The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Finance Committee on the education and tax reform policies in Ohio House Bill 33, Ohio’s biennial budget. “There is still time to amend House Bill 33 to make school choice universally available and make tax reform bolder and better. With just a few changes, Ohio’s budget can benefit every child, every family, and every community.”
Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, issued a statement on Thursday. “As The Buckeye Institute has argued time and time again over the years and well before any present controversies, Ohio simply must avoid the Californication of our state constitution. In order for constitutional republican government to succeed—no matter which party is in the majority at that time or whether a particular and timely issue is politically popular—our state must require supermajority approval before amending our Ohio constitution.”
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee on some of the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 83 and how to reshape Ohio’s higher education system to meet the needs of the 21st century. Buckeye urged lawmakers to “give vouchers directly to students rather than simply subsidizing colleges,” noting this would harness the “transformative strength of a free market that empowers students and incentivizes universities to compete for students and state dollars.”
The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Missouri v. Biden, calling on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana to stop the Biden Administration from “jawboning” social media companies to censor viewpoints the government does not agree with. “The danger of ‘jawboning’ social media companies is not merely that it violates the First Amendment, but that it degrades the free speech and expression as a value worth protecting.”
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House State and Local Government Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 76, which will save taxpayers money and time by removing antiquated and redundant regulations from Ohio’s Administrative Code. Buckeye noted that the policies in House Bill 76 continue the work of “former Senate President Larry Obhof and Senator Rob McColley to cut Ohio’s bureaucratic red tape” and urged lawmakers to join ongoing efforts of the DeWine/Husted Administration to cut government red tape and “keep Ohio growing economically.”
As the Ohio House of Representatives prepares to vote on House Bill 33, Ohio’s biennial budget, a coalition of leading pro-small government organizations sent a letter to House members calling on them to pass “legislation that reduces the state income tax to a single flat rate and reduces revenue on net, returning hard-earned taxpayer dollars to families and small businesses.”;
The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Public Assistance Benefits Accountability Task Force, outlining policy recommendations to ensure the integrity of Ohio’s government assistance programs and that assistance goes to those truly in need. In his testimony, Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, noted that government assistance programs “should ensure that taxpayer resources effectively and efficiently reach those most in need while avoiding common misuses that have trapped too many in a vicious cycle of poverty.”
The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Ohio v. Yellen with the U.S. Supreme Court. In its brief, Buckeye called on the court to grant review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s ruling and the constitutionality of the Biden Administration’s tax mandate included in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which prohibited states from directly or indirectly using ARPA funds to offset a reduction in taxes.
The Buckeye Institute filed public comments on the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed rule prohibiting employers from utilizing noncompete clauses. In its comments, Buckeye outlined how the proposed rule violates section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, exceeds the commission’s constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce, supplants well-established state policy preferences, and undermines federal due process protections.
As American Electric Power and other energy companies prepare to implement significant rate hikes, new research released by The Buckeye Institute modeled the impact that a new Clean Power Plan—which the Biden Administration is attempting to revive through the regulatory process—would have on jobs, the economy, and customers. With their robust economies, diverse geographies, and mixed population densities, researchers looked at California and Ohio to illustrate how a new Clean Power Plan would affect most of the country.
