Ohio 65th District Rep. David Thomas is continuing his push for policy changes to government financing.
Thomas, who represents the southern two thirds of Ashtabula County, recently introduced House Bill 493, which would ban the sale of tax delinquent certificates starting January 2027.
County treasurers in Ohio can sell certificates to third-party private entities that then have the power to foreclose against the homeowner, he said. The bill has support across party lines.
The government should not help private corporations profit off people’s foreclosures, Thomas said.
“It’s just wrong,” he said.
Cuyahoga County recently sold a large amount of tax certificates, Thomas said.
“It’s mainly for larger counties,” he said.
Ashtabula County Treasurer Angie Maki-Cliff said her office has had a moratorium on selling tax certificates since she started.
She said she ranks the issue particularly high in importance.
Many of the companies buying tax certificates have no ties to the local community, Maki Cliff said.
“It’s not personal to them,” she said. “Here in this office, every one of the taxpayers means something to me. They’re my friends. They’re my family. They’re my neighbors. It’s very personal to keep every one of them in their home [and] in their business.”
Often, companies will abandon properties they own tax certificates on after homeowners go delinquent, Maki-Cliff said.
“With that, we had blight in our community,” she said.
Maki-Cliff said the tax certificate company that previously operated in Ashtabula County was predatory and focused solely on quick profit.
Thomas compared the issue to the payday loan industry, which had a major presence in the state a decade ago.
Maki-Cliff said if the bill passes, it would effectively sunset the practice state-wide.
However, eliminating the practice completely could limit counties’ financial options, she said.
“I can also see the flip side, when you have a good tax certificate company,” she said.
Maki-Cliff had multiple conversations with Thomas on the issue in the past before he introduced the bill, and she understands where he is coming from, she said.
“I applaud him for wanting to make changes,” Maki-Cliff said.
A bill on the issue should mirror HB 443, another Thomas-introduced bill, and have reforms to the practice instead of sunsetting it, she said.
Some reforms Maki-Cliff would support include prohibiting the sale of tax certificates for a property that has a homestead exemption, she said.
“Just because it’s something that I’m not currently doing in Ashtabula County, doesn’t mean a day might not come when we need that as an option,” she said.
The County Treasurers Association of Ohio has not taken a position on the bill yet, Maki-Cliff said.
Thomas also recently introduced HB 473, which would ban public employers from picking up the 10% of pension payments for their employees.
Right now, public employers are required to contribute 14% to employee pensions, and employees 10%.
The goal of the bill is transparency, Thomas said.
Residents might be unaware of how much public employees are being paid, and the bill would show more clearly where tax money is going, he said.
He said it would give residents more information on how local government functions.
If the bill is passed, it would apply to employment contracts signed after the fact, according to a release from Thomas’ office.