The Buckeye Institute released its world-famous 2025 Piglet Book, which identified more than $9 billion in savings for Ohio taxpayers. The Piglet Book analyzes Ohio’s proposed biennial budget to offer specific savings for lawmakers to consider as they debate the state’s two-year budget. “To help keep Ohio economically competitive, the General Assembly should aggressively prioritize cuts to public spending, curb Medicaid growth rates, close tax loopholes, eliminate corporate welfare, and end government ‘philanthropy.’”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 28, which, if adopted, will “lay a foundation” for further reforms, such as those championed by The Buckeye Institute. Buckeye’s commonsense recommendations would bring more transparency to how property taxes are spent and eliminate “layers of fragmented, redundant bureaucracy” that lead to higher property taxes for Ohioans. 

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Workforce and Higher Education Committee on policies in Ohio Senate Bill 1, which, if adopted, would improve higher education in Ohio by increasing accountability. In the testimony, The Buckeye Institute, praised America’s higher education system, pointing out that it “has long been the envy of the world” and noted that the policies in Senate Bill 1 could help address the systemic and cultural problems facing Ohio’s public universities. 

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Energy Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 15—many of which were recommended by The Buckeye Institute and American for Prosperity-Ohio in Better Energy Policy for Ohio. The policies, if adopted, would help ensure a healthy supply of affordable, reliable energy to meet the state’s rising consumer demands. In the testimony, Buckeye noted that House Bill 15 is “the most free-market piece of energy legislation since the deregulation efforts in the late 1990s.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Finance Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 96—Ohio’s biennial budget. In his testimony, Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, highlighted four areas—Medicaid, primary and secondary education, higher education, and taxes—and urged lawmakers to ensure the “state’s long-term fiscal health” and to “retain pro-growth tax policies.”

The Buckeye Institute reacted to Governor Mike DeWine’s 2025 State of the State speech, praising him for highlighting the need to cut regulations, reform Ohio’s energy policies, shift to outcomes-based funding in higher education, increase educational training, and restore the formerly incarcerated into the workforce. Buckeye was disappointed there was no mention of reining in Medicaid funding or of Ohio’s new school choice program, which has given lower- and middle-class families the chance to improve their children’s education and future.

The March 11 story, Private school vouchers, Ohio’s wealthiest families access scholarships, misses the larger story of Ohio’s school choice success. As a result of the changes adopted by lawmakers, lower-income and middle-class families now get better access to the schools of their choosing. In Ohio, the poorest families receive nearly one-third of the total funding for the state’s leading voucher program, the EdChoice scholarship. Middle-class families utilize another one-third. 

The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony to the Ohio Senate Medicaid Committee in support of Ohio’s proposed Medicaid waiver, which enhances the program’s integrity and promotes economic stability, financial independence, and improved health outcomes. “For almost 50 years, the government expected healthy adults to be in the labor force working or looking for work.”

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Lutheran Home at Kane v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, calling on the court to “abandon deference to administrative agencies and reassert judicial authority in interpreting laws and regulations.” “The U.S. Supreme Court and 18 states—including Ohio—have revised their deference doctrines. This case presents the Pennsylvania Supreme Court an opportunity to abandon its deference to administrative agencies and reassert judicial authority in interpreting laws and regulations.”

The Buckeye Institute commented on the newly released jobs report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. “In January, Ohio’s unemployment ticked up to 4.6 percent from 4.5 percent in December, while the national unemployment rate declined to 4.0, widening the gap between Ohio and the national average. Ohio’s labor force participation rate was flat at 62.4 percent, while the national average climbed to 64.6. This month’s report shows that while Ohio’s job market struggled in January, the national job market improved.”