The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the Ohio Supreme Court in Ohio Power Company v. Burns asking the court to uphold two long-recognized checks on the government’s power to take property by eminent domain—that the government may only take property that is necessary, and that courts can exercise the power of judicial review to ensure governments honor that limitation. The Buckeye Institute has called on Ohio’s high court to tell Ohio Power Company and AEP that the permanent easements they are demanding are unnecessary.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen that New York’s requirement for citizens to demonstrate a “special need” to obtain a license to carry a gun for self-defense violates the U.S. Constitution. “The rules New York put in place allowed the well-connected and famous to obtain permits to carry firearms for self-defense while simultaneously refusing to grant the same right to ordinary law-abiding citizens in a clear violation of the Second Amendment.”

In The Lima News, The Buckeye Institute highlights the work of the Ohio Senate and Senate President Matt Huffman in mitigating the learning loss that Ohio’s K-12 students have experienced due to the pandemic. “President Huffman and the Ohio Senate helped keep a bad situation from worsening. And for that, Ohio families should be grateful. But more education reforms will be needed to help students recoup some of their learning losses and recover from the great COVID disruption. The Senate, it seems, is up to the challenge.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Carson v. Makin that the state of Maine cannot deny students and their families financial aid that is available to all other students just because a family chooses to use their aid to send their children to a religious or “sectarian” school. “As The Buckeye Institute argued in its amicus brief, Maine’s discrimination against religious schools and parents violated the First Amendment, and today’s decision is another significant victory for the rights of families and students.”

Analysts in Ohio are keeping a watchful eye on certain decisions made on the federal level to address the problem of inflation. Ohio Public Media’s Andy Chow talked to Rea Hederman, with The Buckeye Institute, and Guillermo Bervejillo with Policy Matters Ohio about the impact of inflation in Ohio.

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, urging the court to declare that California’s Proposition 12—which purports to regulate the pork industry within the Golden State, but in reality imposes its regulations nationwide—violates the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. “Not only does California’s Prop 12 violate the U.S. Constitution, but it also undermines the unique American principle of federalism.”

The Buckeye Institute commented on Ohio’s newly released jobs report, saying, “Ohio’s job market continued to see mostly strong growth in May with the unemployment rate falling to 3.9 percent…while workers continued to return to the job market, driving Ohio’s labor force participation rate to 62 percent... However, recent economic news has been grim, with inflation spiking to 40-year highs and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates to a nearly 30-year high.”

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, calling on the court to protect employers’ property rights from union vandalism and sabotage. “By denying Glacier Northwest the right to sue for the willful and intentional damage of property, the Washington Supreme Court essentially held that the National Labor Relations Act allows unions to destroy private property and leaves employers with no real legal recourse.”

Robert Alt, president and CEO of The Buckeye Institute, joined the Pacific Research Institute’s Next Round podcast to discuss Buckeye’s work in challenging Ohio’s COVID-19 mandates and lockdowns, and government overreach.

In a new policy memo, Help Cities Transition to New Tax System, The Buckeye Institute recommends that Ohio lawmakers use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) tax dollars to help localities modernize their tax systems to be less reliant on “dwindling commuter taxes.” This memo is the third in a series that counsels state policymakers to “resist the temptation to spend taxpayer dollars foolishly and instead spend wisely on areas that need genuine financial assistance.”