Dear Neighbor,
It's an honor to serve as your State Representative for the 63rd Ohio House District.
I invite everybody to read more about what I'm working on at the Statehouse by visiting my webpage here, or checking out my previous newsletters here.
God Bless,
Adam Bird
State Representative
Ohio's 63rd House District
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Rep. Bird Votes on Budget Plan that Delivers Property Tax Relief for Ohioans and Implements Flat Tax
Schools to receive record state funding
State Representative Bird voted in support of Am. Sub. House Bill 96 –the State Operating Budget. The budget plan, which allocates funding for state programs and operations for the next two years, includes provisions that aim to protect freedom, family and fiscal responsibility – approving historic property tax relief for Ohioans, implementing a flat tax rate and providing a record amount of state funding for school districts.
LANDMARK PROPERTY TAX REFORM
In addition to billions in direct relief, the bill makes a variety of structural changes that aim to promote transparency, update the levy process and enhance checks and balances for property tax rates at the local level, ensuring that taxpayers see more direct control over ballooning property tax bills. The bill also provides direct relief to residential homeowners by allowing the Board of County Commissioners to provide up to a 2.5% owner-occupancy tax credit on a taxpayer’s bill (modeled off the state’s current owner-occupancy credit) for all residents and a permissive homestead exemption for those who qualify for the state homestead exemptions.
A STRONGER ECONOMY WITH A FLAT TAX
Republicans in the legislature have continued to phase down the state income tax in recent years, providing savings for Ohioans. The new budget plan takes the top tax bracket down from 3.5% to 3.125% in tax year 2025 and down to 2.75% in tax year 2026, and into the future. The move to a flat tax makes Ohio more competitive with surrounding states, simplifies the tax code, and spurs revenue.
BOOSTING FUNDING FOR OHIO SCHOOLS
The budget prioritizes the education and well-being of Ohio students, ensuring that school districts are funded through the final phase of the Cupp-Patterson funding model. Ohio public schools will receive nearly $700 million more for public education over the biennium than they received in FY25.
REVITALIZING LOCAL COMMUNITIES
House Bill 96 continues to invest in various state initiatives that help solidify Ohio as the best place in the nation to live, work, raise a family and start a business. The bill increases funding for Brownfield Remediation, provides funding to help with blight, continued investments for the All Ohio Future Fund, further expands the Welcome Home Ohio program, and helps address the housing shortage across the state through two new targeted initiatives designed to incentivize additional single family home construction.
SUPPORTING OHIO FAMILIES
To help families who need assistance paying for child care, the budget establishes the Child Care Choice program, providing $100 million for eligible families, helping more Ohioans cover the cost of needed child care services. The bill also increases funding for the Help Me Grow program, which is a system of supports for pregnant women, caregivers with new babies, and families with young children with developmental delays and disabilities.
BACKING THE BLUE
This budget invests in supporting law enforcement and promoting public safety by providing $65 million over the biennium for local law enforcement training, $21 million over the biennium to support local costs of the MARCS program, which helps equip first responders to better respond to emergency situations and $27 million over the biennium for the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center. Additionally, the budget includes $8 million to provide grants to small county volunteer fire departments.
PRIORITIZING WORKFORCE READINESS AND HIGHER EDUCATION
This budget makes a marked effort to prioritize workforce readiness in Ohio, investing in various higher education programs such as the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, the Choose Ohio First Scholarship, and an increase in the State Share of Instruction by 1% each year, helping lower costs for students at Ohio’s state institutions of higher education.
PROMOTING HEALTHCARE TRANSPARENCY
In an effort to promote transparency in the Medicaid program, the bill works to protect taxpayer dollars and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse through a number of provisions, creating a variety of new reporting requirements that the Ohio Department of Medicaid must follow and ensures that important audits will be conducted on state Medicaid spending.
CHAMPIONING CONSERVATIVE VALUES
The State of Ohio’s budget plan takes a strong stance on reinforcing conservative values.
- Ushers in substantial property tax relief beginning in 2026.
- Enacts a flat income tax, making Ohio one of the lowest income tax states in the United States.
- Establishes a statewide policy recognizing that there are only two genders.
- Excludes the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages under the SNAP program.
- Removes the Governor’s proposed tax increases and several proposed fee increases.
- Removes all gaming/gambling expansion provisions.
- Requires libraries to keep materials related to sexual orientation or gender identity out of the view of minors.
- Eliminates some affirmative action requirements for state contracts.
- Prevents menstrual products from being distributed in men’s bathrooms in state-owned buildings.
- Makes substantial improvements and enhancements to Ohio’s school choice opportunities for students.
- Prohibits Medicaid funds from being used for DEI programs, combatting discrimination and indoctrination.
- Includes $10 million each FY for the Parenting and Pregnancy Program and establishes a $750 tax credit for pregnancy resource center donations, defending the sanctity of life and supporting pregnant mothers.
- Expands the Ohio Department of Health’s report providing statistics for all abortion reports
- Prohibits state agencies from flying any flag except the American flag, state flag, POW/MIA flag, or a flag with an official state agency logo
- Prohibits state funds from being distributed to youth shelters that promote or affirm social gender transition.
House Bill 96 now goes to the Governor for consideration.
Funding Ohio's Schools
Rep. Bird recently was featured on The Local12 Town Hall to talk about school funding in Ohio. Representative Bird's remarks begin at 16:32.
Happy 4th of July!
Representative Bird wishes everyone in District 63 a happy and
safe independence day!
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