Support for the Statehouse News Bureau comes from Medical Mutual, dedicated to the health and well-being of Ohioans, offering health insurance plans, as well as dental, vision and wellness programs to help people achieve their goals and remain healthy.

More at Med mutual.com.

The law offices of Porter, right, Morris and Arthur LLP.

Porter, right, is dedicated to bringing inspired legal outcomes to the Ohio business community.

More at Porter.

Right.

Com Porter Wright inspired every day.

You know, Ohio Education Association representing 120,000 educators who are united in their mission to create the excellent public schools.

Every child deserves more at o h e talk.

Governor DeWine strikes a bill extending the hours younger teenagers can work.

A quartet of bills said to bring billions in property tax relief awaits action.

But it won't stop the abolishment effort.

And Ohio State parks make the big time on the biggest screens.

That's this weekend.

The state of Ohio.

Welcome to the state of Ohio.

I'm Karen Kasler.

Governor Mike DeWine has vetoed a bill that would have allowed 14 and 15 year olds to work till 9 p.m.

year round.

Republicans said it would help with staffing shortages, but Democrats, opposed to the longer hours, said it wouldn't do much to fill the most in-demand jobs.

DeWine said he believes it's important for kids to learn to work, but extending work hours on school nights concerned him.

It's a balance between, kids studying, and kids learning how to work.

And I think they can learn how to work before show up.

You know, and I have to work on a school night.

We're talking about school night.

Beyond.

Beyond 7:00 at night.

Reasonable people can come to different conclusions, but, that's that's where I. Where I came down.

It is the ninth bill DeWine has vetoed in full, but it passed with veto proof majorities in both the House and Senate.

However, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act would have to be changed to allow kids to work the extended.

Hours Before Thanksgiving, lawmakers passed four bills that Republican sponsors say add up to $2 billion in property tax relief.

But that's not enough for the organizers of the effort to abolish property taxes, who are continuing their all volunteer drive to gather more than 443,000 valid signatures to put the question on next fall's ballot.

I moderated a discussion before the County Commissioners Association of Ohio this week featuring Brian Massey of Lobbyist for citizens, who is leading the effort, and fellow organizer Leonard Gilbert.

I asked Massey about the 65.5% success rate for school levies last month and an even higher passage rate for libraries, which suggests people like the local services levies provide.

and what we're trying to tell people, if they continue to vote for these property tax levies, they're funding their own demise.

Many people do not even understand, you know, property taxes, believe it or not, there's a percentage of the people that go to the ballot box vote for these levies, and they do not correlate voting for that levy to seeing an increase in their property taxes.

So we've got a real education problem in the state.

When Massey was asked how voters could be uneducated on how levies affect their property taxes, but should be trusted to vote on abolishing their property taxes, Massey said it should go to the ballot, and if officials don't think Ohioans will vote for it, they don't have anything to worry about.

Massey's group does not have a plan to replace the almost $24 billion in property taxes collected each year in Ohio.

When asked how police, teachers and other public employees should be paid, Massey said, quote, send me a bill.

He said money for local services should not be tied to a home's value, and the goal of the ballot issue was to cut the size of government so less money is needed.

The biggest thing property taxes fund is education, and schools have raised concerns all year about how these property tax bills that were passed before Thanksgiving will affect districts and homeowners.

I talked with Paul Imhoff from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators about those bills.

And we started with that claim of $2 billion in property tax relief.

And where that money is actually coming from.

So there's a couple of different things going on.

So.

So there's a part a part of these bills is going to represent, an actual tax cut, to citizens in Ohio, who went through a reappraisal or update, in 2023 or 2024.

And that's going to equal about almost half a billion, almost half $1 billion in property tax cuts.

The the General Assembly is going to hold schools harmless, for those cuts in the first two years of the bill.

And we were very, very thankful for that.

And then the remainder of the savings are projected savings moving forward, which are going to be realized through basically, it's what we would call, a, a decrease on the, on the increase, meaning property tax bills are not going to go up as much as they otherwise would.

