Earlier this month, Republican lawmakers introduced a bill that would permanently slash property taxes by billions of dollars. 

House Speaker Matt Huffman isn’t ruling out the possibility that the proposal may be tucked into the state budget. And that’s freaked out local government officials and public safety and teachers’ unions as budget season comes to an end ahead of a June 30 legal deadline.

House Bill 335 would eliminate what’s called “inside millage” – the portion of property taxes that local governments can implement without a vote of the people. While legislative researchers haven’t yet released an official price tag for the still-new proposal, local government groups estimate it would cut taxes by more than $3 billion. That would blow an equal-sized hole in the budgets for public schools, county governments, libraries, fire districts and other public entities that rely on property taxes for funding. 

Governments could make up for the revenue loss by trying to raise other types of taxes – some of which require voter approval, some of which don’t. The bill’s sponsor, freshman state Rep. David Thomas of Ashtabula County, has said he envisions cuts or government consolidations to also be part of the equation.

Asked about the measure on Wednesday, Huffman refused to say whether the HB 335 could land in the state budget bill. He did say it’s the most “draconian” of the various menu options the legislature is considering to address “the property tax problem.” 

“I don’t want to say we’re not going to do it, we are going to do it,” Huffman said. “But I think it’s at one end of the spectrum.”

But Senate President Rob McColley, the leader of the other legislative chamber involved in budget talks, threw cold water on the idea on Wednesday. 

“Our caucus I don’t believe is supportive of the elimination of inside millage,” McColley said, adding other elements of the bill may find their way into law. 

Read more about other property tax changes in the budget, and a legislative hearing that grew heated on Wednesday, here. 

Season of giving

May and June are budget season in Capitol Square, a time when state lawmakers who shape the state’s $100 billion budget hash out the document that’s due by the end of June. It’s also one of the busiest times for lobbyists and special interest groups, who all want some piece of it.  

But lawmakers involved with the budget-writing process still find the time to hold the fundraisers they use to underwrite their campaigns. And those fundraisers are attended by many of those same lobbyists and interest groups with their hands out. 

The list – meticulously tracked by Gongwer News Service – is long, bipartisan, and bicameral. It includes House Speaker Matt Huffman (June 10, June 23); Senate President Rob McColley (May 22, June 2, June 4); Senate Finance Chairman Jerry Cirino (May 27, June 9); House Finance Chairman Brian Stewart (May 22) House Minority Leader Allison Russo (June 4); Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (June 10); and more. 

We asked legislative leaders if this practice creates a conflict of interest – or at least the appearance of one – as they craft a state budget by day and solicit political dollars by night.

Republicans generally dismissed it. Huffman said fundraising is a reality of running for office. He added that members shouldn’t talk about policy while they raise funds, although new members “don’t quite get that. Or they forget.” McColley said if you look closely through the donors, some may get what they want from the budget, but plenty don’t. 

“My only hope is that they’re supporting of my efforts solely because they want to support me on the political side, not because they want anything on the policy side,” he said. 

Democrats said the fundraisers are ethically problematic. They’ve pushed campaign finance reforms for years that Republicans, who hold firm majorities in both chambers, have refused to pass. They say the problem should be fixed, but they’re going to work within the rules as they exist until then. 

Russo said some House Democrats have explored the idea of sponsoring legislation to ban fundraisers during budget season. Antonio made similar comments. But of the four leaders, no one made anything close to a promise to stop the fundraisers. 

“Any time you want to talk about campaign finance reform, I’m right there with ya,” Antonio said. “It is a messy situation that we have right now.”

Senate hits the brakes on driver’s ed reforms

Reforms to Ohio’s drivers education system hit a speed bump during the ongoing budget talks. But some kind of change could be coming down the road soon.

Earlier this year, Gov. Mike DeWine proposed sending more money to public schools so they can help reverse the privatization of state driver’s education implemented in the 1990s.

The Ohio House then removed the proposal from the governor’s budget bill in April. But in response to lobbying from driver’s training businesses, the House added some compromise measures, including one requiring that drivers up to age 21 take driver’s ed. Currently, anyone who is 18 or older can skip the formal training and take the driver’s test. The House also added a provision allowing students to be excused from school for up to eight hours to go to off-site driver’s ed. This could address the longstanding concerns that high school students didn’t have time outside the school day to get training.

