SB 464

As Introduced
136th General Assembly
   Regular Session  S. B. No. 464
       2025-2026
  Senator Romanchuk
  To amend sections 5747.98 and 5751.98 and to enact  1
  sections 5747.053 and 5751.55 of the Revised  2
  Code to authorize a refundable tax credit for  3
  compensation paid to skilled trades instructors.       4
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
     Section 1. That sections 5747.98 and 5751.98 be amended  5
and sections 5747.053 and 5751.55 of the Revised Code be enacted       6
to read as follows:  7
     Sec. 5747.053. (A) As used in this section:  8
     (1) "Construction occupation" means employment that  9
consists of the construction, reconstruction, enlargement,  10
alteration, repair, remodeling, renovation, demolition, or  11
painting of a building or other structure, road, bridge, or  12
other work, including preparation of a site for new  13
construction.  14
     (2) "Dropout prevention and recovery community school" has        15
the same meaning as in section 3314.02 of the Revised Code.  16
     (3) "Eligible expenses" means compensation, including  17
wages, fringe benefits, and other direct expenses, paid to or on       18
behalf of an employee who is a qualified instructor while the  19
employee is on release time, provided that the compensation is  20
S. B. No. 464  Page 2
As Introduced
equal to the compensation the employee would have received if  21
the employee had worked in the employee's job for that period  22
and is paid as part of a policy of the employer for release time  23
that does not deduct from the employee's paid leave time.  24
       (4) "Eligible program" means any of the following programs  25
that prepare an individual for employment in a construction  26
occupation or manufacturing occupation:  27
       (a) A career-technical education program approved by the  28
department of education and workforce under section 3317.161 of  29
the Revised Code;  30
       (b) A career-technical education program operated by an  31
institution of higher education, as defined in section 3345.19  32
of the Revised Code, or an Ohio technical center, as defined in  33
section 3333.94 of the Revised Code;  34
       (c) An apprenticeship program registered with the United  35
States department of labor as meeting the minimum standards  36
established by the "National Apprenticeship Act of 1937," 29  37
U.S.C. 50, and 29 C.F.R. Part 29;  38
       (d) An apprenticeship program registered by the department  39
of job and family services in accordance with Chapter 4139. of  40
the Revised Code.  41
       (5) "Manufacturing occupation" means employment that  42
consists of the mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation  43
of materials, substances, or components into new products for  44
sale, including the assembling of component parts into a  45
finished product.  46
       (6) "Qualifying employer" means any person that employs  47
one or more qualified instructors.  48
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As Introduced
       (7) "Qualified instructor" means an individual who has  49
attained what is recognized within the construction or  50
manufacturing industry as mastery of the skills, abilities, and  51
competencies required for employment in a construction  52
occupation or manufacturing occupation. "Qualified instructor"  53
includes a mentor, technician, specialist, or other skilled  54
worker who has obtained documented proficiency in a construction  55
occupation or manufacturing occupation, either through a formal  56
apprenticeship or other on-the-job experience and formal  57
training.  58
       (8) "Release time" means each hour during which a  59
qualified instructor is released by a qualifying employer from  60
the instructor's regular employment duties to do any of the  61
following:  62
       (a) Provide instruction in an eligible program;  63
       (b) Receive pedagogical training and classroom management  64
instruction for purposes of providing instruction in an eligible  65
program;  66
       (c) Engage in noninstructional activities related to  67
providing instruction in an eligible program, including  68
curriculum mapping, laboratory preparation, and lesson planning.  69
       (9) "Tax credit certificate" means a certificate issued by  70
the tax commissioner under division (B) of this section.  71
       (B)(1) A qualifying employer that incurs eligible expenses  72
during the preceding calendar year may submit an application to  73
the tax commissioner for a credit authorized by this section.  74
The application shall be made on a form and in a manner that the  75
commissioner shall prescribe. The application shall state the  76
amount of such eligible expenses, the tax against which the  77
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As Introduced
credit will be claimed, and any other information the  78
commissioner may require. An employer shall submit the  79
application on or before the fifteenth day of January.  80
       (2) The commissioner shall evaluate applications in the  81
order in which they are received and issue a determination,  82
except that priority shall be given to applicants for each  83
qualified instructor released to an eligible program offered by  84
a dropout prevention and recovery community school. If the  85
commissioner denies an application, the determination shall  86
state the reason for the denial. If the commissioner approves an  87
application, the determination shall include a certificate  88
listing the amount of credit that the applicant may claim and  89
the tax against which it may be claimed.  90
       (3) The amount of a credit authorized by this section with  91
respect to a qualified instructor shall equal the lesser of the  92