One of the philosophies in this from the General Assembly has been to rein in, property tax growth beyond the rate of inflation.

And so these bills cumulatively will make sure that that happens.

And so those are projected savings and some actual savings.

I want to talk about each one of these bills separately here.

So kind of dig in a little bit.

The first one that I want to ask you about is House Bill 335, which would cap the growth of increases on the funding that can be levied without a vote that inside millage, this bill had changed a lot because the the original bill had been the elimination of five millage, which obviously schools were very concerned about.

What are your thoughts on the bill as it is now?

Well, I think the first thing I should say, Karen, is we were very thankful, that the General Assembly work with us and many other stakeholders, I think, to move all four of these bills.

I think they also took a lot of recommendations from the governor's task force.

So I think at the end of the day, House Bill 335 is a really reasonable approach to limiting growth beyond the rate of inflation.

We all know that we're in a property tax crisis.

We all know that we need to make changes to, to, to protect our homeowners.

And I think that this bill does that while still making sure that there is inflationary growth on the inside mills for our schools and all other areas of local government as well.

House Bill 186 probably got the most attention.

It would cap property tax revenue growth for districts at the guaranteed minimum funding rate, known as the 20 Mills law.

It also included $306 million to ensure school districts don't lose money.

And it also had this owner occupied tax credit for people who live in the homes they own.

So can you explain how many school districts are actually affected by this one?

So so when we look at this so every school district is at the 20 mill floor is going to be impacted by this.

And the other thing that is going on is through the override of one of the governor's vetoes and through House Bill 129, we're going to be seeing a reduction in school districts at the floor, and that's going to phase in slowly, over calendar year 27, 28, and 29.

So just for ballpark purposes, Karen, right now we have about 400 districts at the floor, and there are different estimates of a by the way.

So that's a ballpark.

And at the end of the day, we're going to have about 200 districts at the floor.

So this will be impacting districts differently depending on their reappraisal schedule.

But we're still talking about most districts in in I would say in most, representations here.

Yes, yes.

And I would say that overwhelmingly the districts who were at that state, minimum 20 middle floor are our smaller rural schools.

Now, there are other districts represented as well, but generally speaking, there are they are our smaller rural schools who were at that 20 mill floor.

Yes.

You've said you have some questions about House Bill 186 and House Bill 129, which would change the calculation of that 20 mill floor would work together under 129.

You would said that if those levies weren't allowed to be renewed by voters, that would drive up property taxes by about $96 million.

Do you still have some concerns about how these two things are going to work together?

Well, I will tell you.

So that specific concern, was addressed in an amendment that was added by the Senate.

The day had actually passed and we were very thankful for that amendment.

And what that amendment did is it is allowing voters the option of renewing the new fix.

Some levies which used to be called, emergency levies or substitute levies.

Now they have a new title of a fixed some levy.

So voters are going to have the option to renew those levies every five years moving forward.

And because many of those levies were first levied in 2013 or earlier, the state of Ohio was still paying 12.5% of the cost of those levies.

And so we wanted to maintain the taxpayer ability to, to, to renew those levies so we could avoid any tax, increases for our homeowners.

And again, through that amendment in the Senate, we were able to do that.

And we were really thankful for the Senate, adding that to further protect our homeowners, another bill, House 309, would allow county budget commissions to reduce voted property tax levies.

Does that pose a problem for schools because they're having to plan out their spending so many years in advance?

What does that actually do to school districts?

Well, I think there are many concerns about this bill.

So when the governor's task force met, for instance, they had a recommendation, that said a county budget commission would not be able to reduce our levy, until it had been on the books for more than five years.

So when the voters approve a brand new levy, then the Budget Commission couldn't come back and change that for a period of five years.

And the House included that in their in their version of House Bill.

129.

I mean, it's excuse me.

House Bill 309 Garrett and then the Senate changed that to just one year.

