The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Energy Committee on the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 2. As with Ohio House Bill 15, Senate Bill 2 offers smarter, principled energy policies—several of which The Buckeye Institute and American for Prosperity-Ohio offered in Better Energy Policy for Ohio—that reduce bureaucratic red tape and help power supply keep pace with new demands.

The Buckeye Institute filed a Valentine’s Day love letter to the First Amendment with the Judicial Conference of the United States. The love letter, aka public comments, urged the conference to protect the free speech rights of Americans and reject proposed changes to court rules mandating that organizations filing amicus briefs in federal cases expose the private information of their donors.

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.

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Medicaid Committee, offering several reforms Ohio can make to enhance Medicaid’s integrity and safeguard the program against potential rule changes in Washington. With potential rule changes from Washington, Hederman offered three reforms Ohio can make to strengthen Medicaid’s integrity.

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Higher Education Committee on policies in Ohio Senate Bill 1, which, if adopted, would improve higher education in Ohio by increasing accountability. In his testimony, Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at 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 filed public comments to Ohio’s Department of Medicaid supporting the state’s waiver application that, if approved, will allow the state to implement work and education requirements for healthy adult Ohioans younger than 55 who receive Medicaid benefits. “As anyone who has been unemployed knows, the longer you are out of the workforce, the harder it becomes to find a job. That is why Ohio must do everything it can to help people stay connected to the workforce and find good paying jobs.” 

Broadband internet access significantly drives economic growth, enhances educational opportunities, and promotes the public welfare. The Buckeye Institute supports policies that expand access to broadband, including recent amendments to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) pole attachment rules—and the PUCO should support them, too. The FCC’s revised pole attachment rules offer a practical solution to a persistent barrier to broadband expansion. By aligning state policies with the FCC rules, the PUCO can help bridge Ohio’s digital divide and provide all residents with access to high-speed broadband internet.

“If a commitment to access for all is the ABA’s and the law schools’ goal, then the standards should reflect a commitment to true access for all, not only members of the ABA’s preferred groups. The ABA and law schools can avoid further legal action by simply assuring access to the legal profession to all persons. Therefore, the Council should reconsider the proposed changes and adopt The Buckeye Institute’s proposed standard.”

The Buckeye Institute submitted testimony to the Ohio House Homeland Security Committee on the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 37, which would ensure that the suspension of driver’s licenses is related to driving offenses. Millions of Ohioans have their licenses suspended, many for offenses unrelated to dangerous driving. The serious ramifications of these suspensions include “difficulty obtaining and retaining meaningful employment, and [a smaller] pool of available workers for Ohio businesses...”

The Buckeye Institute submitted testimony to the Ohio House State and Local Government Committee on the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 198, which help formerly incarcerated Ohioans obtain the documents they need to secure stable housing and employment. By requiring Ohio’s departments of Rehabilitation and Correction and Youth Services to provide soon-to-be-released inmates with identification documents needed for employment, Senate Bill 198 “further promote[s] the state’s interest in a safer, more just society.”