amount of eligible expenses incurred in the preceding calendar  93
year for that qualified instructor's release time or one hundred  94
fifty dollars for each hour of release time. The total amount of  95
eligible expenses incurred by a qualifying employer and eligible  96
for the credit allowed under this section per calendar year  97
shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars.  98
       (4) The tax commissioner shall not issue more than ten  99
million dollars in credits under this section in a single  100
calendar year and shall not issue any tax credit certificates  101
under this section on the basis of eligible expenses incurred  102
after December 31, 2028.  103
       (C) A qualifying employer may claim a credit authorized  104
under division (D) of this section or by section 5751.55 of the  105
Revised Code, as authorized by the tax credit certificate, equal  106
to the amount listed on that certificate.  107
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As Introduced
       (D) There is allowed a refundable credit against a  108
taxpayer's aggregate tax liability under section 5747.02 of the  109
Revised Code for a taxpayer who is a qualifying employer, or  110
that owns a direct or indirect interest in a qualifying  111
employer, that has been issued a tax credit certificate. In the  112
case of a taxpayer who is a qualifying employer, the credit  113
shall be claimed for the taxable year preceding the year in  114
which the certificate is issued or the following taxable year.  115
If a taxpayer holds a direct or indirect equity interest in a  116
qualifying employer that was issued a tax credit certificate,  117
the taxpayer shall claim the taxpayer's distributive or  118
proportionate share of the credit for the taxpayer's taxable  119
year preceding the year in which the certificate is issued or  120
the taxpayer's following taxable year. The credit shall be  121
claimed in the order required under section 5747.98 of the  122
Revised Code. Any credit amount in excess of the aggregate  123
amount of tax due under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code,  124
after allowing for any other credits preceding the credit in  125
that order, shall be refunded to the taxpayer.  126
       (E) On or before the first day of August of each calendar  127
year in which the tax commissioner has issued a tax credit  128
certificate under this section, the commissioner shall submit a  129
report to the governor and, in accordance with section 101.68 of  130
the Revised Code, the general assembly on the tax credit program  131
authorized under this section. The report shall provide relevant  132
statistics on program usage, including the number of instructor  133
hours added, and shall describe what impact the program has had  134
on instructor shortages.  135
       Sec. 5747.98. (A) To provide a uniform procedure for  136
calculating a taxpayer's aggregate tax liability under section  137
5747.02 of the Revised Code, a taxpayer shall claim any credits  138
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to which the taxpayer is entitled in the following order:  139
        Either the retirement income credit under division (B) of  140
section 5747.055 of the Revised Code or the lump sum retirement  141
income credits under divisions (C), (D), and (E) of that  142
section;  143
        Either the senior citizen credit under division (F) of  144
section 5747.055 of the Revised Code or the lump sum  145
distribution credit under division (G) of that section;  146
        The dependent care credit under section 5747.054 of the  147
Revised Code;  148
        The credit for displaced workers who pay for job training  149
under section 5747.27 of the Revised Code;  150
        The twenty-dollar personal exemption credit under section  151
5747.022 of the Revised Code;  152
        The joint filing credit under division (E) of section  153
5747.05 of the Revised Code;  154
        The earned income credit under section 5747.71 of the  155
Revised Code;  156
        The nonrefundable credit for education expenses under  157
section 5747.72 of the Revised Code;  158
        The nonrefundable credit for donations to scholarship  159
granting organizations under section 5747.73 of the Revised  160
Code;  161
        The nonrefundable credit for tuition paid to a  162
nonchartered nonpublic school under section 5747.75 of the  163
Revised Code;  164
        The nonrefundable vocational job credit under section  165
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As Introduced
5747.057 of the Revised Code;  166
       The nonrefundable job retention credit under division (B)  167
of section 5747.058 of the Revised Code;  168
       The enterprise zone credit under section 5709.66 of the  169
Revised Code;  170
       The credit for beginning farmers who participate in a  171
financial management program under division (B) of section  172
5747.77 of the Revised Code;  173
       The credit for commercial vehicle operator training  174
expenses under section 5747.82 of the Revised Code;  175
       The nonrefundable welcome home Ohio (WHO) program credit  176
under section 122.633 of the Revised Code;  177
       The nonrefundable credit for transformational mixed use  178
development tax credit certificate holders under section 5747.87  179
of the Revised Code;  180
       The credit for selling or renting agricultural assets to  181
beginning farmers under division (A) of section 5747.77 of the  182
Revised Code;  183
       The credit for purchases of qualifying grape production  184
property under section 5747.28 of the Revised Code;  185
       The small business investment credit under section 5747.81  186
of the Revised Code;  187
       The nonrefundable lead abatement credit under section  188
5747.26 of the Revised Code;  189
