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.” 

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 309, which empowers county budget commissions to reduce property tax levies if those levies collect more than approved by voters. 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. Find more Buckeye Institute recommendations to reform local government and lower property taxes at BuckeyeInstitute.org/LocalGovReform.

At Cleveland.com, The Buckeye Institute calls on lawmakers to re-establish a committee to review all of Ohio’s tax loopholes, writing, “While not all tax expenditures should be eliminated, they should all be reviewed to ensure they are accomplishing the goals for which they were created. And closing loopholes —as recommended by The Buckeye Institute — would allow lawmakers to pursue broad-based tax reform benefiting all Ohioans, not merely the well-connected few.”

The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony at the invitation of Ohio’s Property Tax Reform Working Group. Buckeye’s testimony outlines 10 specific recommendations to reform local government and reduce the soaring property tax burden afflicting Ohio homeowners. In his testimony, Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, noted that the driving force behind increasing property taxes is the “ever-rising cost of maintaining Ohio’s extraordinarily complicated local government structure.”