COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio lawmakers are starting to talk about something that’s long been off-limits — taxing nonprofits.

For decades, organizations like land conservancies, hospitals and museums haven’t paid property taxes. Now, a pair of Republican lawmakers want to see what happens if one of them has to start.

House Bill 540 would require nonprofit conservation groups that own more than 15,000 acres in a single county to make yearly payments based on how much their land is worth.

Beginning in 2026, they’d owe 2.5% of the land’s taxable value, and the money would be shared among local governments as if the property were taxed normally.

Republican Reps. Justin Pizzulli of Scioto County and Dave Thomas of Ashtabula County say that the bill is written broadly but aimed at one specific cas

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