RED ALERT — Ohio Statehouse Republicans are trying to ruin your Summer.

The Ohio House just announced that they will pause their Summer break and return to Session for one day on Monday, July 21st. Senate Republicans are trying to schedule a Summer Session date as well.

Do they just hate spending time with their families, or what?

The House plans to override some of Governor DeWine’s budget vetoes. They specifically mentioned:

• VETO NUMBER 55 — This law would let county budget commissions reduce the amount of a levy passed by voters. It would also cause delays for taxpayers trying to access their tax information for proper filing.
  • So Ohio Republicans are returning to Session to take power away from voters and make it HARDER for people to file their taxes??
• VETO NUMBER 65 — This law would take even more funding away from your local schools by requiring many types of levies to be included in the 20-mill floor calculation used for school funding.
  • So Ohio Republicans are returning to Session to actively take MORE school funding away from our kids??
• VETO NUMBER 66 — This law would ban several crucial funding options for your local public schools. It would ban replacement levies and key types of school renewal levies (such as emergency levies). It would also force some levies to be done as two votes — confusing voters and causing more levies to fail. If this veto override happens, your local public schools will be in big, big trouble.
  • So it really does seem like Ohio Republicans are returning to Session with the GOAL of hurting your kids??

Property taxes have been skyrocketing recently — so property tax reform is absolutely a real and valid demand for Ohioans to be making.

But the property tax changes proposed by Statehouse Republicans make no sense. They will be devastating to local schools, communities, and first responders.

And the Republicans’ proposed changes don’t seem to be based in any kind of data or research. As one lobbyist told me this week, “I double checked after the budget passed. All the vetoed property tax items were things they just made up.”

That’s probably why Ohio’s Republican governor vetoed those items!!

Are Statehouse Republicans really so arrogant that they think the governor vetoed good, effective tax policies? Why the hell would he do that?

ALSO — REMINDER: There is no excuse for the legislature to be passing these shoddy tax policies.

The previous legislature literally convened a “Joint Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform” to tackle these exact issues.

The committee heard from ~50 experts during nine separate meetings.

Then the committee wrote a detailed report laying out 21 recommendations for property tax changes Ohio should make.

None of those 21 proposals were included in the state budget bill.

Why would you create a whole committee and have them meet with dozens of experts and write a detailed report just to IGNORE EVERYTHING THEY RECOMMEND??

Ohio Republicans are truly about to fail an open book test.

TAKE ACTION — Remind Ohio’s Republican legislators that there is a reason why their own party’s governor vetoed the items he did.

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Remind them that Ohio wants REAL property tax reform — like these 21 recommendations from experts — not random crap thrown together without considering the consequences.

Tell them not to override ANY of the governor’s vetoes!

• Find your state rep by typing your address below this map.

Find your state senator by typing your address below this map.

DRAFT SCRIPT:
Hello. My name is [NAME], and I am a voter in your district. My zip code is [ZIP CODE].
I’m asking you not to override ANY of the governor’s budget vetoes.
Ohio absolutely needs property tax reform, but our Republican governor vetoed those budget items for a reason. They’re poorly thought out. They will cause more harm than good.
Instead, you should look at the property tax fixes proposed by last year’s Joint Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform.
They took the time to work with experts and map out changes that won’t hurt our schools and first responders.
Please, just let the budget remain as-is.
Does [LEGISLATOR] promise to vote NO on any budget veto overrides?
I will be sharing your responses with my networks and urging more people to call you.
Thank you.