SB 141: Authorize tax levies supporting pre-kindergarten programs

As Introduced

136th General Assembly Regular Session 2025-2026

S. B. No. 141

Senator Hicks-Hudson

Cosponsors: Senators DeMora, Ingram

To amend section 5705.19 and to enact section 1
307.852 of the Revised Code to authorize 2
counties and other political subdivisions to 3
place on the ballot tax levies supporting pre- 4
kindergarten programs and to establish 5
conditions on a county's use of moneys derived 6
from the levied tax. 7

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 5705.19 be amended and section 8
307.852 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: 9
Sec. 307.852. (A) The board of county commissioners of any 10
county shall appropriate money derived from a tax levied 11
pursuant to division (BBB) of section 5705.19 of the Revised 12
Code to one or more nonprofit entities organized under the laws 13
of this state, exempt from federal income taxation under section 14
501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described 15
under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and 16
located in the county, if the board determines that each entity 17
meets the requirements of division (B) of this section. 18

(B) To be eligible to receive money under this section, a

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

not-for-profit entity shall provide assurances to the board of 20
county commissioners that the entity shall dispense the money 21
directly to child care centers and preschool programs that are 22
all of the following: 23
(1) Licensed under Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code or 24
sections 3301.52 to 3301.59 of the Revised Code; 25
(2) Rated in the middle ratings tier or higher under the 26
step up to quality program established by section 5104.29 of the 27
Revised Code; 28
(3) Providers of early learning and development services 29
to children who are at least four years of age, but not yet 30
attending kindergarten. 31
An entity also shall provide assurances to the board that, 32
when dispensing money directly to child care centers and 33
preschool programs, the entity, centers, and programs shall 34
prioritize assisting children and families with incomes not 35
exceeding four hundred per cent of the federal poverty line with 36
the costs of pre-kindergarten. 37
(C) If the board of county commissioners finds that a not- 38
for-profit entity has improperly used money appropriated under 39
this section, the board shall adopt and certify to the entity a 40
resolution demanding that the entity refund the improperly used 41
money. If the entity does not refund the money within a 42
reasonable period of time, the board shall adopt a resolution 43
directing the prosecuting attorney to bring a civil action to 44
recover the money. 45
Sec. 5705.19. This section does not apply to school 46
districts, county school financing districts, or lake facilities 47
authorities. 48

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

The taxing authority of any subdivision at any time and in 49
any year, by vote of two-thirds of all the members of the taxing 50
authority, may declare by resolution and certify the resolution 51
to the board of elections not less than ninety days before the 52
election upon which it will be voted that the amount of taxes 53
that may be raised within the ten-mill limitation will be 54
insufficient to provide for the necessary requirements of the 55
subdivision and that it is necessary to levy a tax in excess of 56
that limitation for any of the following purposes: 57
(A) For current expenses of the subdivision, except that 58
the total levy for current expenses of a detention facility 59
district or district organized under section 2151.65 of the 60
Revised Code shall not exceed two mills and that the total levy 61
for current expenses of a combined district organized under 62
sections 2151.65 and 2152.41 of the Revised Code shall not 63
exceed four mills; 64
(B) For the payment of debt charges on certain described 65
bonds, notes, or certificates of indebtedness of the subdivision 66
issued subsequent to January 1, 1925; 67
(C) For the debt charges on all bonds, notes, and 68
certificates of indebtedness issued and authorized to be issued 69
prior to January 1, 1925; 70
(D) For a public library of, or supported by, the 71
subdivision under whatever law organized or authorized to be 72
supported; 73
(E) For a municipal university, not to exceed two mills 74
over the limitation of one mill prescribed in section 3349.13 of 75
the Revised Code; 76
(F) For the construction or acquisition of any specific 77