And that's a change that we didn't want to see.

But we will see how this works moving forward.

And I'm certain if we have issues with this, we can always come back to the General Assembly.

And I'm sure they're always willing to make adjustments if things are not working the way that they had intended.

Do you think the relief that these bills are going to provide is going to be enough to really help homeowners who are very concerned and might be, say, looking at signing this petition that would abolish property taxes if voters approved next year, because you said that's a serious concern and people need to be aware.

It is it is a serious concern.

And we have to be really careful to make sure that we are responding to the needs of our taxpayers.

I would say when you look at these four bills as a package, it really does represent the largest property tax reform in the state of Ohio, since, I would say the 1970s when House Bill 920 was was placed on the books.

So I really do applaud the General Assembly for coming forward, coming up with some reasonable approaches to this issue.

And I think they can say, and we can all say to taxpayers, these are some massive changes in property taxes in the state of Ohio, and we're going to make sure that some of the issues that have happened over the last three to 4 to 5 years with these enormous, hikes in property tax bills is not going to be able to happen again in the state of Ohio because of these new laws that have been passed.

The November election was pretty successful for schools and local governments with money issues on the ballot.

Representative David Thomas, who as the sponsor of all four of these bills, as well as some other ones that are still under consideration and said after the November election that, quote, we can't protect taxpayers from tax hikes.

We choose ourselves at the ballot box.

So so far we've seen the elimination of emergency and replacement levies.

He has a bill to require 60% voter approval for levies.

There's a bill, that allows a bunch of commissions to reduce voter approved levies.

Do you see all this is an effort by the state to provide tax relief, by limiting what voters can decide when it comes to money for schools and local services?

You know, I've spent a lot of time talking to Representative Thomas.

I certainly don't think that is the point he would make.

I think he's trying to come up with some reforms that will help, our, our homeowners, especially those who need it most.

But as we look at the results, 65% of our levies passed, in November, which is much higher than it normally is for new money levies.

If you look over time, typically seven out of ten fail.

So one of the things I look at is I see those numbers.

I see immense public support for our public schools in the state of Ohio, and the work that our teachers are doing with the 80% of kids who attend a traditional public school in our state each and every day.

And so I think that's just affirmation that that's important to the citizens of Ohio.

And they understand that our public schools are the foundation of our state, and as go our public schools, so go our state.

There are still several recommendations on the list compiled by the Property Tax Taskforce that governor Mike DeWine convened after striking several provisions lawmakers added into the state budget.

They include limiting the amount a district can carry over at 100% of their operating budget.

Enacting programs and protections for seniors.

And putting in a circuit breaker to trigger exemptions based on income.

The weather may be cold, but you can stay warm and explore Ohio State parks through a movie that's playing an Imax theaters across the state.

Ohio Wild of Heart was created by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and MacGillivray Freeman Films, which has produced movies about Mount Everest, ocean life and aviation and space travel.

I talked with Odnr director Mary Mertz about how the movie was developed.

well.

And it was important to us to have a story we didn't want just great cinematography and just individual stories.

But the theme of the movie is that we restore nature because nature restores us.

And so we looked for opportunities to tell that story.

But it was a long process.

A lot of back and forth, lot of film on the cutting room floor.

So you say when we, you know, how do we select the parks that were in it?

So filming took place, many, many more places than you see in the final movie.

And we told many, many more stories.

And then it just came down to what you can.

You fed in a 45 minute documentary that makes sense, that flows.

So there are fantastic parks that are not featured.

There are amazing species who, have been, protected by great conservation measures.

And we don't tell those stories.

So, so many.

There are more untold great stories than there are in the movie, but it just became a matter of time.

And what better helped us convey that message of nature restoring us.

The movie appears to go through all four seasons, so how long did it take to film this movie?

It took all four seasons, so it was a 12 month filming process.

So the team first came out in the summer, then did their fall shots, winter shots and spring shots, and then they came back to get a few more summer shots again.

