The Ohio House approved two bills sponsored by state Rep. David Thomas that reform property taxes.

Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, had vetoed similar legislation July 1 as part of the state budget bill. The ones, sponsored by Thomas, R-Jefferson, include key changes that delay the effective dates.

“These are strong, good reforms,” said Thomas, who represents portions of Trumbull County in the House. “Both passed with bipartisan support.”

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.

DeWine vetoed both items in the budget bill.

The Republican-controlled Legislature planned to override the vetoes. But when the House met July 21 in special session it didn’t have enough support to override either veto.

There was only enough support during that July 21 session to override DeWine’s veto to eliminate, starting next year, the ability of school districts and local government entities to seek replacement or emergency levies from voters as well as ban school districts from seeking fixed-sum emergency levies, substitute emergency levies and renewal levies with increases.

The Senate overrode that same veto Oct. 1.

As for the two other items, Republicans decided to change the language in the Thomas-sponsored bills.

The budget commissions bill initially would have allowed the removal of tax levies one year after passage. It was changed to be five years after its initial passage or one year after renewal.

The House approved it 77-19 Wednesday.

The bill that includes emergency and substitute levies in school districts’ 20-mill floor was supposed to go into effect starting this year. The language was changed to start with the 2027 tax bill for 2026 revaluations, which will occur in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, Thomas said.

“It gives school districts a little more time,” he said. “It lifts schools off the floor and gives them more flexibility but does not increase taxes on taxpayers by doing it.”

The House approved the bill 81-16 Wednesday.

Thomas said: “This bill helps a vast majority of my district and many Ohioans. This will prevent future spikes and give the voters transparency in taxation for guaranteed tax rates to schools. We also make sure schools don’t get a cut from this bill, but will not see the future spikes unless the voters say ‘Yes.'”

Thomas said members of the Senate support the two bills.

Thomas said the House is expected to vote later this month on a substitute bill he and state Rep. Jim Hoops, R-Napoleon, sponsored to limit unvoted property taxes collected by school districts.

The bill would limit the revenue school districts can receive from the 20-mill floor to inflation.

Thomas said the bill would save Ohio homeowners nearly $1.7 billion over the next three years, starting with the second half of the 2026 tax bill.

The previous bill would have taken effect when a county did a property revaluation, which occurs every three years, while the substitute bill, approved Sept. 24 by the House Ways and Means Committee, calls for every county to start the change with the second half of the 2026 tax bills.

The Buckeye Association of School Administrators, which represents all Ohio public school superintendents, supported the original bill, but opposes the amended one.

Paul Imhoff, director of government relations for the association, said if this bill goes into effect, a number of school districts will get “an actual cut in revenue from their property taxes.”

If the bill goes into effect, school districts in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, on average, will lose 2.8% of its property tax revenue in the first year, 3.8% in the second year and 3.9% in the third year.