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

permanent improvement or class of improvements that the taxing 78
authority of the subdivision may include in a single bond issue; 79
(G) For the general construction, reconstruction, 80
resurfacing, and repair of streets, roads, and bridges in 81
municipal corporations, counties, or townships; 82
(H) For parks and recreational purposes; 83
(I) For providing and maintaining fire apparatus, 84
mechanical resuscitators, underwater rescue and recovery 85
equipment, or other fire equipment and appliances, buildings and 86
sites therefor, or sources of water supply and materials 87
therefor, for the establishment and maintenance of lines of 88
fire-alarm communications, for the payment of firefighting 89
companies or permanent, part-time, or volunteer firefighting, 90
emergency medical service, administrative, or communications 91
personnel to operate the same, including the payment of any 92
employer contributions required for such personnel under section 93
145.48 or 742.34 of the Revised Code, for the purchase of 94
ambulance equipment, for the provision of ambulance, paramedic, 95
or other emergency medical services operated by a fire 96
department or firefighting company, or for the payment of other 97
related costs; 98
(J) For providing and maintaining motor vehicles, 99
communications, other equipment, buildings, and sites for such 100
buildings used directly in the operation of a police department, 101
for the payment of salaries of permanent or part-time police, 102
communications, or administrative personnel to operate the same, 103
including the payment of any employer contributions required for 104
such personnel under section 145.48 or 742.33 of the Revised 105
Code, for the payment of the costs incurred by townships as a 106
result of contracts made with other political subdivisions in 107

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

order to obtain police protection, for the provision of 108
ambulance or emergency medical services operated by a police 109
department, or for the payment of other related costs; 110
(K) For the maintenance and operation of a county home or 111
detention facility; 112
(L) For community developmental disabilities programs and 113
services pursuant to Chapter 5126. of the Revised Code, except 114
that such levies shall be subject to the procedures and 115
requirements of section 5705.222 of the Revised Code; 116
(M) For regional planning; 117
(N) For a county's share of the cost of maintaining and 118
operating schools, district detention facilities, forestry 119
camps, or other facilities, or any combination thereof, 120
established under section 2151.65 or 2152.41 of the Revised Code 121
or both of those sections; 122
(O) For providing for flood defense, providing and 123
maintaining a flood wall or pumps, and other purposes to prevent 124
floods; 125
(P) For maintaining and operating sewage disposal plants 126
and facilities; 127
(Q) For the purpose of purchasing, acquiring, 128
constructing, enlarging, improving, equipping, repairing, 129
maintaining, or operating, or any combination of the foregoing, 130
a county transit system pursuant to sections 306.01 to 306.13 of 131
the Revised Code, or of making any payment to a board of county 132
commissioners operating a transit system or a county transit 133
board pursuant to section 306.06 of the Revised Code; 134
(R) For the subdivision's share of the cost of acquiring 135

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

or constructing any schools, forestry camps, detention 136
facilities, or other facilities, or any combination thereof, 137
under section 2151.65 or 2152.41 of the Revised Code or both of 138
those sections; 139
(S) For the prevention, control, and abatement of air 140
pollution; 141
(T) For maintaining and operating cemeteries; 142
(U) For providing ambulance service, emergency medical 143
service, or both; 144
(V) For providing for the collection and disposal of 145
garbage or refuse, including yard waste; 146
(W) For the payment of the police officer employers' 147
contribution or the firefighter employers' contribution required 148
under sections 742.33 and 742.34 of the Revised Code; 149
(X) For the construction and maintenance of a drainage 150
improvement pursuant to section 6131.52 of the Revised Code; 151
(Y) For providing or maintaining senior citizens services 152
or facilities as authorized by section 307.694, 307.85, 505.70, 153
or 505.706 or division (EE) of section 717.01 of the Revised 154
Code; 155
(Z) For the provision and maintenance of zoological park 156
services and facilities as authorized under section 307.76 of 157
the Revised Code; 158
(AA) For the maintenance and operation of a free public 159
museum of art, science, or history; 160
(BB) For the establishment and operation of a 9-1-1 161
system, as defined in section 128.01 of the Revised Code; 162

