The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Public Insurance and Pensions Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 473, which includes “reform[s] that will help local governments live within their means and make public employee compensation more transparent for taxpayers.” The pension pick-up loophole diverts money from public services that taxpayers expect or requires property tax hikes that taxpayers don’t—“just the sort of opaque and expensive public perk that has fueled taxpayer frustration.” 

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Technology and Innovation Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 392, which will “help position Ohio as a national leader in AI and data processing technology.” House Bill 392 establishes “clear regulatory guardrails to properly balance innovation and responsible oversight of emerging technology,” and “provides regulatory certainty for the AI sector by preventing local governments from imposing a patchwork of contradictory rules that are expensive and difficult to follow.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Technology and Innovation Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 413, which will open local government accounting books to the public. “Local governments and jurisdictions are already required to make tax collection and spending information available upon taxpayer request. House Bill 413 simply “streamlines that process by making local revenues and expenditures immediately accessible online, eliminating the need for residents to file time-consuming public records requests and wait weeks for a response.”

The Buckeye Institute commented on the passage of House Bill 186 and House Bill 335 by the Ohio House of Representatives, saying, “Taken together, House Bill 186 and House Bill 335 will help rein in unvoted property tax increases as The Buckeye Institute recommended. While there remains more to do to reform Ohio’s expensive system of local government and protect Ohioans from spiking property taxes, the adoption of the policies in House Bill 186 and House Bill 335 is another step in the right direction...”

In the Dayton Daily News, The Buckeye Institute applauds state representatives Tom Young and Bob Peterson for their efforts to require every local governmental body and taxing jurisdiction to open their books to taxpayers by requiring them to “disclose their revenue sources and expenditures in a uniform, searchable format and made available to all residents throughout the state.” “The simmering unrest over property taxes should remind Ohio policymakers that meaningful reform cannot wait. But that reform should start with mandatory transparency — not constitutional amendments…”

The Buckeye Institute commented after the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 309, which will help lower property taxes on Ohioans, saying, “House Bill 309 is only one piece of a much larger puzzle of local government and property tax reforms that need to be adopted to help Ohioans clamoring for relief, and The Buckeye Institute urges the Ohio Senate to take up this urgent reform to help homeowners struggling with skyrocketing property tax bills.”

As the Ohio House General Government Committee begins its review of Ohio occupational licenses, The Buckeye Institute issued its fourth Opening Doors policy brief, where it identified 39 licenses that the state should eliminate or reform to make Ohio more economically competitive and make it easier for people to earn a living. Since 2019, Ohio has eliminated or reduced requirements for nearly 100 licenses based on The Buckeye Institute’s recommendations.

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Public Utilities Committee on the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 103, which takes “great strides to meet rising [energy] demand without sacrificing consumer protections.” At its core, the bill reforms Ohio’s rigid regulatory procedures for natural gas project approvals through the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).

The Buckeye Institute commented on the report issued by Governor DeWine’s Property Tax Reform Working Group, saying, “Some of the recommendations from the Property Tax Reform Working Group are positive and align with recommendations made by The Buckeye Institute. However, as Ohioans clamor for relief from skyrocketing property taxes, more needs to be done. Ohio needs to revamp its complex and opaque local government system, as well as its thousands of separate taxing authorities…”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Government Oversight Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 176, which will boost innovation, help businesses access capital, and help consumers access better and safer products. In the testimony, The Buckeye Institute noted that, if adopted, House Bill 176 would make “Ohio the sixth state with a universal sandbox across economic sectors, benefiting entrepreneurs, business startups, and consumers by encouraging teamwork between businesses and state regulators.”