Ohio House Republicans Target ‘Replacement’ Levies Used by Schools, Mental Health Boards, Libraries

Lawmakers proposed legislation that would block local governments from proposing “replacement” levies typically used to fund operations at townships, schools, libraries, mental health and addiction services boards, and others.

When an existing local levy runs its course, local government bodies have a handful of options: they can leave it there, and residents’ tax bills decrease; they can propose a “renewal” levy, which extends the ongoing tax at the same millage; they can propose an ongoing “replacement” levy, which extends the tax at the same millage but resets the millage to reflect increased property values; or they can renew the levy with an increase in the millage, which also updates for new property values.

House Bill 344 would eliminate that replacement levy option, while still leaving the renewal options intact. Rep. Thomas Hall, a Madison Twp. Republican, pitched the idea to lawmakers as means of straightening out reasonable confusion from voters as to whether a levy will increase their net tax bill.

“‘New levy’ and ‘increase’ are easy to understand,” he said during testimony on the bill. “But many voters treat renewal and replacement as synonyms when they function entirely differently.”

The sponsors and the bills backers said this confusion serves as rationale to eliminate – rather than rename or otherwise clarify – replacement levies.