Buckeye Reporter

The Buckeye Institute presented testimony before the Ohio House Government Oversight Committee on Tuesday, supporting Ohio House Bill 176. The bill proposes the creation of a universal regulatory sandbox, which would allow businesses from various sectors to collaborate with state regulators to bring new products to market more efficiently.

Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, stated that if passed, the legislation would make Ohio "the sixth state with a universal sandbox across economic sectors, benefiting entrepreneurs, business startups, and consumers by encouraging teamwork between businesses and state regulators."

Lawson explained that regulatory sandboxes enable businesses to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and reduce compliance costs. He said these features are especially important for entrepreneurs and startups seeking access to capital and willing to take risks for expansion. According to Lawson, consumers also benefit through improved access to safer and better products.

House Bill 176 aims not only to expand the current financial sector sandbox model in Ohio but also to extend its duration from two years to five years. This extension is expected to help businesses recover their investments and lower risk. The bill includes provisions for reciprocity with other states that have similar sandboxes, potentially allowing innovation across state lines. For example, innovations such as DNA soil sampling and drone crop analysis in agriculture could be shared between states like Mississippi and Ohio. In healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI) applications developed in other states' sandboxes could support ongoing reforms in Ohio’s healthcare technology sector.

In his closing remarks, Lawson said the policies in House Bill 176 "will help and encourage Ohio entrepreneurs, protect consumers, and improve the state’s regulatory structure by cutting bureaucratic red tape so that businesses can develop innovative new products safely and more affordably."