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

(CC) For the purpose of acquiring, rehabilitating, or 163
developing rail property or rail service. As used in this 164
division, "rail property" and "rail service" have the same 165
meanings as in section 4981.01 of the Revised Code. This 166
division applies only to a county, township, or municipal 167
corporation. 168
(DD) For the purpose of acquiring property for, 169
constructing, operating, and maintaining community centers as 170
provided for in section 755.16 of the Revised Code; 171
(EE) For the creation and operation of an office or joint 172
office of economic development, for any economic development 173
purpose of the office, and to otherwise provide for the 174
establishment and operation of a program of economic development 175
pursuant to sections 307.07 and 307.64 of the Revised Code, or 176
to the extent that the expenses of a county land reutilization 177
corporation organized under Chapter 1724. of the Revised Code 178
are found by the board of county commissioners to constitute the 179
promotion of economic development, for the payment of such 180
operations and expenses; 181
(FF) For the purpose of acquiring, establishing, 182
constructing, improving, equipping, maintaining, or operating, 183
or any combination of the foregoing, a township airport, landing 184
field, or other air navigation facility pursuant to section 185
505.15 of the Revised Code; 186
(GG) For the payment of costs incurred by a township as a 187
result of a contract made with a county pursuant to section 188
505.263 of the Revised Code in order to pay all or any part of 189
the cost of constructing, maintaining, repairing, or operating a 190
water supply improvement; 191

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

(HH) For a board of township trustees to acquire, other than by appropriation, an ownership interest in land, water, or wetlands, or to restore or maintain land, water, or wetlands in which the board has an ownership interest, not for purposes of recreation, but for the purposes of protecting and preserving the natural, scenic, open, or wooded condition of the land, water, or wetlands against modification or encroachment resulting from occupation, development, or other use, which may be styled as protecting or preserving "greenspace" in the resolution, notice of election, or ballot form. Except as otherwise provided in this division, land is not acquired for purposes of recreation, even if the land is used for recreational purposes, so long as no building, structure, or fixture used for recreational purposes is permanently attached or affixed to the land. Except as otherwise provided in this division, land that previously has been acquired in a township for these greenspace purposes may subsequently be used for recreational purposes if the board of township trustees adopts a resolution approving that use and no building, structure, or fixture used for recreational purposes is permanently attached or affixed to the land. The authorization to use greenspace land for recreational use does not apply to land located in a township that had a population, at the time it passed its first greenspace levy, of more than thirty-eight thousand within a county that had a population, at that time, of at least eight hundred sixty thousand.

(II) For the support by a county of a crime victim 218
assistance program that is provided and maintained by a county 219
agency or a private, nonprofit corporation or association under 220
section 307.62 of the Revised Code; 221

(JJ) For any or all of the purposes set forth in divisions

S. B. No. 141

As Introduced
(I) and (J) of this section. This division applies only to a 223
municipal corporation or a township. 224
(KK) For a countywide public safety communications system 225
under section 307.63 of the Revised Code. This division applies 226
only to counties. 227
(LL) For the support by a county of criminal justice 228
services under section 307.45 of the Revised Code; 229
(MM) For the purpose of maintaining and operating a jail 230
or other detention facility as defined in section 2921.01 of the 231
Revised Code; 232
(NN) For purchasing, maintaining, or improving, or any 233
combination of the foregoing, real estate on which to hold, and 234
the operating expenses of, agricultural fairs operated by a 235
county agricultural society or independent agricultural society 236
under Chapter 1711. of the Revised Code. This division applies 237
only to a county. 238
(OO) For constructing, rehabilitating, repairing, or 239
maintaining sidewalks, walkways, trails, bicycle pathways, or 240
similar improvements, or acquiring ownership interests in land 241
necessary for the foregoing improvements; 242
(PP) For both of the purposes set forth in divisions (G) 243
and (OO) of this section. 244
(QQ) For both of the purposes set forth in divisions (H) 245
and (HH) of this section. This division applies only to a 246
township. 247
(RR) For the legislative authority of a municipal 248
corporation, board of county commissioners of a county, or board 249
of township trustees of a township to acquire agricultural 250

