In public comments, The Buckeye Institute urged the U.S. EPA to ensure Americans have access to reliable energy sources and repeal its impractical emission standards for new and existing power plants. In its comments, The Buckeye Institute: 1) outlines how the EPA’s unworkable emission standards threaten the availability of reliable and affordable electricity, and 2) offers an impact analysis that is grounded in feasibility, measurable outcomes, and realistic compliance outcomes. 

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Diemert v. City of Seattle, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to look to Justice John Marshall Harlan’s dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson and his expansive view of the 14th Amendment to end discriminatory workplace equity initiatives, which violate the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964. “By recognizing the wisdom in Justice Harlan’s Plessy dissent, this court can move us towards the color-blind Constitution and the America that Harlan envisioned.”

The Buckeye Institute commented after Attorney General Dave Yost filed Ohio’s notice of appeal in Columbus City School District v. Ohio, defending the constitutionality of Ohio’s EdChoice voucher program. “As one of Ohio’s earliest school choice leaders, The Buckeye Institute has long stood for putting students first, and we fully support Ohio’s elected leaders in their strong defense of a vital program that serves more than 100,000 students and their families across the state.”

As Governor Mike DeWine’s Property Tax Reform Working Group begins its work, The Buckeye Institute outlined 10 specific recommendations to reform local government and reduce the soaring property tax burden afflicting Ohio homeowners. “Tough choices are needed…, and The Buckeye Institute’s work offers the Property Tax Reform Working Group a roadmap to real reform that will lower property taxes while maintaining critical local government services.”
 

The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal brief in Sheldon v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) with Ohio’s Seventh 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 Matthew Sheldon of Carrollton, Ohio, in Sheldon v. OAPSE—one of seven union wage theft cases brought by The Buckeye Institute. Stay up-to-date on Sheldon v. OAPSE at: BuckeyeInstitute.org/SheldonvOAPSE.

The Buckeye Institute commented on the newly released jobs report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, saying, “In a positive sign, Ohio’s private-sector hiring surged in June, adding 11,600 new jobs, erasing the 6,300 job loss in May…Along with the positive signs, there is concern. Ohio lags the national average and needs to generate more job opportunities for Ohioans.”

The Buckeye Institute secured a victory for Anthony Alfieri—a South Carolina resident—against the city of Cleveland, when the city refunded Mr. Alfieri more than $18,000 in income taxes illegally taken in 2021 and 2022. Mr. Alfieri’s victory follows a win The Buckeye Institute secured for Dr. Manal Morsy in May 2024, when Cleveland agreed to 1) fully refund the taxes it illegally took from Dr. Morsy, 2) pay the interest owed to her according to Cleveland City Ordinance, and 3) reimburse her court costs.
 

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Thomas v. County of Humboldt, California, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and declare that the right to a civil jury trial—enumerated in the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution—applies to the states under the Fourteenth Amendment’s privileges or immunities clause. “This case presents the court with an opportunity to reinvigorate the privileges or immunities clause and restore it to its respected place in American jurisprudence.”

The Buckeye Institute filed a new lawsuit in another union wage theft case, this time against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on behalf of Cindy DuPuis and Tiffany Binder, both of Lucas County. The Buckeye Institute filed DuPuis v. AFSCME in Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. “Ms. DuPuis and Mrs. Binder ended their contracts with AFSCME on the day they quit the union, and under Ohio law, all dues deductions should have ended immediately.” 

Five nationally renowned policy organizations and public interest law firms filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit supporting The Buckeye Institute’s case, Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury, which challenges the federal government’s ban on home distilling. The groups that filed amicus briefs in support of The Buckeye Institute’s case were Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Cato Institute, Center for Individual Rights, Liberty Justice Center, and Southeastern Legal Foundation.