But the Senate removed both measures in its version of the state budget, which passed last week, leaving the status quo in place.

Senate President Rob McColley couldn’t shed much light on the change on Wednesday.

“I don’t recall the exact reasons that those were taken out, but I would suspect if it’s something that’s important to the House, we would likely see those provisions be brought up in some of the discussions around conference committee,” he said Wednesday. 

Huffman said Wednesday he’s talked with his staff about adding something back into the budget having to do with driver’s training 

“The concern is to make sure that those are done by private vendors versus government operated vendors, because I think it’ll be done more efficiently and quickly,” Huffman said. 

Meanwhile, advocates have said Ohio’s driver’s education system is failing teens, particularly for rural and poor urban areas. The result has been a system with limited enrollment slots, high prices and slim profit margins for operators. 

State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, who’s representing Democrats on the Republican-controlled committee finalizing the budget, said the funding for school-based drivers education should make its way back into the budget.

“We’re going to make sure that millionaires and billionaires are being taken care of,” Sweeney said. “That continues to be the trend of the budget, and I hope and continue to push my colleagues to invest more into families, safety, security, so that people can get by.”

DeWine spokesperson Jill DelGreco said the governor “strongly believes” the state needs more driver’s education. Currently, too many people wait until they turn 18 to get their license, after it’s no longer required.

Could Ohio’s unclaimed funds for the Browns open Pandora’s Box?

The Ohio Senate recently proposed tapping the state’s $4 billion pot of unclaimed funds to pay for the Cleveland Browns’ proposed domed stadium in Brook Park. Lawmakers have used the unclaimed funds account before, but never on this scale or for a sports franchise worth more than $1 billion. The move has some lawmakers thinking out loud that perhaps the unclaimed funds should be used for greater social benefit, or to avoid service cuts or politically unpopular tax hikes. Here’s one example. Columbus area Democratic Rep. Dontavius Jarrells, who said he survived lead poisoning as a child, said perhaps the money could be used to address the lead crisis. 

“Since we’re opening up Pandora’s Box … why aren’t we using unclaimed funds to get clean water to families? Maybe that is an idea,” he said. 

Courthouse deportations

The Ohio Senate fast-tracked and passed a bill Wednesday that says that anyone who is, or who “is suspected of being” unlawfully present in the U.S. is not privileged from arrest. 

This would reverse rules deployed by some local governments to prohibit U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement from executing civil arrests that start the deportation process while in government buildings like courthouses. 

Jake wrote about the bill after its first hearing May 28. Senators have passed it at warp speed, as the Trump administration doubles down on its aggressive strategy of executing deportations out of courts of law. In doing so, Ohio’s senators rejected concerns from Democrats about a rushed process and the risks to people here losing rights to due process. 

The bill goes to the House for consideration. 

Hashing it out

Huffman said last week he expected to see the Ohio House pass a marijuana bill Wednesday of this week that the Senate would quickly agree on. 

But Wednesday morning, the House Judiciary Committee pulled marijuana legislation from its agenda. 

Comments Huffman made to reporters on Wednesday indicated talks might be breaking down. Huffman described getting a new list of requests from the Senate on Monday.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” Huffman said. “…  And I just told my caucus, we’re not going to just say ‘OK’ because we’re so anxious to pass the marijuana bill, we’re fine with this. I’d like to get it done, but we’re not going to give up House priorities to do that.”

Huffman refused to discuss the specific hang-ups. But the Senate passed a bill earlier this year that would update the ballot measure Ohioans passed in November 2023 by limiting marijuana potency and cutting how many plants people can grow at their home, among other changes. 

It also would regulate hemp-derived THC drinks that have similar effects to marijuana but that are currently unregulated and widely available because of a loophole in federal law. 

Later in the day, McColley expressed confusion when asked about Huffman’s comments. 

“That doesn’t jibe with the conversations I’ve had with the Speaker,” he said.