       The opportunity zone investment credit under section  190
5747.86 of the Revised Code;  191
       The enterprise zone credits under section 5709.65 of the  192
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As Introduced
Revised Code;  193
        The research and development credit under section 5747.331  194
of the Revised Code;  195
        The credit for rehabilitating a historic building under  196
section 5747.76 of the Revised Code;  197
        The nonrefundable Ohio low-income housing tax credit under  198
section 5747.83 of the Revised Code;  199
        The nonrefundable affordable single-family home credit  200
under section 5747.84 of the Revised Code;  201
        The nonresident credit under division (A) of section  202
5747.05 of the Revised Code;  203
        The credit for a resident's out-of-state income under  204
division (B) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;  205
        The refundable motion picture and broadway theatrical  206
production credit under section 5747.66 of the Revised Code;  207
        The refundable jobs creation credit or job retention  208
credit under division (A) of section 5747.058 of the Revised  209
Code;  210
        The refundable credit for taxes paid by a qualifying  211
entity granted under section 5747.059 of the Revised Code;  212
        The refundable credits for taxes paid by a qualifying  213
pass-through entity granted under division (I) of section  214
5747.08 of the Revised Code;  215
        The refundable credit under section 5747.80 of the Revised  216
Code for losses on loans made to the Ohio venture capital  217
program under sections 150.01 to 150.10 of the Revised Code;  218
        The refundable credit for rehabilitating a historic  219
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As Introduced
building under section 5747.76 of the Revised Code;  220
        The refundable credit for released skilled trades  221
instructor compensation under section 5747.053 of the Revised  222
Code;  223
        The refundable credit under section 5747.39 of the Revised  224
Code for taxes levied under section 5747.38 of the Revised Code  225
paid by an electing pass-through entity.  226
        (B) For any credit, except the refundable credits  227
enumerated in this section and the credit granted under division  228
(H) of section 5747.08 of the Revised Code, the amount of the  229
credit for a taxable year shall not exceed the taxpayer's  230
aggregate amount of tax due under section 5747.02 of the Revised  231
Code, after allowing for any other credit that precedes it in  232
the order required under this section. Any excess amount of a  233
particular credit may be carried forward if authorized under the  234
section creating that credit. Nothing in this chapter shall be  235
construed to allow a taxpayer to claim, directly or indirectly,  236
a credit more than once for a taxable year.  237
        Sec. 5751.55. (A) As used in this section, "tax credit  238
certificate" has the same meaning as in section 5747.053 of the  239
Revised Code.  240
        (B) A taxpayer issued a tax credit certificate authorizing  241
the taxpayer to claim a credit against the tax levied under  242
section 5751.02 of the Revised Code may claim a credit against  243
that tax equal to the amount stated in the certificate. The  244
credit shall be claimed for the tax period preceding the tax  245
period in which the certificate is issued and in the order  246
required by section 5751.98 of the Revised Code. Any credit  247
amount in excess of the taxpayer's tax liability, after allowing  248
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As Introduced
for any other credits preceding the credit in that order, shall  249
be refunded to the taxpayer.  250
        Sec. 5751.98. (A) To provide a uniform procedure for  251
calculating the amount of tax due under this chapter, a taxpayer  252
shall claim any credits to which it is entitled in the following  253
order:  254
        The nonrefundable jobs retention credit under division (B)  255
of section 5751.50 of the Revised Code;  256
        The nonrefundable credit for qualified research expenses  257
under division (B) of section 5751.51 of the Revised Code;  258
        The nonrefundable credit for a borrower's qualified  259
research and development loan payments under division (B) of  260
section 5751.52 of the Revised Code;  261
        The nonrefundable credit for unused net operating losses  262
under section 5751.53 of the Revised Code;  263
        The refundable motion picture and broadway theatrical  264
production credit under section 5751.54 of the Revised Code;  265
        The refundable jobs creation credit or job retention  266
credit under division (A) of section 5751.50 of the Revised  267
Code;  268
        The refundable credit for released skilled trades  269
instructor compensation under section 5751.55 of the Revised  270
Code.  271
        (B) For any credit except the refundable credits  272
enumerated in this section, the amount of the credit for a tax  273
period shall not exceed the tax due after allowing for any other  274
credit that precedes it in the order required under this  275
section. Any excess amount of a particular credit may be carried  276
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As Introduced
forward if authorized under the section creating the credit.  277
       Section 2. That existing sections 5747.98 and 5751.98 of  278
the Revised Code are hereby repealed.  279
       Section 3. The amendment or enactment by this act of  280
sections 5747.053, 5747.98, 5751.55, and 5751.98 of the Revised  281
Code applies eligible expenses, as that term is defined in  282
section 5747.053 of the Revised Code, incurred on and after  283
January 1, 2027.  284