Committee hears routine bill to align Ohio law with federal disaster tax changes

Senator Blessing presented Senate Bill 9 to the Senate Ways and Means Committee as a routine conforming measure to incorporate federal tax-code changes enacted since Ohio’s last conformity bill. The bill's principal purpose is to align the state starting point for taxable income (federal adjusted gross income) with recent federal law changes, avoiding filing complications for taxpayers and school districts that rely on federal AGI as a base.

Adam Schwiebert, legislative director for the Ohio Department of Taxation, testified in support. Schwiebert said SB9 updates the Ohio Revised Code to reflect amendments in the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 and related Internal Revenue Code provisions, including the exclusion of qualified disaster relief payments and treatment of certain payments tied to the East Palestine train derailment as exempt under IRC §139B. He said conformity simplifies administration for taxpayers, preparers and school districts; absent conformity, taxpayers could face add-back computations and increased risk of filing errors.

Committee members had no questions during the SB9 presentation; the record notes written proponent testimony from Greg Saul of the Ohio Society of CPAs. The committee closed the first hearing on SB9 and adjourned with no further action recorded.

Next steps: SB9 was described as typical conformity legislation that often has companion bills in the other chamber; no votes were taken in this hearing.