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

easements, as defined in section 5301.67 of the Revised Code, 251
and to supervise and enforce the easements. 252
(SS) For both of the purposes set forth in divisions (BB) 253
and (KK) of this section. This division applies only to a 254
county. 255
(TT) For the maintenance and operation of a facility that 256
is organized in whole or in part to promote the sciences and 257
natural history under section 307.761 of the Revised Code. 258
(UU) For the creation and operation of a county land 259
reutilization corporation and for any programs or activities of 260
the corporation found by the board of directors of the 261
corporation to be consistent with the purposes for which the 262
corporation is organized; 263
(VV) For construction and maintenance of improvements and 264
expenses of soil and water conservation district programs under 265
Chapter 940. of the Revised Code; 266
(WW) For the OSU extension fund created under section 267
3335.35 of the Revised Code for the purposes prescribed under 268
section 3335.36 of the Revised Code for the benefit of the 269
citizens of a county. This division applies only to a county. 270
(XX) For a municipal corporation that withdraws or 271
proposes by resolution to withdraw from a regional transit 272
authority under section 306.55 of the Revised Code to provide 273
transportation services for the movement of persons within, 274
from, or to the municipal corporation; 275
(YY) For any combination of the purposes specified in 276
divisions (NN), (VV), and (WW) of this section. This division 277
applies only to a county. 278

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

(ZZ) For any combination of the following purposes: the 279
acquisition, construction, improvement, or maintenance of 280
buildings, equipment, and supplies for police, firefighting, or 281
emergency medical services; the construction, reconstruction, 282
resurfacing, or repair of streets, roads, and bridges; or for 283
general infrastructure projects. This division applies only to a 284
township or municipal corporation. 285
(AAA) For any combination of the purposes specified in 286
divisions (G), (K), (N), (O), (P), (X), (BB), and (MM) of this 287
section, for the acquisition, construction or maintenance of 288
county facilities, or for the acquisition of or improvements to 289
land. This division applies only to a county. 290

(BBB) For the support of pre-kindergarten programs and services. This division applies only to a county.

The resolution shall be confined to the purpose or purposes described in one division of this section, to which the revenue derived therefrom shall be applied. The existence in any other division of this section of authority to levy a tax for any part or all of the same purpose or purposes does not preclude the use of such revenues for any part of the purpose or purposes of the division under which the resolution is adopted.

The resolution shall specify the amount of the increase in 300
rate that it is necessary to levy, the purpose of that increase 301
in rate, and the number of years during which the increase in 302
rate shall be in effect, which may or may not include a levy 303
upon the duplicate of the current year. The number of years may 304
be any number not exceeding five, except as follows: 305
(1) When the additional rate is for the payment of debt 306
charges, the increased rate shall be for the life of the 307

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

indebtedness. 308
(2) When the additional rate is for any of the following, 309
the increased rate shall be for a continuing period of time: 310
(a) For the current expenses for a detention facility 311
district, a district organized under section 2151.65 of the 312
Revised Code, or a combined district organized under sections 313
2151.65 and 2152.41 of the Revised Code; 314
(b) For providing a county's share of the cost of 315
maintaining and operating schools, district detention 316
facilities, forestry camps, or other facilities, or any 317
combination thereof, established under section 2151.65 or 318
2152.41 of the Revised Code or under both of those sections. 319
(3) When the additional rate is for either of the 320
following, the increased rate may be for a continuing period of 321
time: 322
(a) For the purposes set forth in division (I), (J), (U), 323
(JJ), or (KK) of this section; 324
(b) For the maintenance and operation of a joint 325
recreation district. 326
(4) When the increase is for the purpose or purposes set 327
forth in division (D), (G), (H), (T), (Z), (CC), or (PP) of this 328
section, the tax levy may be for any specified number of years 329
or for a continuing period of time, as set forth in the 330
resolution. 331
(5) When the increase is for the purpose set forth in 332
division (ZZ) or (AAA) of this section, the tax levy may be for 333
any number of years not exceeding ten. 334
A levy for one of the purposes set forth in division (G), 335

