A decade ago, Florida was far from the model for economic freedom from regulatory burden. The state ranked 8th among 44 states with 168,795 regulatory restrictions according to a review of states with the highest regulation count done by the Mercatus Institute at George Mason University. Florida now leads the nation in migration gains, even...
As previously discussed, economic statements are crucial for quantifying the impact of regulations and ensuring that state agencies thoroughly evaluate all options and understand the downsides before regulating the state’s economy. Furthermore, these reports should be independently reviewed to verify the legitimacy of the agencies’ findings. Texas, unsurprisingly, hits all the positive marks for impact...
Editor’s Note: As the 5th of 7 planned research notes by our summer intern, Stephen Trainer, this post discusses the concept of regulatory sandboxes. The Platte Institute has supported several regulatory sandbox efforts, including a comprehensive one (which would cover multiple industries) and the most recent one (LB587 in 2023/24), which provides for an “insuretech...
A few states outside the midwest provide promising templates for regulatory reform and modernization, a pressing issue for Nebraska. Idaho and Virginia notably embarked on a mission to unshackle citizens from a growing administrative state, as discussed by a Mercatus Study in 2019. Six years ago, Virginia passed the Regulatory Reform Pilot Program that tasked...
First introduced in 2009 and subsequently passed by the US House of Representatives in 2023, the REINS Act, formally known as the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, represents a legislative endeavor to augment Congressional oversight concerning federal regulations with substantial economic ramifications. Specifically, it aims to empower Congress to assert greater...
The primary autoregulative process when state agencies begin promulgating rules and regulations is the cost-benefit analysis (CBA). Despite having many names across states, the CBA or impact statement is an important system in which agencies self-evaluate the effectiveness and scope of a proposed rule’s regulatory impact on business and government. Moreover, these reports play an...
Note: This Research Note is the first in a planned series of notes by Platte’s summer interns. Despite sharing a border, Iowa and Nebraska diverge on many legislative topics, especially the regulatory review process. Iowa has been noted to have “one of the best-designed review structures in the country,” according to the Institute for Policy...
LB1092, the Adopt the Online Age Verification Liability Act, is currently being considered by the Legislature. This would require age verification for potentially harmful content to anyone under 18. The definition of harmful is taken from Miller v. California. 413 U.S. 15 (1973). The law reads, “A commercial entity shall not knowingly and intentionally publish...
LB43 introduced by Sen. Rita Sanders–an important bill supported by the Platte Institute, and made the vehicle for several Government Committee priority bills– passed Final Reading in the Legislature today. As introduced, LB43 directs hearing officers and judges, when interpreting state statutes or regulations contested under the Administrative Procedures Act, not to defer to a...
The Platte Institute has been one of the leaders in advancing the cause of occupational licensing reform since 2017. It took a leap year, February 29, for Nebraska to see the latest reform efforts, with the passage on Final Reading of LB16. Today’s passage represents the fifth year that some version of this bill has...
The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups. —Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson (1946) For over half a century, policymakers have addressed...
The concept of ‘creative destruction’, coined by economist Joseph Schumpeter, where innovative market changes lead to the downfall of older, less efficient business models, aptly describes the transformative impact of technology on holiday shopping. While shopping habits during the rest of the year guided the market trends, consumers’ habits during the holiday seasons significantly influenced...
The Cato Institute’s recent release of its new “Freedom in the 50 States” index should provide Nebraska policymakers with some good information to consider as they head into the 2024 legislative session. Cato is a national policy think tank focusing on individual liberty, limited government, and free markets. The bottom line in the index: Nebraska’s...
As any high school civics teacher tries to impress upon distracted teenagers, the federal and state legislative branches pass laws, and the executive branch is responsible for carrying them out. But to facilitate the implementation of laws, administrative rules are created to provide guidance related to the law after it is codified. In Nebraska, the...