Ohio state legislative leaders are recalling lawmakers from their summer break later this month to overturn several property-tax related law changes Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed from the new state budget bill.

The Ohio House will meet on July 21 to consider overriding three of DeWine’s vetoes, according to an announcement from the House clerk’s office issued Tuesday afternoon.

Otherwise, the legislature hadn’t been scheduled to meet next until late September at the earliest. Lawmakers went home for the summer after they completed their biggest job of the year – approving a state budget bill at the end of June. Lawmakers view cutting property taxes as a top priority, and want to act sooner to make it more likely that the tax cuts are in place by January, the next time property tax bills are scheduled to go out.

Overturning a governor’s veto requires votes from three-fifths, or 60%, of members in both the House and Senate. Several legislators on Monday described the logistical challenges of getting people back to Columbus after legislators scattered to take family vacations, attend to their other jobs and participate in community events.

“It’s about how many butts we can get in seats,” said state Rep. David Thomas, an Ashtabula County Republican.

Republicans hold 67 of Ohio’s 99 House seats and 25 of the Senate’s 33 seats. Meanwhile, they need 60 House votes and 19 Senate votes to overturn a veto. If a veto is overturned, the measure would go into effect 90 days after that. Lawmakers have until the end of 2026, the end of the current legislative session, to overturn a veto.

Procedurally, the veto override process will begin in the House because that’s the chamber that officially introduced the budget bill.

DeWine signed the budget bill on July 1, the day of a legal deadline. But not before he issued 67 vetoes – a record high during DeWIne’s six years as governor – including four major property-tax laws that Republican legislators added to the budget.

The session notice that went out Tuesday said the House will take up three law changes DeWine vetoed:

• Eliminating “replacement” levies, a type of property tax levy that typically results in tax increases but is distinct from an “increase” levy
• Tightening the conditions under which schools can receive larger funding increases tied to existing levies when property values rise. The change should translate to less taxes being diverted to school districts in the future.
• Allowing county budget commissions, a panel consisting of the county prosecutor, auditor and treasurer, to unilaterally reduce tax rates when they felt doing so was “reasonably necessary or prudent to avoid unnecessary, excessive, or unneeded property tax collections”

The notice that went out Tuesday notably did not reference a possible overturn of the most controversial provision DeWine vetoed: a measure that would have capped how much cash school districts could keep at the end of the year, with school districts being required to refund the extra amount to taxpayers. The budget bill set the “carryover cap” at 40% of the school district’s operating budget, with some exceptions.

The notice said “other items may be considered at future scheduled sessions.”

DeWine said he vetoed all the property tax provisions over his concerns with how the changes would affect Ohio’s complex system of assessing property taxes. He also echoed criticisms from school districts and public-teacher unions, who said the changes would force districts to go to the ballot more frequently, driving “levy fatigue” among voters.