Parent Educational Freedom Act Reintroduced in Ohio Senate

Republican State Senator Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula) has reintroduced the Parental Education Freedom Act. The measure would make each student in the state eligible for an Educational Choice (EdChoice) Scholarship to be used at a private school of their choice, or an increased tax credit for expenses related to homeschooling.

O’Brien introduced this legislation during the lame-duck session last month as SB 368 however, the legislation did not progress before the start of the 135th General Assembly so she had to reintroduce it. 

Read the full story

Newly Signed Ohio Bill Expands Afterschool Enrichment Accounts

A $6 billion spending bill that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed on Friday expands a program assisting parents and guardians with supplemental education purchases.

The ACE Educational Savings Account program previously bestowed a $500 credit on families seeking to purchase enrichment materials or services to help their children get past the learning setbacks caused by the COVID-19 school shutdowns. The new legislation raises the credit to $1,000. 

Read the full story

Ohio State Senate Passes Plan to Restructure the State’s Education System

The Ohio State Senate passed a 2,144-page Republican-backed bill to “restructure” the Ohio Department of Education on Wednesday.

Senate Bill (SB) 178 sponsored by State Senator Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin) told the Primary and Secondary Education Committee that the bill seeks to “improve the academic achievement and workforce skills of our students, to drive better outcomes in their education, and to prepare for more effective career readiness.”

Read the full story

Ohio Nurses Can Begin Applying for Multi-State Licenses on January 1st

With the unanimous passage of Senator Kristina Roegner’s (R-Hudson) Senate Bill (SB) 3 last year, nurses in Ohio will soon be able to choose a multistate license (MSL) through the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC).

Beginning on January 1st, 2023 registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and nursing students will be able to apply for an MSL which will permit them to practice in any of the 37 other states that have joined under the NLC.

Read the full story

Ohio State Senate Passes Bill Reducing Training for Cosmetologist and Barber Licenses

State Republican lawmakers are moving a bill forwards that aims to reduce the amount of required training it would take to get a cosmetology and barber license.

House Bill (HB) 542 sponsored by state Representatives Bill Roemer (R-Richfield) and Lisa Sobecki (D-Toledo) began as a piece of legislation aimed to create a unified barbering/cosmetology school license, to eliminate duplicative applications for facilities that teach both cosmetology and barbering and to lower the age of applicants for barber school to 16 years old.

Read the full story

Free-Market Think Tank Backs Bill Lightening Occupational Licensure Burden, Urges Further Reform

In the view of an Ohio conservative think tank, the Buckeye State should enact a bill the House passed, and the Senate is now considering to pare back licensure burdens for many professionals. 

Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at the Columbus-based Buckeye Institute, testified this week before the Ohio Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee in favor of the bill. He added he believes the state should pursue further reform even after the legislation passes the Senate and receives Governor Mike DeWine’s signature. 

Read the full story

Ohio Senate Passes Major Criminal Justice Reforms

The Ohio Senate voted 27-2 on Wednesday in favor of a criminal justice reform bill that aims to change how quickly inmates can earn time off of their prison sentences, expand immunity from prosecution for minor drug possession offenses, and strengthens penalties for domestic violence offenders.

Senate Bill (SB) 288 sponsored by Senator Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) aims to provide alternative services to people in lieu of jail or prison or to divert people from an already overburdened prison system.

Read the full story

Buckeye Institute Urges Ohio Legislators to End Late-Summer Special Elections

The Ohio Senate Local Government and Elections Committee held its third hearing on Tuesday regarding legislation to end the state’s late-summer special elections, drawing supportive testimony from Buckeye Institute Research Fellow Greg R. Lawson. 

Lawson’s Columbus-based center-right policy outfit backs the effort to eliminate these elections which feature nominating contests for state legislative offices, state-party committee votes and many ballot initiatives. The bill, sponsored by state Representative Thomas Hall (R-Madison Township), passed the state House of Representatives 68-22 last December and must pass the Senate and receive Governor Mike DeWine’s (R) signature in December to become law. All House members who opposed the measure last year were Democrats. 

