Update 2/21/23

Last week, the Ohio House formally introduced House Bill (HB) 33, the state budget bill for Fiscal Years (FY) 2024-2025. This is one of 52 bills introduced by the House. House Speaker Jason Stephens (R- Kitts Hill) highlighted twelve priority bills during a press conference on Feb. 15.

One bill in particular that caught our attention is HB 1. HB 1 is seeking to make significant changes to Ohio’s tax structure by introducing a flat state income tax of 2.75%. At this point we are estimating this income tax cut would be at least $1.5 billion. Additionally, the proposal is seeking to eliminate the 10% rollback at the local level coupled with a reduction in the local assessment percentage on Class 1 and 2 property from 35% to 31.5%. Property tax rollback payments are made from the state to local governments to reimburse revenue lost due to property tax relief programs granted by the state. These suggested changes will have a significant impact on the State’s General Revenue Fund as well as local revenue generated by local levies.

As we evaluate the impact of this proposal both at the state and local level, we are asking each public library system to send us the amount of money received from the rollback last year in addition to the percentage amount the rollback represents in your overall budget. Please email this information to either Jay Smith, at jsmith@olc.org, or Michelle Francis, at mfrancis@olc.org. More details about HB 1 will be shared during the State Budget Update Webinar scheduled for this Friday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.

The State Budget Update Webinar will cover all of the provisions in the “As Introduced” version of HB 33, our assessment of HB 1, and the direction of our advocacy efforts in the coming months. The webinar is free for OLC members; but you must register to attend. Registration is available on the OLC website.