And, you know, because they're not based in Ohio, it was kind of tricky.

I mean, you don't know exactly when the leaves are going to turn.

And so you're doing the best production you can.

You don't know the day the snow is going to fall or when the lake is going to ice over.

So, a lot of guessing, a lot of, predicting a lot of back and forth.

But it did take a full 12 months just for the filming.

And then, of course, the editing after that, which was pretty extensive and about $2 million total.

Is that right?

Yup.

How are you going to make this movie accessible to people who can't go to see it at Cosi in Columbus or the Great Lakes Science Center, or can't afford to go see it at those places?

How do you make this movie, which was paid for by taxpayer dollars, more accessible?

Absolutely.

We are absolutely going to do that.

So it is at the museum centers because we thought we would get interesting clientele there.

And that's where the Imax theater truly are, right.

And hopefully from out of state.

But there's Imax theaters, AMC, so it's playing at, you know, I think a dozen AMC theaters across the state.

So that's a much lower, ticket price.

And at several of the museum centers, once you get in the movie is free.

You don't have to buy a ticket on top of that.

But all that being said, you know, I think come mid to late spring, we will make it available to classrooms across the entire state.

So if you look on our website, there is a guide, a curriculum guide that teachers can use.

And it shows what science standards you can reach by using the stories in the movie.

And it has, you know, a whole curriculum plan.

So it'll be free to these classrooms and eventually, I mean, it'll just it will put it up on YouTube.

I mean, this is this is for the people.

But we did want to give the museum centers a chance to sort of premiere it.

When I ask you about a couple other things over the years, there's been concern about fracking in state parks, which is allowed under law signed in 2023.

Governor Mike DeWine has said there's no drilling in state parks, but there is fracking allowed and has been approved for Salt Fork State Park, which is the largest state park in the system.

How do you reassure people?

What do you tell people who are concerned that this is going to be a threat to the state parks, which I should know.

You just got a national award for being the best state park system in the country, from the American Academy for Parks and Recreation Administration, in partnership with the National Recreation and Parks Association.

You want to preserve that?

How do you make sure that you do when that's being allowed?

Yeah.

Well, Karen, thank you for mentioning the award.

We are so excited about that.

I think Ohioans can justly be proud that this is an incredibly beautiful state.

And our job at DNR is to provide ways for people to get access to the beauty that's already here.

So we are really, really proud of that.

Gold medal award I think are the finalists were, Wyoming and Florida.

We beat them and are very pleased that for the next two years, we will hold the title of the best state park system in the nation.

And I hope Ohioans appreciate that and get out and enjoy it.

But your question about fracking.

So, I mean, fracking has been around a long time and we have developed a pretty extensive series of rules and regulations, and a lot has been learned over the years, about what what what, what is safe and what is safer.

And we continually move towards what is safer.

And, I think the regulatory team does a great job.

I mean, fracking is going on under much of the state, right?

And where people live and where there's a lot going on.

And I think if it is, you know, we are committed to making it safe there.

If it's safe there, it's going to be safe under a state park.

So, I mean, we're talking about thousands of feet underground, which is where this activity is taking place.

We learn every day.

So.

So it's not like we know this is the final answer, and we're never going to continue our research.

We're never going to continue our inquiry.

We're never going to continue our efforts to be safer.

We will continue all of those things.

So, I don't we have a terrific team at our oil and gas, division.

We have fantastic regulators who go out there and they do their jobs, they hold people accountable.

And, you know, we are committed to continuing to do that.

Well, people see those effects when they go to the parks.

You will see what's happening.

I think very little.

I mean, in some cases there are the loss of buffers.

In some cases, you know, when all the leaves are gone and you can see a distance, maybe you're going to see, some of the completion pads.

I mean, when the drilling is actually going on, which is only for a very short period, that piece of it is a fairly short period.

Maybe at some great distance you might see that, we do have some provisions in place that they don't, you know, they make some noise and so that it won't make that noise during the drilling.

