulence down the road.”

PMO History: Property taxes are getting a lot of attention right now, and some Ohioans need property tax assistance. Policy Matters Ohio has spent over a decade advocating for property tax fairness that provides equitable relief for those who need it, while at the same time protecting the revenue that schools, libraries, and local governments depend on. In 2013, Zach Schiller became a vocal advocate for reforming Ohio’s homestead exemption to further target this property tax break for seniors who need it most. More recently, Policy Matters has been advocating for the creation of a property tax “circuit breaker” that includes Ohioans of all ages. Bipartisan legislation to create a circuit breaker was introduced in the Ohio Senate based on research and advocacy by Policy Matters. Much like an electrical circuit breaker prevents electric current overloads, this policy would reduce the load when property taxes are too high a share of income.  An estimated one in six Ohioans would benefit—both renters and homeowners alike. As the fight over how to provide property tax relief intensifies in the state—with some calling for the elimination of property taxes altogether—Policy Matters continues defensive work to stop harmful property tax measures and put forward the circuit breaker as a well-targeted and equitable solution that protects much-needed revenue.

Action Items

• Contact your State Senator and tell them to vote NO on the veto override.
• Join us at the Licking County Library, Johnstown (Mary E. Babcock) Branch on August 13 to learn more about what is going on with Intel.
• Register to attend either the virtual (7/30) or in-person (8/13) Drive to Justice Info Session that will cover the impact of driver’s license suspensions on people and what’s to come with the passage of H.B. 29.
• RSVP for the upcoming virtual town hall, Can America keep its promises to Ohio veterans?, on August 20.