First Week of Session: +200 Bills Introduced
First Week of Session: +200 Bills Introduced
Find the full list of bills as well as some that caught our eye.
How the 2020 Legislature should define success
How the 2020 Legislature should define success
Today, the second session of the 106th Nebraska Legislature convenes. Last year, 739 bills were introduced. Of those, 255 (roughly 1/3) were signed into law and 3 were vetoed. A resulting 481 bills were carried over. The first ten days of session are when new bills are introduced. It is anticipated another 500-700 bills will...
Transportation law excludes qualified applicants
Transportation law excludes qualified applicants
Last week I introduced you to the concept of the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), also known as the “competitor’s veto.” Today, I’d like to do a little deeper dive to give you an understanding as to why it is so egregious and anti-free market. Reviewing applications for occupational licensing to assure...
The history of Nebraska’s Competitor’s Veto law
The history of Nebraska’s Competitor’s Veto law
In a December 19 post, I discussed the importance of the consumer in the free-market system. When we allow entrepreneurs to test their ideas, be it a product or service, with limited government interference, the result is innovation and lower prices. Consumers vote for these products and services with their pocketbooks. Market economies are known...
Keep consumers in the driver’s seat on regulation
Keep consumers in the driver’s seat on regulation
In the spirit of #ThrowbackThursday, I thought I would highlight a 1978 article from the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), “The Consumer’s Role,” as it reminds me of an issue the Platte Institute has been working on for the past 3 years. It’s no secret that team members at the Platte Institute are huge supporters...
More red tape to cut in Nebraska
More red tape to cut in Nebraska
Yesterday, President Trump held a roundtable on regulatory innovations inviting governors from around the country to share what has been accomplished in their states. Governor Ricketts participated. He reported on the Nebraska Legislature’s work on occupational licensing reform and h ighlighted LB898 from 2016, the “hair braiding bill” that exempted natural hair braiding from cosmetology...
Report: Nebraska loses $141 million due to licensing
Report: Nebraska loses $141 million due to licensing
According to a new report published by the Pioneer Institute, the state of Nebraska took $36 million from citizens in occupational licensing fees in 2017. And because of the restrictions that licensing puts on the economy, the state lost $141 million that otherwise would have been a part of Nebraska’s economy. How does this happen? ...
News Release: The Full Platter’s Christmas Cottage Food Guide
News Release: The Full Platter’s Christmas Cottage Food Guide
The Platte Institute is distributing a growing list of Nebraska food producers who are able to share their delicacies with more customers thanks to the state’s newly-expanded cottage food law.
Make your season bright with Nebraska cottage foods
Make your season bright with Nebraska cottage foods
This Christmas, discover your favorite Nebraska cottage foods.
Seattle restaurant server speaks out on new minimum wage
Seattle restaurant server speaks out on new minimum wage
One of the great free-market economists of my lifetime, the late Milton Friedman, once said: “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” That, of course, is true in lots of areas of policy, but if what’s happening in Seattle is any indication, increases in...
Meat? Yes, we know what that is.
Meat? Yes, we know what that is.
As a former legislator, I understand (although never enjoyed) political pandering. I’ll admit that sometimes I would say nothing or be very non-committal when a group (especially a group of constituents) wanted me to take a particular position, and I’ll also admit that I likely pandered on occasion to groups that I could do it to in...
How much paid parental leave should there be?
How much paid parental leave should there be?
This story from The Hill popped up in my news aggregator a little while ago. Sometimes I don’t get stories until a day after they were published… Anyway, the essence of the story is this: Congress and the President have a tentative agreement to give all federal employees 12 weeks of PAID parental leave. Current...
Idaho hits reset button on state regulations
Idaho hits reset button on state regulations
I was at a conference workshop this morning–about “regulatory overreach”–and one of the panelists was legislator form Idaho. This legislator made sure that we all knew what they had done this year–essentially repealing ALL of the regulatory code through a universal sunset process, and then adding a few critical ones back in. Given that most...
Michigan losing nearly $750 million due to occupational licenses
Michigan losing nearly $750 million due to occupational licenses
News from Michigan today – “Michigan could put more people to work and add $746.2 million to state and local government treasuries by reforming or eliminating occupational licensure mandates — dwarfing the $195 million governments here currently collect in licensing fees.” This is based on a study coming out of a Massachusetts based nonprofit. The...