Staff report

State Rep. Jack K. Daniels (R-New Franklin) and Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield) joined the 61-vote majority in the House to overturn Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a property tax provision in the recently passed state budget.

It’s one of three vetoes related to property taxes that Republicans are seeking to overturn, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. Roemer, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, led a joint committee on property tax reform last year and started the discussion before the July 21 vote.

If the Senate also supports the override, then taxing entities like local governments would be prohibited from seeking replacement levies. School districts would have additional levy restrictions, such as emergency levies.  

Replacement levies can replace an expiring levy with the same or higher tax rate, and emergency levies expire after a certain number of years. 

Republicans have contended that replacement or emergency levies are not properly understood by voters and often increase taxes, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. Democrats, however, have said it will not provide tax relief and is the result of decreased state support of local communities and services.

Daniels expressed his support for the veto override in a statement after the vote.

“I am strongly committed to property tax reform, and one of the most important parts of that is making property taxes easier to understand,” he said. “Removing the confusing replacement levies is one step in the right direction.”

State Representatives Derrick Hall (D-Akron) and Veronica Sims (D-Akron) — along with every Democrat present — voted in opposition. Hall and Sims issued statements that describe the measure as a restriction on voters’ options to support schools and local governments and also highlighted multiple bipartisan bills that have been introduced in the House to provide tax relief.

“Today, we were called from summer recess to session under the illusion we would be considering three of the sixty-seven vetoes in the biennium budget made by the governor,” Sims said. “What we got was exactly that, an illusion. Just that, an illusion.”

Hall described the vote as a “total waste of time and taxpayer dollars.” 

“This body voted to override a veto that provides zero targeted property tax relief and fails to address Ohio’s property tax crisis,” he said. “The majority in this body claims to care about the burden taxpayers face while doing nothing to solve the problem.”

Daniels introduced two bills on July 1, neither of which had been sent to a committee by the end of the month. 

House Bill 387, which he proposed alongside Rep. Mark Sigrist (D-Grove City), would allow municipalities or townships to authorize Sunday liquor sales without a local election. House Bill 391, which Daniels sponsored with Rep. Heidi Workman (R-Rootstown), would require tax bills and ballots to express tax rates as a percentage of true value in addition to mills. 

State Sen. Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) introduced a bill in early July that would expand the definition and regulations for “high-volume dog breeders” under state law. They are currently defined as an establishment with six or more breeding dogs that meet additional criteria for the number of dogs sold. Instead, the criteria would simply be selling dogs to dog brokers, pet stores or the public.

Senate Bill 232 would require all surgical procedures and euthanasia to be performed by a licensed veterinarian and also require, rather than permit, the director of agriculture to perform unannounced inspections. It remained as introduced in late July. 

U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes sponsored three bills — the Get Your Money Back Act, the HOMES Act, and an amendment to the Internal Revenue Code. All three were introduced to the House Committee on Ways and Means. 

 

The first act would require the treasury secretary to continue the free, direct-file tax return system established by the Internal Revenue Service. The HOMES act, which stands for Houses Over Middle-Class Exploitation Schemes, would amend the tax code to remove interest and depreciation deductions for those who own 50 or more single-family properties. 

The other amendment would provide a tax deduction for overtime compensation. The full language was not yet available in late July. 

Sykes cast her vote for several acts on the national level throughout the past month.  

She supported the Communications Security Act, which directs the Federal Communications Commission to create a council for making recommendations related to security, reliability and other matters for communications networks. Sykes also voted for the Consumer Safety Technology Act that would order the Consumer Product Safety Commission to explore potential uses for artificial intelligence and blockchain technology in pursuit of its consumer protection work. 

Both bills passed the House in July and were sent to the Senate.

Sykes opposed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 that passed the House on July 17 and was sent to the Senate. The bill would direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish clear regulations for digital assets, such as cryptocurrency, and commodities.

She also voted against Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal year 2026. In a prepared statement, she cited the bill’s instruction to the department to find $7.75 billion in cuts.

“The FY2026 Defense Appropriations Bill is the latest example of the majority attempting to manipulate our budget process to cut taxes for the richest people in our country – and this time they want to sell out military readiness and the welfare of our troops,” Sykes said. “This bill is too extreme – I could not in good conscience vote for a bill that puts our servicemembers in harm’s way.” 

Ohio Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson), in a late July newsletter, provided an update on her work as chairwoman of the General Government Committee and the Higher Education Committee.

The Higher Education Committee held hearings on the state’s operating budget as it related to education and the Adjunct General’s Department, which oversees the Ohio Army National Guard, the Ohio Air National Guard and the State Defense Force.

Roegner reported that the General Government Committee held hearings on several bills and advanced Senate Bill 63, which would prohibit the use of rank choice voting; Senate Bill 86, which would regulate and tax “intoxicating hemp” and drinkable cannabinoid products; and Senate Bill 4, which would establish an Election Integrity Unit. 

“We also adopted my Senate Resolution 68, which urges the relocation of NASA’s headquarters to Ohio, as its current lease in Washington, D.C. is set to expire next year,” she wrote. “This is the perfect time to consider a new home for NASA, and we have formally sent our resolution to the White House for consideration. Ohio is a natural fit — we are the birthplace of aviation and have a proud legacy in both flight and space exploration.”

Hall attended a handful of events throughout July that included speaking about the state budget at a Hudson Democratic Club meeting, participating in Stow’s Fourth of July parade, and hosting a birthday bash and re-election fundraiser with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton as special guest.

Roemer spoke at Norton’s dedication ceremony for Veterans Memorial Park on July 4. He also attended the July 14 Cuyahoga Falls City Council meeting — where the council accepted $3 million from the state for the Cuyahoga Falls Regional Fire Training Complex — alongside Roegner and Weinstein.

“Our bipartisan delegation secured $1.5M in the House and another $1.5M in the Senate to help make this transformational project a reality,” Weinstein said in a Facebook post. “This center will be available to fire departments across the region, and the training our brave firemen and first responders receive here will save lives.” 

Weinstein also spoke at the Geauga County Democrats’ annual dinner. 

  

Weinstein was particularly active on Facebook, commenting on a range of topics throughout the past month. He criticized U.S. Republican Senators Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno for voting to eliminate $1.1 billion in federal funding designated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.

“As a result, children will lose access to educational programming, rural communities will lose vital emergency alerts and trusted news, and the fabric of non‑commercial, unbiased journalism will continue to unravel,” he wrote.

More recently, Weinstein and Sykes responded to statements made by Vice President JD Vance during a visit to Canton-based steel manufacturer Metallus. During the July 28 visit, he called out Sykes for not supporting President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and described Akron, Canton and Columbus as without laws.

"How many of you all have wanted to go to downtown Akron, or downtown Canton, or downtown Columbus for a meal, but you're worried because the local authorities in these big cities have allowed lawlessness to run wild?” he said, according to News 5 Cleveland.

Sykes responded with multiple posts on X, saying Trump’s bill will lead to “job loss, higher costs, while adding trillions to our national debt.” She also shared that she lives in downtown Akron and loves her community.

“Instead of tearing us down, help us build up great American cities like Akron and Canton,” Sykes said. “We have the potential, grit, and the people to make it happen.” 

Weinstein also took offense at the vice president’s characterization of the budget bill and downtown Akron. 

“Akron is an amazing city full of incredible people and I’m PROUD and HONORED to represent you,” he wrote on Facebook. “I cannot imagine visiting an area I represent, throwing it under the bus and trashing it. Just garbage.”