Buckeye Reporter

On March 7, 2025, The Buckeye Institute submitted an amicus brief to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding the case Lutheran Home at Kane v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. The organization urged the court to reconsider its stance on administrative agency deference and to "abandon deference to administrative agencies and reassert judicial authority in interpreting laws and regulations."

David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute and counsel of record on the brief, stated, "The U.S. Supreme Court and 18 states—including Ohio—have revised their deference doctrines. This case presents the Pennsylvania Supreme Court an opportunity to abandon its deference to administrative agencies and reassert judicial authority in interpreting laws and regulations."

The brief outlines how states like Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, among others, have moved away from Chevron deference. It argues that both Chevron and Auer deference doctrines conflict with "the Commonwealth’s constitutional structure and its statutory rulemaking schemes."