The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Gun Owners of America v. ATF, calling on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to uphold the Freedom of Information Act and reverse the lower court’s ill-advised ruling restricting the use of public documents, something the FOIA law does not allow. “In the lower court’s ruling, the court has given itself a new power to create a new governmental right under the Freedom of Information Act that does not exist and that Congress did not authorize.” 

The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony to the Ohio Senate Local Government Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 335, which, if adopted, will help ease property tax burdens on Ohioans. Buckeye urged lawmakers to reform local government, as recommended by The Buckeye Institute, to help lower property taxes. The policies in House Bill 335 are “sorely needed to protect Ohio taxpayers from an outmoded, undemocratic system that has cost them dearly.”

The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony to the Ohio Senate Local Government Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 186, which will help rein in unvoted property tax increases. Buckeye urged lawmakers to reform local government, as recommended by The Buckeye Institute, to help ease property tax burdens on Ohioans and noted that House Bill 186 takes a “decisive step toward a more efficient local government structure and property tax system.”

After filing an amicus brief in Columbus City School District v. State of Ohio defending school choice in Ohio, The Buckeye Institute demonstrated in The Columbus Dispatch how Ohio’s popular voucher programs benefit parents and students. “The public and the General Assembly understand that parents need more freedom to choose the right learning environment for their kids — not less. It’s a shame some school districts still don’t.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Judiciary Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 88, urging lawmakers to protect The Buckeye Institute-championed mens rea reforms, which were “the first and best of their kind in the country.” “For more than a decade, Ohio has demonstrated its commitment to prudent, commonsense criminal justice policies and reforms,” but “House Bill 88 retreats from those reforms” by removing mens rea requirements in some circumstances.

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Health Committee on the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 198, which should be tailored narrowly to make the opaque 340B drug pricing program more transparent. Rea S. Hederman, vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute, noted that Senate Bill 198 “makes a noble effort to help Ohio’s community health centers,” and urged the committee to ensure “that any action Ohio takes does not undermine program sustainability or raise costs.”

“Household debt has reached record levels across the United States, and Ohio families are feeling the financial strain…For those trying to stay financially afloat, the choices can seem bleak.” In The Center Square, The Buckeye Institute urged lawmakers to “modernize Ohio’s over-protective debt-settlement laws” and give Ohioans struggling with debt more options to help them regain their financial footing.

In a new policy memo, The Buckeye Institute outlines how Senate Bill 256 and House Bill 534 take reasonable, necessary steps to help Ohio families seeking debt relief. “Ohio’s household debt crisis demands practical, consumer-focused solutions. Clarifying the state’s debt-settlement law offers a responsible path forward by enhancing consumer choice. Senate Bill 256 and House Bill 534 take reasonable, necessary steps to help Ohio families seeking debt relief.”

The Buckeye Institute filed an important amicus brief in Columbus City School District v. State of Ohio, calling on Ohio’s 10th District Court of Appeals to protect school choice for parents and students who have benefited from voucher programs and those who will benefit from them in the future. “School choice is being threatened by a coalition of disgruntled and self-interested districts that previously tried and failed to end Ohio’s groundbreaking Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program.”

The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal brief in Vanderveer v. OAPSE with Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals, calling on the court to reverse the lower court’s dismissal of the case and end the union’s wage theft practices. The Buckeye Institute represents Katrina Vanderveer of Wauseon, Ohio, in Vanderveer v. OAPSE—one of several union wage theft cases brought by The Buckeye Institute. This case will decide “whether the courthouse doors are open to Mrs. Vanderveer—and other Ohioans...”