The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony to the Ohio Senate Local Government Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 335, which, if adopted, will help ease property tax burdens on Ohioans. Buckeye urged lawmakers to reform local government, as recommended by The Buckeye Institute, to help lower property taxes. The policies in House Bill 335 are “sorely needed to protect Ohio taxpayers from an outmoded, undemocratic system that has cost them dearly.”

The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony to the Ohio Senate Local Government Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 186, which will help rein in unvoted property tax increases. Buckeye urged lawmakers to reform local government, as recommended by The Buckeye Institute, to help ease property tax burdens on Ohioans and noted that House Bill 186 takes a “decisive step toward a more efficient local government structure and property tax system.”

After filing an amicus brief in Columbus City School District v. State of Ohio defending school choice in Ohio, The Buckeye Institute demonstrated in The Columbus Dispatch how Ohio’s popular voucher programs benefit parents and students. “The public and the General Assembly understand that parents need more freedom to choose the right learning environment for their kids — not less. It’s a shame some school districts still don’t.”

“Household debt has reached record levels across the United States, and Ohio families are feeling the financial strain…For those trying to stay financially afloat, the choices can seem bleak.” In The Center Square, The Buckeye Institute urged lawmakers to “modernize Ohio’s over-protective debt-settlement laws” and give Ohioans struggling with debt more options to help them regain their financial footing.

In a new policy memo, The Buckeye Institute outlines how Senate Bill 256 and House Bill 534 take reasonable, necessary steps to help Ohio families seeking debt relief. “Ohio’s household debt crisis demands practical, consumer-focused solutions. Clarifying the state’s debt-settlement law offers a responsible path forward by enhancing consumer choice. Senate Bill 256 and House Bill 534 take reasonable, necessary steps to help Ohio families seeking debt relief.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Energy Committee on the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 103, which will help create a dynamic energy future for Ohio by eliminating rigid regulatory procedures for approving natural gas projects. The Buckeye Institute noted that delays in approving natural gas projects undermine Ohio’s “economic and technological growth,” and that the policies in Senate Bill 103 will “help keep Ohio competitive and spur economic development by attracting new technology and industrial investment.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House General Government Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 59, which opens doors to Ohio’s workers by eliminating and reforming unnecessary occupational licensing requirements that make it harder to start a new career or get a promotion. The Buckeye Institute urged lawmakers to adopt the recommendations outlined in The Buckeye Institute’s third Opening Doors policy brief and eliminate or reform 39 state-required licenses. 

The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony to the Ohio Senate Local Government Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 309, which gives county budget commissions another tool to reduce property tax levies if the levies collect more taxes than the voters approved. This is one of the 10 recommendations The Buckeye Institute offered to the Property Tax Reform Working Group to lower Ohio’s soaring property taxes.

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.”