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

(I), (J), (U), or (JJ) of this section may be reduced pursuant 336
to section 5705.261 or 5705.31 of the Revised Code. A levy for 337
one of the purposes set forth in division (G), (I), (J), (U), or 338
(JJ) of this section may also be terminated or permanently 339
reduced by the taxing authority if it adopts a resolution 340
stating that the continuance of the levy is unnecessary and the 341
levy shall be terminated or that the millage is excessive and 342
the levy shall be decreased by a designated amount. 343

A resolution of a detention facility district, a district organized under section 2151.65 of the Revised Code, or a combined district organized under both sections 2151.65 and 2152.41 of the Revised Code may include both current expenses and other purposes, provided that the resolution shall apportion the annual rate of levy between the current expenses and the other purpose or purposes. The apportionment need not be the same for each year of the levy, but the respective portions of the rate actually levied each year for the current expenses and the other purpose or purposes shall be limited by the apportionment.

Whenever a board of county commissioners, acting either as 355
the taxing authority of its county or as the taxing authority of 356
a sewer district or subdistrict created under Chapter 6117. of 357
the Revised Code, by resolution declares it necessary to levy a 358
tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation for the purpose of 359
constructing, improving, or extending sewage disposal plants or 360
sewage systems, the tax may be in effect for any number of years 361
not exceeding twenty, and the proceeds of the tax, 362
notwithstanding the general provisions of this section, may be 363
used to pay debt charges on any obligations issued and 364
outstanding on behalf of the subdivision for the purposes 365
enumerated in this paragraph, provided that any such obligations 366

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

en specifically described in the resolution. 367

A resolution adopted by the legislative authority of a 368
municipal corporation that is for the purpose in division (XX) 369
of this section may be combined with the purpose provided in 370
section 306.55 of the Revised Code, by vote of two-thirds of all 371
members of the legislative authority. The legislative authority 372
may certify the resolution to the board of elections as a 373
combined question. The question appearing on the ballot shall be 374
as provided in section 5705.252 of the Revised Code. 375

A levy for the purpose set forth in division (BB) of this section may be imposed in all or a portion of the territory of a subdivision. If the 9-1-1 system to be established and operated with levy funds excludes territory located within the subdivision, the resolution adopted under this section, or a resolution proposing to renew such a levy that was imposed in all of the territory of the subdivision, may describe the area served or to be served by the system and specify that the proposed tax would be imposed only in the areas receiving or to receive the service. Upon passage of such a resolution, the board of elections shall submit the question of the tax levy only to those electors residing in the area or areas in which the tax would be imposed. If the 9-1-1 system would serve the entire subdivision, the resolution shall not exclude territory from the tax levy.

The resolution shall go into immediate effect upon its passage, and no publication of the resolution is necessary other than that provided for in the notice of election.

When the electors of a subdivision or, in the case of a 39
qualifying library levy for the support of a library association 39
or private corporation, the electors of the association library 39

S. B. No. 141 As Introduced

district or, in the case of a 9-1-1 system levy serving only a 397
portion of the territory of a subdivision, the electors of the 398
portion of the subdivision in which the levy would be imposed 399
have approved a tax levy under this section, the taxing 400
authority of the subdivision may anticipate a fraction of the 401
proceeds of the levy and issue anticipation notes in accordance 402
with section 5705.191 or 5705.193 of the Revised Code. 403
Section 2. That existing section 5705.19 of the Revised 404
Code is hereby repealed. 405