Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, saying, “Job growth in Ohio appears to be taking a summer break, with 3,100 fewer private sector jobs compared to last month’s revised report—the fourth straight month of sluggish or negative growth that Ohio has experienced.”

Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, issued the following statement reacting to the state budget passed by the Ohio Senate on Thursday, saying, “The budget passed by the Ohio Senate includes a tax cut for hardworking Ohioans that is both fair to taxpayers and sound policy for the state’s long-term economic growth, but the same budget also increases spending by more than $318 million over the already bloated House budget.”

Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, testified Wednesday before the Ohio Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee on the policies in House Bill 6, which creates a taxpayer funded subsidy to prop-up failing businesses, saying, “The Buckeye Institute opposes government subsidies, pure and simple…using the power of government to disadvantage market competitors makes for bad public policy.”

Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute, testified Tuesday before the Ohio House Health Committee on the policies in House Bill 177, which would lift unnecessary restrictions placed on nurses that drive up health care costs and limit access to care for Ohioans.

Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, testified Monday before the Ohio Senate Finance Committee on the Ohio Senate’s version of House Bill 166—Ohio’s biennial budget, noting that “despite many improvements, the Senate’s proposed budget remains too large [and] too unsustainable to weather anything other than the sunniest economic conditions.”

Melonia Lillie has been a registered nurse for 20 years and has served this country alongside her active duty Marine Corps husband as a military spouse since 2008. Through military transfers, Melonia’s support of her husband’s military service has taken her and her family from California, to Colorado, to Washington, DC, back to California, and now to Ohio. And while we are glad to have her here in the Buckeye State, our occupational licensing requirements have not been welcoming.

Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with the Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute and the co-author of It Ain’t Easy Being Green: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Electric Vehicles in Arizona, testified Wednesday before the Arizona Corporation Commission on the proposed policy that would allow Arizona’s public utilities to build charging stations for electric vehicles and pass the costs on to Arizonans through higher utility bills.

Daniel J. Dew, a legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute’s Legal Center, testified Wednesday before the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee on the policies in Senate Bill 3, which would safely reduce Ohio’s prison population by ensuring those suffering from addiction receive treatment instead of a prison cell. In his testimony, Dew noted that “Ohio stands among the nation’s leaders in looking for commonsense policies that will keep our neighborhoods safe while ensuring that non-violent offenders do not overrun our prisons or our courts.”

Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, issued the following statement reacting to the Ohio Senate’s version of the state’s biennial budget on Tuesday, saying, “The Ohio Senate’s budget offers a substantial improvement by cutting income taxes on hardworking Ohioans, which is one of the most pro-economic growth actions policymakers can take.”

Daniel J. Dew, a legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute’s Legal Center, testified Thursday before the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee on the policies in House Bill 1, which will make it easier for people to receive treatment for drug addiction rather than receiving a criminal conviction, and will make it easier for people to have their criminal records sealed after they have paid their debt to society.