The Ohio General Assembly recently wrapped up legislative work for 2025, and small businesses saw primarily good news out of the statehouse. Members of the Legislature will return at the end of January 2026, and NFIB’s Ohio Team will be ready to hit the ground running to continue advancing pro-small-business policies at the Statehouse.

End of year legislative updates include:

• NFIB advocated and was successful at removing language from a bill that would have allowed corrections officers to receive workers’ compensation benefits for PTSD without an accompanying physical injury. Read our article on this issue here.
• The legislature appropriated $40 million from the General Revenue Fund to seed the Post Traumatic Stress Fund and moved it under Department of Public Safety. NFIB has been advocating for a solution to this issue outside of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), and now it is finally funded. This is a significant win for the business community.
• House Bill 105 (Third Party Litigation Financing) is commonsense reform that requires disclosure of who is funding lawsuits. NFIB supported, and key-voted this legislation – read our press release here.
• The legislature sent four property tax reform bills to the Governor that will save Ohio homeowners approximately $2 billion over the coming years. These bills deal with slowing property tax increases, 20 mill floor calculations, and revisions of the owner-occupancy credit.
  • WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! There is an effort underway to place a proposal on the November 2026 ballot that would eliminate property taxes in Ohio. Please take our survey and let us know your thoughts on this proposal and property taxes.
• Governor Mike DeWine vetoed Senate Bill 50, legislation that would have allowed 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. during the school year with their parents’ permission. NFIB supported the bill to help ease the workforce shortage issues in the state. We are working with stakeholders on next steps to overcome this hurdle.

ICYMI: NFIB welcomes Jacob Flowers as NFIB Ohio Assistant State Director! Read the announcement press release here.