As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session H. B. No. 154
2025-2026
Representatives Thomas, D., Glassburn
Cosponsors: Representatives Johnson, Click
To amend section 3735.67 of the Revised Code to
require school district approval of residential
community reinvestment area property tax
exemptions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 3735.67 of the Revised Code be
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3735.67. (A) The owner of real property located in a
community reinvestment area and eligible for exemption from
taxation under a resolution adopted pursuant to section 3735.66
of the Revised Code may file an application for an exemption
from real property taxation of a percentage of the assessed
valuation of a new structure, or of the increased assessed
valuation of an existing structure after remodeling began, if
the new structure or remodeling is completed after the effective
date of the resolution adopted pursuant to section 3735.66 of
the Revised Code. The application shall be filed with the
housing officer designated for the community reinvestment area
in which the property is located. If any part of the new
structure or remodeled structure that would be exempted is of
real property to be used for commercial or industrial purposes,
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As Introduced
the legislative authority and the owner of the property shall
enter into a written agreement pursuant to section 3735.671 of
the Revised Code prior to commencement of construction or
remodeling; if such an agreement is subject to approval by the
board of education of the school district within the territory
of which the property is or will be located, the agreement shall
not be formally approved by the legislative authority until the
board of education approves the agreement in the manner
prescribed by that section .
(B) The housing officer shall verify the construction of
the new structure or the cost of the remodeling of the existing
structure and the facts asserted in the application. The housing
officer shall determine whether the construction or remodeling
meets the requirements for an exemption under this section. In
cases involving a structure of historical or architectural
significance, the housing officer shall not determine whether
the remodeling meets the requirements for a tax exemption unless
the appropriateness of the remodeling has been certified, in
writing, by the society, association, agency, or legislative
authority that has designated the structure or by any
organization or person authorized, in writing, by such society,
association, agency, or legislative authority to certify the
appropriateness of the remodeling.
(C)(C)(1) If the construction or remodeling meets the
requirements for exemption, the housing officer shall forward
request approval of the application from the board of education
of the city, local, or exempted village school district within
the territory of which the property is or will be located.
For the purpose of obtaining such approval, the housing
officer shall certify a copy of the application to the board of
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education. The board, by resolution adopted by a majority of the
board, shall approve or disapprove the application and certify a
copy of the resolution to the property owner and the housing
officer not later than forty-five days after the application is
certified to the board. The board may include in the resolution
conditions under which the board would approve the application.
The housing officer may approve an application at any time after
the board certifies its resolution approving the application,
or, if the board approves the application conditionally, at any
time after the housing officer is notified that the conditions
are agreed to by the board and the property owner.
(2) Approval of an application by a board of education is
not required under division (C)(1) of this section if, for each
tax year the dwelling is exempted from taxation, the sum of the
following quantities, as estimated at or prior to the time the
application is formally approved by the housing officer, equals
or exceeds twenty-five per cent of the amount of taxes, as
estimated at or prior to that time, that would have been charged
and payable that year upon the dwelling had that dwelling not
been exempted from taxation:
(a) The amount of taxes charged and payable on any portion
of the assessed valuation of the new dwelling or of the
increased assessed valuation of an existing dwelling after
remodeling began that will not be exempted from taxation under
the agreement;
(b) The amount of any cash payment by the owner of the
dwelling to the school district and any payment by the
legislative authority that designated the community reinvestment
area to the school district pursuant to section 5709.82 of the
Revised Code.
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The estimates of quantities used for purposes of division
(C)(2) of this section shall be estimated by the housing
officer. Departures of the actual quantities from the estimates
subsequent to approval of the application do not invalidate the
application.
(3) If a board of education has adopted a resolution
waiving its right to approve applications under this division
and that resolution remains in effect, approval of an
application by the board is not required under division (C)(1)
of this section. If a board adopts a resolution waiving its
right to approve applications, the board shall certify a copy of
the resolution to the housing officer. If the board rescinds
such a resolution, it shall certify notice of the rescission to
the housing officer.
