Testimony & Public Comments

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee on the policies in House Bill 189, which would make Ohio more competitive, more prosperous, and more attractive to entrepreneurs and their employees. “[N]early every Ohio license that requires training can be earned in less time in another state. The state certainly needs to require appropriate training and licensing for jobs with health and safety concerns…However, such concern fades dramatically when applied, for example, to auctioneers, travel guides, and hairdressers.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Transportation, Commerce, and Workforce Committee on Senate Bill 320, which was developed from recommendations made by The Buckeye Institute in its 2016 policy brief Increasing Job Opportunities for Military Families. “Under Senate Bill 320…individuals would still be permitted to work in Ohio within their scope of practice—a positive sign that military spouses stationed here do not need special permission slips from the state to earn a living.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Armed Services, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security Committee on House Bill 716, which was developed from recommendations made by The Buckeye Institute in its 2016 policy brief Increasing Job Opportunities for Military Families. The policies in House Bill 716 would grant full professional licenses to military spouses as long as the requirements for the license they held in another state are similar to, or more stringent than, those of Ohio.

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Federalism and Interstate Relations Committee on Senate Bill 255, which would give Ohio legislators the power to rigorously review existing and new occupational licensing laws. Buckeye points out that “Senate Bill 255 begins the overdue effort of reforming the state’s occupational licensing regime and ending a misguided permission slip policy that has stood in the way of growth and prosperity for far too long.”