Read the full story

Study: Ohio Outside of Capital Area Is Losing Population

A new study released this week by a Columbus-based nonprofit observed that, with the exception of Ohio’s capital city and its surrounding suburbs, the Buckeye State is losing population.

The paper by the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), titled “Ohio + Columbus: A Tale of Two States,” posits that “much of Ohio functions like a legacy state rather than a rapidly growing place.” In other words, many places in the state experienced manufacturing booms a century ago but have seen industrial activity quickly decline in recent decades. 

Read the full story

Buckeye Institute Cautiously Lauds Ohio’s Credit Rating Rise, Warns Ongoing Discipline Will Be Crucial

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s announcement last week that Fitch Ratings upgraded the state’s credit rating from AA+ to AAA elicited both praise and caution from the Columbus-based Buckeye Institute.

Greg Lawson, research fellow at the center-right think tank, called the budgetary management to which state officials ascribed Fitch’s decision on Ohio’s long-term issuer default rating (IDR) “a mixed bag.” (The state has also seen its general-obligation bond rating rise from AA+ to AAA, its appropriation-backed bonds move to AA+ from AA, the Ohio School District Credit Enhancement Program Rating go to AA+ from AA and the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Portsmouth Bypass project obligations rating move to A+ from AA-.) 

Read the full story

Buckeye Institute Report Offers Solutions to Ohio Students’ Learning Loss

Responding to major learning loss suffered by Ohio students as a result of the school closures following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Columbus-based Buckeye Institute recommended policy solutions this week to help students regain what the education system did not provide. 

On March 30, 2020, Republican Governor Mike DeWine ordered all in-person K-12 schooling closed throughout the state for the remainder of that school year. Students instead participated in “virtual classrooms” wherein they would watch their teachers’ instructions online. During the 2020-21 school year, many school districts continued to keep school buildings closed at least part-time. 

Read the full story

Ohio Lawmakers Urged to Eliminate ‘Redundant’ and Costly Motor Vehicle Repair Board

  Since The Buckeye Institute first started publishing its Piglet Book in 2005, it’s recommended eliminating Ohio’s Motor Vehicle Repair Board. The Buckeye Institute, an independent think tank whose mission is to advance free-market public policy, issues a regular Piglet Book that analyzes “Ohio’s proposed biennial budget and offers savings for policymakers to consider as they debate the state’s two-year budget.” This year’s book again lists the Motor Vehicle Repair Board, saying ending it will save Ohio taxpayers about $1.2 million. “The Motor Vehicle Repair Board performs functions that the private sector already performs admirably,” the book states. “Consumers have adequate access to information on the quality of facilities from various sources, including the Better Business Bureau to Angie’s List, which make this state board redundant and unnecessary.” When it was first created in 1997, it was called the Motor Vehicle Collision Repair Registration Board. It was supposed to oversee a new registration process for businesses in the state that did five or more collision repairs within a 12-month period. Unlike some government regulations, it was businesses in the state who asked for the board and registration in order to address “chop shops” and “fly-by-night” operators. According to the Automotive Services…

Read the full story

Buckeye Institute Annual Report Identifies $2.5 Billion in Savings for Ohio Taxpayers

The Buckeye Institute released its annual Piglet Booklet Wednesday, which identifies wasteful government spending across state agencies that could save Ohio taxpayers $2.5 billion. “In this year’s Piglet Booklet, The Buckeye Institute identified at least $2.5 billion that policymakers can save Ohioans. And with the increase in the gas tax, it is critical to cut spending and taxes to relieve the growing burden on Ohio families,” said Greg Lawson, research fellow at The Buckeye Institute and author of the report. “Making these cuts will save Ohio taxpayers money, make government more efficient and effective, and keep the state on solid financial ground to better weather the next economic storm,” Lawson continued. The Piglet Booklet identifies four key areas where government spending and oversight can be reduced, including corporate welfare programs, government philanthropy and advocacy, burdensome occupational licensing regimes, and earmarks in spending bills. “Governments should not engage in crony capitalism by supporting one private company over another—it is ethically inappropriate and economically harmful,” the report says of the corporate welfare category. It identifies eight different “corporate welfare programs that should be eliminated,” such as the $3.1 million that is used to conduct “marketing on behalf of the state’s wine grape…

Read the full story