To amend sections 323.12, 323.13, 325.31, 4503.06, 5709.56, and 5713.01 and to enact sections 323.123 and 5705.171 of the Revised Code to modify the law governing property taxes and other local taxes.
HB608 makes a broad set of changes to Ohio property-tax administration and certain local tax procedures. It would require county treasurers to mail or deliver tax bills at least 30 days before the first and second installment due dates for real property and manufactured/mobile home taxes, and it adds a new payment-extension option for property owners with no delinquent taxes. Under that new option, a county treasurer could enter into a contract with an eligible owner to spread current-year taxes and assessments into either four quarterly installments or twelve monthly installments, with the extended amounts not treated as delinquent unless the contract is voided.
The bill also expands electronic delivery options for tax bills, allowing county treasurers to adopt policies for delivery by email or text-capable telephone number, while making those contact details nonpublic records. It revises county auditor and treasurer notice requirements for real property and manufactured home valuation changes, delinquent tax notices, and related billing procedures. In addition, HB608 changes how real estate assessment fund money may be used, clarifies manufactured home tax billing and delinquency rules, and updates the statutory framework for valuation, appeals, and collection of manufactured home taxes.
HB608 would amend several core tax-administration statutes, including sections governing real property tax payment timing, manufactured home taxation, county assessment funding, and appraisal notice procedures. It would also create new section 323.123 to authorize installment-style tax payment agreements for qualifying property owners and new section 5705.171 to allow a taxing authority, in certain circumstances, to combine a new or renewed local tax question with a reduction, termination, or waiver of an existing local tax. The bill further revises section 5709.56 to extend and clarify the property-tax exemption for pre-residential development property, increasing the exempt period from seven to nine ensuing tax years and making the change applicable to pending and previously approved applications. Overall, the bill would affect county treasurers, county auditors, taxpayers, manufactured-home owners, and local taxing authorities by changing billing, collection, exemption, and ballot-language procedures.
Because HB608 was only introduced and had not yet been voted on in the available record, there is no formal vote history to gauge support or opposition. The bill’s structure suggests a generally administrative and taxpayer-relief orientation, especially through the new installment-payment option, expanded electronic billing, and additional notice requirements. At the same time, the measure also preserves collection tools and delinquency consequences, indicating an effort to balance taxpayer flexibility with county revenue administration.
The most likely points of contention are the new installment-payment contract for property taxes, the extension of the pre-residential development property exemption, and the ballot-language mechanism allowing a tax levy to be paired with a reduction or termination of another local tax. County officials may scrutinize the administrative burden of new notice, billing, and electronic-delivery requirements, while taxing authorities may be concerned about revenue timing and the effect of the expanded exemption on the tax base. Property owners and developers, by contrast, are likely to favor the added payment flexibility and the longer exemption period.