The Buckeye Institute joined Build Ohio First, a new pro-build energy coalition focused on driving economic growth through affordable, reliable, abundant energy. The new free-market energy advocacy organization was launched to advance practical policy solutions for Ohio’s future energy needs. Build Ohio First is a coalition led by The Buckeye Institute and Americans for Prosperity – Ohio and supported by Powering Prosperity to encourage Ohio policymakers to build upon their successful efforts to grow Ohio’s economy through affordable energy production.

The Buckeye Institute called on the Federal Judicial Center to remove the “How Science Works” chapter from the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, warning that, in violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 702, the chapter smuggles activist climate-change advocacy into the very document federal judges consult to keep unreliable expert testimony out of the courtroom. “Judges are supposed to referee science, not impose an activist thumb on the scale.”

The Buckeye Institute is pleased to announce its new economist, Hugo Diaz, Ph.D., who recently joined the organization after many years in academia. Diaz will conduct original research and dynamic economic modeling—specifically examining how taxing and spending decisions affect businesses, workers, families, jobs, economic indicators, and state revenues. “The combination of technical skill, academic credentials, and firsthand experience makes Hugo a tremendous addition to our already outstanding economic research team.”

The Buckeye Institute commented on the August 2026 jobs report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), saying, “While Ohio’s unemployment rate fell to 3.3 percent in August, the labor force participation rate also fell to 61.3 percent, meaning more Ohioans are no longer looking for work. Although Ohio has a lower unemployment rate than the national average, the national job market significantly outpaced Ohio in August, with more workers looking for jobs, a declining unemployment rate, and 127,000 new private-sector jobs.”

The Buckeye Institute filed its response brief in McNutt v. U.S. Department of Justice—one of The Buckeye Institute’s two cases challenging the unconstitutional federal prohibition on home distilling—with the U.S. Supreme Court. In its response, The Buckeye Institute urged the Supreme Court to grant review of McNutt and also Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury. “The importance of the fundamental constitutional questions in these two cases being addressed together can hardly be overstated.”

In a new policy brief, Don’t Pull the Plug: A Better Blueprint for Ohio’s Data Center Future, The Buckeye Institute argues against short-sighted blanket bans on data centers and instead calls on state and local governments to address the challenges data centers pose without unnecessarily discouraging—or killing—investment in this vital new industry. “While Ohio policymakers should not dismiss legitimate public concerns about data centers, they should reject moratoriums on their construction.”

The Buckeye Institute filed its amicus brief in Hall v. Fleming, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and overturn Locke v. Davey, which wrongly interpreted the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause and endorsed an unprecedented suspicion of religion in public life. “The Buckeye Institute urges the Supreme Court to take this case and tell Virginia it cannot deny publicly available scholarship funds to college students who major in religious subjects.”

The Buckeye Institute filed its amicus brief in Jouppi v. Alaska, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to tell Alaska that seizing a plane over a six-pack of beer is the embodiment of an excessive fine that the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibits. “For 14 years, the state of Alaska has been trying to seize Mr. Jouppi’s plane over a six-pack of beer. A $95,000 plane, forfeited for a six-pack of Budweiser, exemplifies the type of financial incentives that are corrupting our criminal justice system.” 

The Buckeye Institute filed its amicus brief in Grand v. University Heights, Ohio, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the property rights and religious liberty rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. “From the Pilgrims secret meetings in Scrooby Manor, to John Locke’s theories of linking property and religious liberty, to James Madison’s belief that the free exercise of one’s religion is itself a property right, property and freedom of conscience have flowed together throughout American history and must be protected from government tyranny.”

The Buckeye Institute joined Washington Legal Foundation and the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center in filing a second amicus brief in Ohio Telecom Association v. Federal Communications Commission, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit agreed to rehear the case en banc (by the full court), calling on the court to affirm congressional authority over federal rulemaking.