Bernard Willis

This bill modifies how the state conducts property tax sales-assessment ratio studies, which are used to determine assessed values for taxation. It aims to tighten and clarify the process to produce more accurate, predictable assessments for property owners. CPAC supports efforts to make property taxation more transparent and accurate for taxpayers and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-11-12 by a vote of 31-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-06-04 by a vote of 93-0. The bill later became law.

This bill enacts the E-Verify Workforce Integrity Act, requiring certain construction industry employers to use E-Verify and punishing specified hiring practices that enable illegal employment. It seeks to protect lawful workers and uphold immigration laws in a notoriously abuse-prone sector. CPAC supports enforcing immigration law through tools like E-Verify to protect American workers and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 33-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-06-11 by a vote of 92-0. The bill later became law.

This bill allows natural gas companies to use alternative rate plans to serve large-load customers and revises how certain public utility property is valued. It is intended to give energy-intensive employers more customized rate options while updating outdated utility valuation procedures. CPAC supports flexible, market-oriented energy pricing that helps keep major employers competitive and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-10-15 by a vote of 31-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 91-0. The bill later became law.

This bill modifies voter roll maintenance procedures, provisional voting rules, deadlines and requirements for returning absentee ballots, and the membership of the Ohio Election Integrity Commission. It tightens election administration to reduce opportunities for fraud or error in absentee and provisional voting. CPAC supports robust election integrity, accurate voter rolls, and clear absentee ballot deadlines and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 23-10. The House passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 61-30. The bill later became law.

This bill includes fixed-sum levies in a school district’s millage floor calculations and authorizes fixed-sum levies under new limitations. It is designed to curb back-door property tax increases by school districts that manipulate millage structures to squeeze more out of taxpayers. CPAC opposes hidden property tax hikes and supports reforms that limit local tax gaming and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 23-10. The House passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 81-8. The bill later became law.

This bill authorizes a reduction in certain school district property taxes impacted by millage floors, limiting increases to inflation, adjusts residential property tax reductions, and revises certification of tax abstracts. It is aimed at protecting homeowners from runaway school property tax hikes while refining the state funding and relief framework. CPAC supports restraining property tax growth and providing meaningful tax relief to homeowners and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 30-3. The House passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 72-15. The bill later became law.

This bill changes the law governing county budget commissions and property taxation, adjusting how levies and revenues are reviewed and approved. It seeks to bring more discipline and clarity to local budgeting and property tax oversight. CPAC supports stronger oversight of local taxation and budgeting to protect property owners and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 23-10. The House passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 64-25. The bill later became law.

This bill enacts the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act to overhaul how state universities operate, including governance, academic centers, institutional priorities, and certain labor practices. It is designed to rein in ideological abuses, increase transparency, and ensure public institutions serve students and taxpayers instead of entrenched campus bureaucracies. CPAC supports efforts to break the grip of left-wing ideology on higher education and to restore accountability to public universities and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-26 by a vote of 20-11. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-19 by a vote of 59-34. Since this was one of the most important bills of the session, votes for this bill count for double in the CPAC score. The bill later became law.

This bill limits revenue increases from inside millage levies that occur simply because of a property reappraisal or update. It prevents local governments from exploiting rising valuations to quietly hike property tax collections without voter approval. CPAC opposes stealth property tax increases caused by reappraisal and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 23-10. The House passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 67-22. The bill later became law.

This resolution urges Congress to establish a special committee to investigate the East Palestine train derailment and the federal EPA’s response. It calls out federal mismanagement and seeks accountability for bureaucratic failures that harmed a local community. CPAC supports aggressive oversight of federal agencies like the EPA when their incompetence or overreach harms citizens and supported this bill. The House passed this bill on 2025-06-18 by a vote of 97-0.

This bill creates a community energy program and pilot program and adds extensive new statutory sections to define and administer alternative electricity arrangements, including measurements in alternating current. It pushes government-directed "community" energy schemes that risk distorting the market in favor of politically favored green projects. CPAC opposes using government programs to tilt the energy market toward subsidized green projects instead of allowing an all-of-the-above, market-driven approach and opposed this bill. The House passed this bill on 2025-11-19 by a vote of 77-8. The bill did not become law.

This bill eliminates the ability of local governments to impose replacement property tax levies, ensuring property owners are not subject to continuous and excessive tax burdens. It safeguards taxpayer dollars from being misused under the guise of levy adjustments. CPAC supported this bill. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-19 by a vote of 62-30. The bill did not become law.