SB 307 Ohio Senate · 136th Legislature (2025-2026)

Allow tax increment financing for police, firefighting facilities

SB 307 amends Ohio law to permit local governments to use tax increment financing (TIF) for constructing or renovating police and firefighting facilities. This change directly affects cities and counties seeking to fund public safety infrastructure, as it allows them to leverage future increases in property tax revenue from a designated area to cover project costs. The key mechanism involves designating a specific geographic zone where new tax revenue generated by development (beyond pre-project levels) is redirected to pay for the facility construction. This expands existing TIF rules, which previously excluded public safety facilities, enabling these projects to be financed through a tool commonly used for economic development.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Oct 2025
Committee Review
May 2026
Senate Passage
May 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Oct 28, 2025 Last action May 20, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced As Passed by the Senate · 7 edits · May 13, 2026
MODERATE
The bill was substantially rewritten to expand the definition of 'public infrastructure' to explicitly include police and firefighting facilities, allowing these costs to be funded through tax increment financing. It also introduced new definitions for distressed areas, established specific procedures for excluding property owners from incentive districts, and added detailed requirements for notifying and compensating school districts and county commissioners regarding tax exemptions.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from general infrastructure funding to specifically include law enforcement and fire protection services, while adding new eligibility criteria for 'incentive districts' based on income, unemployment, and blight levels.
DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'blighted area', 'impacted city', 'incentive district', 'overlay', 'nonperforming parcel', and 'public infrastructure improvement' to clarify which projects and locations qualify for tax benefits.

SCOPE

Explicitly included 'buildings for police or firefighting' and 'stormwater and flood remediation' within the definition of public infrastructure improvements eligible for funding.

ELIGIBILITY

Established specific distress characteristics (e.g., poverty rates, unemployment levels, blight status) that an area must meet to qualify as an 'incentive district'.

REQUIREMENT

Introduced a process allowing property owners to exclude their land from an incentive district if it does not fall entirely within the designated 'overlay' area.

Added strict notification and compensation protocols requiring legislative authorities to notify school boards and county commissioners before adopting ordinances that grant tax exemptions exceeding ten years or 75% of value.

Mandated annual status reports to the director of development detailing project progress, financial receipts, and economic impacts like job creation.

TECHNICAL

Removed page numbers and line references from the original text to create a clean, continuous legislative text.

Floor votes · Senate May 13, 2026

How they voted

310
Passed
Total votes 31
May 13, 2026
D Democratic8
8 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican23
23 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
1
Committee
2
May 20, 2026
Committee
Referred to committee
lower
May 19, 2026
Introduced
Introduced
lower
May 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
Oct 29, 2025
Committee
Referred to committee
upper
Oct 28, 2025
Introduced
Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Jane Timken
Jane Timken
RRepublican
OH
29