(4) If the owner of the dwelling agrees to make any
payment to a school district as described in division (C)(2)(b)
of this section, the owner shall agree to make payments to the
joint vocational school district within which the property is
located at the same rate or amount and under the same terms
received by the city, local, or exempted village school
district.
(5) Upon approval of an application, the housing officer
shall forward the application to the county auditor with a
certification as to the division of this section under which the
exemption is granted, and the period and percentage of the
exemption as determined by the legislative authority pursuant to
that division. If the construction or remodeling is of
commercial or industrial property and the legislative authority
is not required to certify a copy of a resolution under section
3735.671 of the Revised Code, the housing officer shall comply
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with the notice requirements prescribed under section 5709.83 of
the Revised Code, unless the board has adopted a resolution
under that section waiving its right to receive such a notice.
(D) Except as provided in division (F) of this section,
the tax exemption shall first apply in the year the construction
or remodeling would first be taxable but for this section. In
the case of remodeling that qualifies for exemption, a
percentage, not to exceed one hundred per cent, of the increased
assessed valuation of an existing structure after remodeling
began shall be exempted from real property taxation. In the case
of construction of a structure that qualifies for exemption, a
percentage, not to exceed one hundred per cent, of the assessed
value of the structure shall be exempted from real property
taxation. In either case, the percentage shall be the percentage
set forth in the agreement if the structure or remodeling is to
be used for commercial or industrial purposes, or the percentage
set forth in the resolution describing the community
reinvestment area if the structure or remodeling is to be used
for residential purposes.
The construction of new structures and the remodeling of
existing structures are hereby declared to be a public purpose
for which exemptions from real property taxation may be granted
for the following periods:
(1) For every dwelling and commercial or industrial
properties, located within the same community reinvestment area,
upon which the cost of remodeling is at least two thousand five
hundred dollars in the case of a dwelling containing not more
than two family units or at least five thousand dollars in the
case of all other property, a period to be determined by the
legislative authority adopting the resolution, but not exceeding
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fifteen years. The period of exemption for a dwelling described
in division (D)(1) of this section may be extended by a
legislative authority for up to an additional ten years if the
dwelling is a structure of historical or architectural
significance, is a certified historic structure that has been
subject to federal tax treatment under 26 U.S.C. 47 and 170(h),
and units within the structure have been leased to individual
tenants for five consecutive years;
(2) Except as provided in division (F) of this section,
for construction of every dwelling, and commercial or industrial
structure located within the same community reinvestment area, a
period to be determined by the legislative authority adopting
the resolution, but not exceeding one of the following:
(a) Thirty years, if the commercial or industrial
structure is situated on the site of a megaproject and is owned
and occupied by a megaproject operator as defined in division
(A)(12) of section 122.17 of the Revised Code, or is not
situated on the site of a megaproject but is owned and occupied
by a megaproject supplier that meets the requirements described
in division (A)(13)(b) of section 122.17 of the Revised Code;
(b) Fifteen years, for any other dwelling or commercial or
industrial structure.
(E) Any person, board, or officer authorized by section
5715.19 of the Revised Code to file complaints with the county
board of revision may file a complaint with the housing officer
challenging the continued exemption of any property granted an
exemption under this section. A complaint against exemption
shall be filed prior to the thirty-first day of December of the
tax year for which taxation of the property is requested. The
housing officer shall determine whether the property continues
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to meet the requirements for exemption and shall certify the
housing officer's findings to the complainant. If the housing
officer determines that the property does not meet the
requirements for exemption, the housing officer shall notify the
county auditor, who shall correct the tax list and duplicate
accordingly.
(F) The owner of a dwelling constructed in a community
reinvestment area may file an application for an exemption after
the year the construction first became subject to taxation. The
application shall be processed in accordance with the procedures
prescribed under this section and shall be granted if the
construction that is the subject of the application otherwise
meets the requirements for an exemption under this section. If
approved, the exemption sought in the application first applies
in the year the application is filed. An exemption approved
pursuant to this division continues only for those years
remaining in the period described in division (D)(2) of this
section. No exemption may be claimed for any year in that period
that precedes the year in which the application is filed.
Section 2. That existing section 3735.67 of the Revised
Code is hereby repealed.
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