If that conflicts with the hunting season or other very important seasons at our parks.

And the oil and gas companies have worked with us on that.

So, you know, they, they want to be good neighbors.

I truly believe they want to be good neighbors.

They want to be cooperative.

They want the opportunity to, you know, support Ohio's, Ohio's and America's energy independence.

They want to extract that energy.

I think they want to do it safely, and they want to be good neighbors.

So, you know, a visitor to a park shouldn't see too much of that.

There might be a certain season.

There might be a certain angle where you see it, you know, across the park border.

But that should be relatively rare.

Is Odnr benefiting in any way from this drilling, or does that money, as I recall, that money is going back to the general fund rather than going specifically to and R. Yes.

It kind of kind of the way it worked.

So Salt Fork specifically did get some money because the way the statute is written, the park where the drilling occurs, they get a percentage of the, bonus revenue and they can use that for capital improvements.

So South Fork did get that, but the the bulk of the money, goes into an account.

And at this point in time, what has happened is that, the general revenue that our park system would typically depend upon has been replaced with that revenue.

So kind of budget neutral, for the agency in terms of that, Ohio, of course, still benefits.

But for our particular agency budget neutral, you're also dealing with plugging up inactive orphaned oil and gas wells.

Why is that important?

What's the status of that?

Yeah.

Well, it's important because, there's always the possibility that these orphaned wells will leak, and, there could be methane issues.

There could be oil issues.

There could be gas issues.

You know?

So.

So all of those dangers do exist to, more or less an extent.

I mean, when we go out and we look at intervening, well, we we rate it in terms of its priority in being fixed.

And some are emergencies and some are not.

They need to be taken care of, but they can be taken care of at a later time.

And, you know, so these Russian wells have been out there for some 100 years, you know, 150 years.

I mean, they've been out there for a long time.

Drilling in Ohio started back in the 1800s, and it was prolific around the state.

So they're everywhere.

Now we have the opportunity to take care of it for many years.

I think the program limped along, you know, 20, 50 wells a year.

Our goal is really to plug 500 wells a year.

I think that is sustainable.

I think we have the workforce in Ohio to do the work.

We have the funding to do that work.

We were a little short of that last fiscal year, but we were over 400 and we're working hard.

And already I think this fiscal year we've already plugged 188.

So we are on track to hit that 500 goal.

But, it is important to take care of them, to take care of them in priority order.

So the ones that could pose a danger are taken care first, and then we move on to the rest of them.

But it's an important thing to, take care of.

And we are fortunate in Ohio to have the funding to do that.

Ohio Wild at heart is playing at the Cincinnati Museum Center Cosi in Columbus, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Boone Shaft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, and Imagination Station in Toledo.

And we'll be at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland soon.

It's also available at several AMC theaters around the state.

And that is it for this week for my colleagues at the statehouse.

News Bear of Ohio Public Media.

Thanks for watching.

Please check out our website at State News Talk or find us online by searching State of Ohio Show.

You can stay in the know by registering for Ohio State House alerts through this QR code, or by texting state news to this number.

You can also hear more from us on our podcast, The Ohio State House scoop every Monday morning, and please join us again next time for the State of Ohio.

We close this week with images from this year's holiday tree lighting at the statehouse from our very own Sarah Donaldson.

Right.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

Support for the Statehouse News Bureau comes from Medical Mutual, dedicated to the health and well-being of Ohioans, offering health insurance plans, as well as dental, vision and wellness programs to help people achieve their goals and remain healthy.

More at Med mutual.com.

The law offices of Porter, right, Morris and Arthur LLP.

Porter, right, is dedicated to bringing inspired legal outcomes to the Ohio business community.

More at Porter.

Right.

Com Porter Wright inspired every day.

You know, Ohio Education Association representing 120,000 educators who are united in their mission to create the excellent public schools.

Every child deserves more at o h e talk.