The Ohio House approved two property tax bills that will save homeowners more than $2.4 billion over the next three years.

The bills have to be approved by the state Senate and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine before they can become law.

The bills cap how much money school districts and local governments can collect to the rate of inflation, which is about 3%.

Legislators are trying to make enough changes to property tax laws with the hope voters will reject a proposed November 2026 constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes. A grassroots organization is collecting signatures to get that measure on the ballot.

House Bill 186 will save Ohio property owners about $1.7 billion over the next three years by establishing a new cap tax credit that prevents increases in school districts from exceeding the rate of inflation.

The bill limits unvoted property taxes collected by school districts, known as the 20-mill floor. It would start with the second half of the 2026 tax bills if approved by the Senate.

Every school district in the state is guaranteed to receive 20 mills. Nearly 500 of the state’s 611 school districts have an effective rate that is below the guaranteed 20-mill floor, but 20 mills are still applied to the district’s value, said state Rep. David Thomas, R-Jefferson, who was the lead cosponsor on this bill and represents portions of Trumbull County.

The 20-mill floor is a main reason for the large increases in unvoted property taxes over the past few years, Thomas said, as values increased.

The average property value in Mahoning County increased by 38% in the last revaluation in 2023 and by 35% in Trumbull County.

The bill passed Wednesday in the House 73-23, with all Republicans and 10 Democrats voting in favor. All of the no votes came from Democrats.

Thomas said, “We put a check on unlimited government with H.B. 186. Currently there is no limit to what schools can take from the property owner. That is over and what happened over the last five years will never happen again.”

He added: “Government should not take more than inflation without a vote of the people. H.B. 186 would put that into law and won’t wait to start those limits. It starts (with the) second half of next year on all eligible properties in school districts on the 20-mill floor.”

Thomas had wanted the base year for the limit tied to inflation to be 2023, but faced opposition from school districts.

A change was made to provide $360 million in state money for school districts as a one-time payment in the first year.

The average homeowner will save about $128 next year in property taxes, but those living in urban and larger school districts above the 20-mill floor won’t see a reduction.

HOUSE BILL 335

The other bill, which had Thomas as the chief sponsor, provides similar caps to inflation on inside millage collected by local governments. Counties can collect up to 10 mills of inside millage without a vote.

The bill, H.B. 335, will save property tax owners between $621 million and $763 million over the next three years.

The House approved the bill 71-24, with all Republicans and nine Democrats voting in support and the 24 no votes coming from Democrats.

Thomas said, “Rarely does government check and limit itself. With H.B. 335 that is exactly what we’re doing. Counties, cities, villages, townships and schools received unchecked revenue from the property tax owners during revaluations. That ends with H.B. 335.”

State Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, who voted against both bills, said: “I’m not going to throw our schools and our local governments in the gutter over pennies in savings for homeowners and call it property tax relief. At best, it’s tax shifting because those who get a couple of dollars savings on their property tax will just see it show up in the form of tax levies.”

McNally pointed to a report by the nonpartisan Ohio Legislative Service Commission that states the median Ohio taxpayer will see a savings of about $72 over the next three years, while the top 10% richest people in the state will save twice that amount.

Also, counties, school districts, townships, municipalities, libraries, parks and joint fire districts will lose about $195 million to $250 million in tax revenue in 2027 and between $305.5 million and $378 million in 2028, according to the LSC.

McNally said: “The only real property tax relief being handed out in these bills is for the out-of-state landlords who own millions of dollars worth of properties in our communities, not the homeowner who needs it the most.”

Those with vacation homes and rental properties will benefit from the two bills.

McNally said she wants “real property tax relief” and there are more than 30 “good bills sitting in the Statehouse.”

The House on Oct. 8 approved two bills, sponsored by Thomas, to address property taxes. The bills need approval from the state Senate.

One bill gives county budget commissions — made up of the county auditor, treasurer and prosecutor — control over tax rates and levies.

The commission would be permitted to unilaterally cut property tax rates if revenues exceed expenditures, even if voters approved ballot initiatives for that funding.

The other requires school districts to include emergency and substitute levies in their 20-mill floor, which guarantees they receive at least 20 mills of funding even if they are below that amount. This would put 237 of the state’s 611 school districts off the floor, Thomas said.