Testimony & Public Comments

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 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.”

The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony to the Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee on the policies in House Bill 235, which would add unnecessary government regulations and labor quotas to oil refinery job requirements, preventing employers from “training and equipping their employees with the skills needed to do the job.” Buckeye urged lawmakers to “seek market-driven solutions to make on-the-job training more affordable and useful.”