Powerful, entrenched interests prospered from a restrictive occupational licensing regime in Ohio for decades. This dysfunctional form of crony capitalism narrowly benefited the well-connected, while disadvantaging people seeking to start new professions or become eligible for promotions. The Buckeye Institute recognized the injustice, and went to work combat this unfair system.
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Civil Justice Committee on Senate Bill 108, which would eliminate a law—Ohio Revised Code Section 1.49—that encourages Ohio courts to rely on problematic sources to devise the legislative intent of ambiguous statutes. Ohio Revised Code Section 1.49, which allows courts to rely on sources, statements, and testimonies outside of the text of statues “will only encourage staffers, lobbyists, and public interest groups to circumvent the constitutional process.”
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Finance Committee on House Bill 166 and the need to address rising Medicaid costs, saying, “The House budget offers some solid Medicaid and healthcare policy proposals to address rising costs, but the Senate now has the opportunity to improve upon the House version by cutting additional spending and reinstating the Healthy Ohio program that the House should not have removed.”
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Finance Committee on House Bill 166, Ohio’s biennial budget, saying, “House Bill 166 makes some solid proposals. But the state’s present spending trend risks derailing Ohio’s economic recovery and further hindering its below-average economic growth rate. The Senate should look to reduce government spending, trim non-essential budget items…and pursue deeper, across-the-board income tax cuts. Taking such steps will make Ohio’s economy stronger and its budgets more sustainable.”
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education on the proposal offered by Ohio Excels, the Alliance for High Quality Education, and the Fordham Institute. “The Buckeye Institute does not believe that watering down graduation requirements will help students achieve greater future success, but we do generally agree with the joint proposal offered by Ohio Excels, the Alliance for High Quality Education, and the Fordham Institute regarding graduation requirements.”
As the Ohio General Assembly continues to look at drug sentencing reform in Ohio, a new poll from the U.S. Justice Action Network found that a whopping 87 percent of Ohioans favor reducing prison time for low-level, non-violent offenders and reinvesting savings into community-based supervision programs.
In The Cincinnati Enquirer, Buckeye’s Rea S. Hederman Jr. looks at the budget passed by the Ohio House of Representatives, writing, “The House budget includes some sound tax policies and promising improvements, but if the Ohio Senate fails to tap the brakes on the proposed ‘crazy train’ spending roaring out of the House of Representatives, the Ohio taxpayer will be on board for a spectacular economic train wreck.”
As the Ohio Senate continues its work on Ohio’s 2020-2021 biennial budget, The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center released a new policy brief, How to Grow Ohio’s Economy: Return the Budget Surplus to Taxpayers, which found that returning $658 million to taxpayers—through permanent lower taxes— would lead to 6,600 more jobs annually. “By returning the entire surplus to taxpayers, the Senate would put Ohio on a path to create more than 6,000 new jobs, increase private sector investment, and keep Ohio’s economy growing.”
The Buckeye Institute commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, saying, “As The Buckeye Institute has cautioned—and with another disappointing jobs report this year—policymakers must be wary about increasing government spending to dangerous levels and choosing to reduce taxes for only a few rather than adopting across the board tax cuts that would help grow the economy.”
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education on proposed changes to education funding and accountability standards in Ohio’s biennial budget, House Bill 166. “Children are an incomparable resource and we do owe them what they need to succeed. We do not, however, owe the education bureaucracy a blank check to spend as they see fit even as our public schools perennially lag behind and enrollment declines.”
