In The Wall Street Journal, Andrew M. Grossman, a senior legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute, and David B. Rivkin Jr., look at the question of independent state legislatures, writing, “The Supreme Court considers on Wednesday whether the Constitution’s Elections Clause means what it says—that ‘the times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.’”
The Buckeye Institute filed a lawsuit challenging a decades-old tax law that forces the IRS to demand that nonprofit charities hand over the private information of their largest donors every year. Represented by attorneys at the Institute for Free Speech and its own attorneys, Buckeye’s lawsuit says the law violates the First Amendment and the requirement chills free speech and association. The case is The Buckeye Institute v. Internal Revenue Service and was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Columbus Division.
The Buckeye Institute filed a brand new lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division challenging the Biden Administration’s proposed and illegal student loan debt cancellation. The Buckeye Institute, representing plaintiff Amanda Latta, filed Latta v. U.S. Department of Education, calling on the court to determine whether the U.S. secretary of education has the authority to forgive student loan debt without congressional approval.
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee on the recommendations in House Bill 509, which would help make Ohio more economically competitive by eliminating and modernizing the state’s burdensome occupational licensing requirements. Buckeye urged lawmakers to not only implement the recommendations in House Bill 509, but to adopt universal occupational license recognition to make Ohio more competitive economically and ensure that trained, licensed professionals from other states can pursue their careers in the Buckeye State.
The Buckeye Institute commented on the introduction of Ohio Senate Bill 368 by State Senator Sandra O’Brien (R-Rome), saying, “The Buckeye Institute and our coalition partners in the school choice movement have worked tirelessly to ensure that all students in Ohio have access to the tools they need to excel educationally and in life, and we could not be happier that this bill implements our longstanding policy recommendation.”
The Buckeye Institute issued a statement after the passage of Senate Bill 249, which now goes to Governor Mike DeWine to sign into law. “By sending this Buckeye Institute-championed policy to Governor DeWine’s desk, lawmakers have shown their enthusiasm to make Ohio’s regulatory process less daunting, less expensive, and more transparent for financial technology employers looking to establish a presence or expand their operations in Ohio.”
The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony to the Ohio Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee on the policies in House Bill 542, which will reduce the hours of education required to obtain a cosmetology license from 1,500 to 1,000 hours. The Buckeye Institute recognized that Ohio needs to do more work to eliminate or reduce unnecessary occupational license restrictions, but that the policies in Ohio House Bill 542 will “remove at least some of the occupational licensing obstacles faced by Ohio’s working men and women.”
Universal occupational licensing recognition could be a part of Speaker Bob Cupp’s already impressive legacy, The Buckeye Institute writes in The Lima News. “As Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, Lima’s Bob Cupp presided over the passage of a school funding plan that has all but secured his reputation as one of Ohio’s premier speakers. But before his term expires at the end of the 134th General Assembly, Speaker Cupp can further his formidable legislative legacy by ensuring the enactment of long-overdue occupational licensing reform.”
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee on the criminal justice reform policies in Senate Bill 288, which would be a “significant step toward meaningful criminal justice reform” and “should be enacted without delay.” “Although more criminal justice reform remains to be done,” Buckeye testified, Senate Bill 288 “will improve Ohio’s criminal justice system as policymakers look to balance public safety, due process, and constitutional freedoms.”
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Local Government and Elections Committee on the policies in House Bill 458 and urged lawmakers to limit tax levy questions to general election ballots when more voters are engaged and turn out to vote. Doing so would “improve state and local government by restraining the power of special interest groups” and “require levy advocates to convince a larger, more representative block of voters that a tax hike is the way to go.”
