Ohio’s Republican attorney general has given backers of a proposed constitutional amendment to get rid of property taxes the green light to take the next step toward putting the issue before voters.
Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, has approved the title and summary of a proposed constitutional amendment that would abolish property taxes. Those dollars are used to fund schools, law enforcement and many local services. But if the constitutional amendment makes the ballot and is approved, those services would have to be funded differently.
The next stop for backers of the amendment is the Ohio Ballot Board. It will determine the amendment should be one or more ballot issues. That meeting has been scheduled for May 14.
Once that issue is decided, the group Citizens for Property Tax Reform must collect around 443,000 valid signatures from registered voters in half of Ohio’s 88 counties. And those would have to be turned in by early July to make it on this November’s ballot.
It would be difficult to get that many signatures for this fall’s ballot but supporters could put it before voters next year, when nearly all of Ohio’s statewide elected office holders will be on the ballot.
Many Ohio homeowners have complained of skyrocketing property taxes. A bipartisan committee of lawmakers released a list of 21 recommendations after a series of hearings last year, but so far no legislation has passed that would offer comprehensive property tax relief. The House budget includes a limit of 30% in cash reserves for school districts, with the requirement that they refund property taxpayers anything beyond that cap. But districts have said that will result in financial chaos.
