Florida Leads the Way on 2020 Occupational Licensing Reforms
House Bill 1193 loosened or abolished rules governing more than 30 different professions.
Occupational Licensing
Neil Gorsuch on Expanding Access to Legal Services
In an op ed coauthored with former Colorado state supreme court justice Rebecca Love Kourlis, he outlines some ways to make legal services more affordable for the poor and lower middle class.
California's Inmate Firefighters May Soon Be Allowed To Continue Their Careers After Release
Harsh occupational license rules locked them out, except when they were locked up. A new bill just passed to change the rules.
Tennessee Court Snips High School Diploma Requirement From Barber Licensing
Tennessee's requirement that barbers have at least a high school education is "unconstitutional, unlawful, and unenforceable," ruled the state's Chancery Court.
Americans Are Growing Less Willing To Beg for Permission To Make a Living
Officials claim doing business is a revocable “privilege,” but many Americans see it as a right that they’ll exercise with or without licenses and permits.
Writer-Activist Hit With Licensing Complaint for Calling Himself an Engineer
Licensing laws can be weaponized to chill speech.
The Case for Replacing the Bar Exam With "Diploma Privilege"
The Covid pandemic strengthens the case for abolishing a requirement that should never have been imposed in the first place.
Sen. Josh Hawley Says He 'Took on an Asian Trafficking Ring' and 'Freed a Dozen Women in Sex Slavery.' That's Not True.
As a state attorney, the young GOP senator oversaw raids of more than a dozen massage parlors, but he didn’t secure a single sex trafficking conviction.
Pennsylvania Is the Latest State To Loosen Occupational Licensing Rules for Individuals With Criminal Records
Finding a steady job is the best way to keep a person from going back to prison or jail. These changes make a lot of sense.
Florida Just Passed the Most Sweeping Occupational Licensing Reform in History
The Occupational Freedom and Opportunity Act "will save thousands of Floridians both time and money for years to come," says Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Business Licensing Makes It Too Easy for Politicians To Punish People They Don't Like
Making a living is a right, not a privilege, and should be respected as such.
Lacking a State-Issued Degree Shouldn't Bar You From Pursuing Vocational Education
The Institute for Justice fights for the right to receive paid training as a farrier without a high school diploma or equivalent.
3 Libertarian Tips for the #DefundPolice Movement
Reducing law enforcement requires more than merely cutting and shifting a budget.
This Judge Is Wrong About Economic Liberty and the Constitution
A flawed argument for judicial passivity in cases of government regulation.
Another State Supreme Court Stands Up for Economic Liberty
Following Georgia's ruling in favor of a lactation consultant, Pennsylvania’s high court reviews another “unreasonable” occupational licensing scheme.
State Supreme Courts Stand Up for Economic Liberty While SCOTUS Falls Down on the Job
"We have long interpreted the Georgia Constitution as protecting a right to work in one's chosen profession free from unreasonable government interference."
Make Pandemic-Related Occupational License Reform Permanent
Pandemic patients get better care when medical professionals are free to work where they're needed. The same will undoubtedly be true of regular patients after COVID-19 has left our lives.
The Coronavirus Outbreak Is Exposing Government Follies on Many Levels
Most serious approaches to the crisis, however, are decidedly libertarian. They involve reducing regulations that keep industries from responding rapidly in an emergency situation.
L.A. Bureaucrats Shut Down Restaurants for Selling Groceries Without a Permit
"You cannot just decide you want to sell groceries," said Barbara Ferrer, the director of L.A. County Public Health.
Pregnant Moms Scared of COVID-19 in Hospitals Need More Home Birth Options
It's time to free midwives from excessive regulation and make room for more home births.
A Mississippi Woman Gave Diet Advice Without a License. The State Threatened To Throw Her in Jail.
Mississippi has a reputation for being one of the most obese states in the nation, as well as having one of America's highest incarceration rates. Neither will be improved by treating unlicensed dieticians like serious criminals.
Oregon Tried To Silence This Engineer's Red Light Camera Research. Now Experts Say He Was Right All Along.
Mats Järlström's research never would have seen the light of day if the Oregon Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying had its way.
California Bill Would Require Occupational Licenses for Porn Actors, Strippers, Cam Girls
Adult performers are outraged at the proposed licensing requirements, and have vowed to fight the bill.
Virginia Is About To Require a Government License for 'Art Therapy,' Because Glue and Scissors Are 'Potentially' Dangerous
The real motive for laws like this has nothing to do with scissors and glue. It's all about protectionism.
Undercover Cops Hired 118 Handymen, Then Arrested Them All for Not Having Licenses
Undercover sheriff's deputies posing as homeowners hired handymen to paint, install recessed lighting, or do other tasks that require licenses. Then they arrested them.
Occupational Licensing Hurts the Little Guy
People who want to work should be allowed to work.
Arizona Governor Wants To Put the Public in Charge of Licensing Boards
Right now, most licensing boards require that the majority of members be from the same licensed profession. It's not difficult to see how that leads to anti-competitive rules.
L.A. Is About to Screw Up Legal Street Vending the Same Way It Screwed Up Legal Pot Sales
High permit fees and unprepared bureaucrats get in the way of delicious street tacos and bacon dogs.
Free People Don't Ask the Government for Permission
"Liberty," Thomas Jefferson wrote, "is unobstructed action according to our will; but rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will, within the limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others."
States Are Easing Arbitrary Licensing Barriers to Work for People With Criminal Records
This year, Mississippi and North Carolina both ditched a vague "good moral character" clause that kept occupational licensing out of reach for people with criminal records.
Dental Hygienist Labeled 'Sexual Abuser' and Loses License for Treating His Wife
The case is a bizarre example of occupational licensing woes and backward regulations.
How Do You Lose Money Dealing Marijuana? Be a Government Agency.
Ontario has lost millions trying to sell cannabis.
ThinkProgress Panics Over Unlicensed Cosmetologists
Plus: dangerous publishers, a history of slavery, and more...
Occupational Licensing Is Keeping Americans Stuck in Place
Licensing reform efforts cross partisan barriers. Unfortunately, so do efforts to cripple opportunity and prosperity.
Occupational Licensing Stops Workers From Moving Across State Lines. Andrew Yang Wants To Fix That.
The Democratic presidential candidate is the latest example that occupational licensing is truly a bipartisan battle.
Judge Rules Florida Can Require a License To Give Out Diet Tips
No diploma, no making money telling people how to eat better.
Rhode Island Is the Latest State To Abolish Onerous Hair-Braiding Licensing
Previously, hair braiders were required to spend 1,500 hours taking cosmetology classes.
How to Make Bar Exams Great Again
Bar exams should be abolished. But if that's not feasible, this modest proposal for exam reform should help restore them to their former glory!
Pennsylvania Opens Up to Workers From Other States
Gov. Tom Wolf just signed a bill to recognize occupational licenses obtained in different parts of the country.
How Oppressive Will Connecticut's New Nail Salon Occupational Licensing Be? Stay Tuned.
To state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, “Raising women up” apparently means depriving them of employment opportunities.
New York Might License Elevator Mechanics to Solve a Public Safety Problem That Doesn't Exist
Those claiming that elevators are a public safety risk likely have ulterior motives.
Colorado's Jared Polis Is the Latest Governor to Embrace Licensing Reform
Polis vetoed licensing requirements for HOA managers, sports agents, and genetic counselors. That's not sitting well with some members of his own party.
The First Amendment Protects the Right to Work as a Tour Guide, Says Federal Judge
A Savannah, Georgia, law that required testing and licensing of tour guides is found unconstitutional.