Craig Votes Against Veto Override that Undermines Local Governments and Schools

Today, state Senator Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus) condemned the Ohio Senate Republicans’ vote to override Governor DeWine’s veto of a provision to restrict the ability of communities to put levies for schools and local services before voters under the guise of tax relief.

“We can all agree we must address the property tax crisis,” said Craig. “However, this veto override is not a good-faith effort to provide meaningful relief to Ohioans. Rather, it is an incursion into the autonomy of our local schools and communities.”

The provision will strip local communities, schools, and libraries of their ability to clearly present certain replacement and emergency levies to their voters, and will block voters from deciding whether to raise funds for services like schools, fire departments, and libraries. Overriding this veto provides no actual property tax relief and instead shifts the responsibility to provide relief from the state to our local communities.

Senate Democrats have proposed a number of actual property tax relief policies, including a property tax circuit breaker, an expansion of the homestead exemption, and freezing property taxes for qualifying homeowners 65 years old and older.