State Rep. David Thomas, a Republican who represents parts of Trumbull County, introduced his fifth bill in the Ohio House to change the structure of the state’s property tax system.

Thomas, R-Jefferson, serves as vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and during his two-plus months in the state Legislature, he’s been the House’s point person on property tax reform.

The latest bill from Thomas — with state Rep. Chris Glasburn, D-North Olmstead, as the other lead sponsor — would give school districts the option to not grant automatic property tax abatements to new residential housing developments.

The current law, which took effect in April 2023, provides up to 100% property tax abatements for new houses for up to 15 years.

The Residential Community Reinvestment Areas Reform bill would permit school districts — which receive the largest portion of a property tax bill — to have a say in the abatement, Thomas said. A school district could choose to keep the full 100% abatement for the school portion of the tax bill, reduce it or eliminate it, he said.

Thomas said in most cases, school districts would eliminate the abatement, but they don’t have any input in the decision.

“When you get new properties coming in, they don’t pay their fair share, but the owners get to vote on levies,” he said. “This bill is kind of a middle ground. Schools don’t have any say right now.”

The legislation is modeled on language of current residential tax incremental financing, which allows local governments to collect fees in lieu of taxes to finance economic development and residential housing projects with the school districts part of the discussion on abatements, Thomas said.

“With new homes, there are more students in schools and higher costs to the surrounding taxpayers, which means more taxes to the current property owner,” he said. “Folks are voting for levies and using service so they should be contributing to the tax base and helping lower the surrounding property owners’ bills.”

Thomas added: “The idea of this bill to have new homes paying into the schools right away will help lower the animosity towards new housing developments.”

This is the fifth property tax relief bill Thomas, a former Ashtabula County auditor, has introduced since he joined the Ohio House in January — though the proposals have all come in the last five weeks — and said he plans to propose more.

The other four include an overhaul to the homestead and owner-occupancy credit plan that would change the exemption from value removed off the property to a flat credit amount given to eligible property owners. On average, the new credit would double the amount of savings to property owners, he said.

Thomas also has proposed the Truth in Guaranteed Tax Rate legislation to ensure levies that voters approve for school districts are counted toward the minimum guaranteed tax rate public schools receive, as well as the Flip the Script Act to reform how the process of valuing property is completed during revaluations by putting county auditors in charge of the sales used to determine valuation changes and after the burden to challenge sales to the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Thomas also proposed total property tax relief for surviving military spouses, called Gold Star families. The exemption would no longer apply if the spouse remarries or lives with another person who does not share a common ancestor.

The House approved the Gold Star bill last year, but it didn’t get out of the state Senate.

Thomas said some of his bills benefit some entities, such as school districts, while others negatively impact them. The goal, he said, is property tax relief for Ohio residents.