The Buckeye Institute, joined by the Pelican Institute, filed an amicus brief in Crowe v. Oregon State Bar, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the First Amendment rights of lawyers and end laws that force attorneys to join state-sponsored bar associations that lobby on inherently political and ideological issues. “When bar associations engage in advocacy and speak on matters of public concern, they are engaging in inherently political speech.”

The Buckeye Institute filed its fourth lawsuit against the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) for its refusal to stop taking money out of the paychecks of public employees who are not members of the government unions. The Buckeye Institute filed Vanderveer v. OAPSE in the Fulton County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Katrina Vanderveer. “In yet another case, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees has refused to stop taking ‘dues’ out of our client’s paycheck.” 

In The Center Square, The Buckeye Institute offers an approach to higher education reforms, writing, “As the traditional higher education model shifts away from catering primarily to recent high-school graduates living full-time on campus, it must find ways to reduce administrative expenses while keeping pace with changing demographics, student and employer preferences, and new learning opportunities. Lawmakers and education policymakers must facilitate rather than hinder each of those objectives.”

In The Columbus Dispatch, The Buckeye Institute calls for a more competitive, more transparent, less subsidized energy market, writing, “The rapidly evolving 21st century economy runs on electricity and demand for reliable power shows no signs of abating. Without affordable electricity, Ohio risks losing economic market share to states with more energy and lower energy prices. That’s an avoidable risk not worth taking.”
 

The Buckeye Institute commented on the newly released jobs report, saying, “In March, Ohio’s unemployment rate continued to climb to 4.8 percent, up from 4.7 percent. At the same time, the national unemployment rate increased from 4.1 to 4.2 percent. However, the labor force participation rate increased again to 62.6 percent, the highest rate in six months, outpacing the national average of 62.5 percent.”

Will South Carolina join other states across the nation in what Zachary D. Cady of The Buckeye Institute calls “the flat tax revolution”? What trade-offs are involved in the legislative process when it comes to tax reform? How do we know how tax code changes will affect the broader economy? All these and questions and more are discussed on this episode of Beyond Policy, a podcast of the Palmetto Promise Institute.
 

In The Columbus Dispatch, The Buckeye Institute points out missing information from a recent article, writing, “The April 13 Dispatch article, ‘Ohio schools, parents concerned as lawmakers debate voucher and public school funding,’ states that ‘Republican lawmakers’ are ‘proposing cuts to public schools.’ That assertion is incorrect.”

In The Center Square, The Buckeye Institute and the Mississippi Center for Public Policy look at Mississippi’s bold tax reform, writing, “No one likes paying taxes. April 15th is a time of dread for most taxpayers. But this April, Mississippians have a reason to cheer because of the state legislature’s actions and Gov. Tate Reeves. Mississippi is poised to become one of the top ten states for income tax policy and can look forward to more jobs and economic prosperity for generations.”

In a new policy brief, Advancing Healthcare Technology, The Buckeye Institute urges lawmakers to create a “regulatory sandbox” so that AI innovators can develop new medical technologies in a flexible, safe regulatory environment that lowers costs and cuts red tape. An AI healthcare sandbox “will allow healthcare providers, AI developers, and policymakers to collaborate and responsibly test novel technologies related to drug development, medical imaging, disease diagnosis, gene therapy, medical research, and health data management...” 

The Buckeye Institute commented after the Ohio House passed House Bill 96—Ohio’s biennial budget, which now goes to the Ohio Senate for consideration. “The budget passed by the Ohio House includes several good policies that prioritize the needs of Ohio’s K-12 students, improve Ohio’s higher education system, and put reasonable guardrails on the state’s ever-growing Medicaid program. However, this budget assumes a rosy financial picture that is not certain.”