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Ross County Auditor Jeff Lehner released the following statement regarding Ohio House Bills 129, 186, 309 and 335, which were delivered by legislators Thursday to Gov. Mike DeWine.

“Four bipartisan property tax relief bills today were delivered by the legislature to Gov. DeWine, who now has ten days to decide whether he will sign them into law” Lehner wrote in a n email to media Thursday.

“Included among these are a legislative plan to provide state-funded tax credits to second half bills next year to offset unvoted school tax increases on the only portion of 2026 tax bills that we are not able to deal with at the local level under current law.”

“As previously shared throughout Ross County’s state-mandated reappraisal process, our efforts this year working with local officials across Ross County to cut 2026 property tax rates have paid off such that the only substantial property tax increases left on the table are the school districts’, and only state officials, specifically the governor at this point, can act on these.”

Lehner added “I strongly encourage Gov. DeWine to sign these bills into law and hope that he will. If you are inclined to do so, I encourage Ross County residents to contact the governor’s office to make their views known.”

This is a developing story.