Model Legislation

Protecting Everyone’s Constitutional Rights Ordinance 

Immunity and Accountability

Protecting Everyone’s Constitutional Rights Ordinance 

Qualified immunity is a judge-made doctrine that shields local, state and federal government officials–not just police–from accountability.  In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court created the doctrine to ensure, in its words, it would be difficult…

Criminal Forfeiture Process Act

Civil Forfeiture | Private Property

Criminal Forfeiture Process Act

Civil forfeiture is a serious assault by government on cars, cash and other property. To lose your property in most states, prosecutors do not have to charge you, let alone convict you of a crime.

Anti-SLAPP Act

First Amendment

Anti-SLAPP Act

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) are a way for individuals who do business with the government to silence their critics through costly lawsuits. In many states, there are no protections from frivolous defamation suits…

Niche-Beauty Services Opportunity Act

Cosmetology | Economic Liberty

Niche-Beauty Services Opportunity Act

Hairstyling salons, commonly known as ‘blow dry bars’, are experiencing increased popularity across the country. Unlike traditional cosmetology salons, hairstyling salons offer safe, limited services including shampooing, blow drying and styling hair. These specialty salons…

Occupational Licensing Relief and Job Creation Act

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing

Occupational Licensing Relief and Job Creation Act

About a fifth of the American workforce must get a permission slip from the government—known as an occupational license—to legally work in their chosen occupations. Getting a license can be costly and time-consuming, requiring fees,…

Sunrise & Sunset Occupational Licensing Review Act

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing

Sunrise & Sunset Occupational Licensing Review Act

Occupational licensing is one the biggest issues in labor economics today. About 25% of workers needs a government-issued license to work. That represents a five-fold increase since the 1950s, when only about 5% of workers…

Collateral Consequences in Occupational Licensing Act

Economic Liberty | Fresh Start

Collateral Consequences in Occupational Licensing Act

A job is one of the best ways for people with criminal records not to re-offend. But many occupational licensing laws block or burden ex-offenders. Many licensing laws have morality clauses that (1) bar automatically…

Universal Recognition of Occupational Licenses Act

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing

Universal Recognition of Occupational Licenses Act

Occupational licenses often are barriers to worker mobility. One state will not recognize another state’s license because personal qualifications differ. And even when some recognition is included in statutes, state laws often impose significant costs—in…

Seizure and Forfeiture Reporting Act

Civil Forfeiture | Private Property

Seizure and Forfeiture Reporting Act

Civil forfeiture—where the government can take and keep your property without ever charging you with a crime, let alone convicting you of one—is one of the greatest threats to property rights in the nation. Such…

Fines and Fees Reporting Act

Fines and Fees

Fines and Fees Reporting Act

Most municipalities allow law or code enforcement officers to cite residents for violations that may result in fines. Unfortunately, some use this power to generate revenue rather than solely to protect public safety and property.

Vegetable Garden Protection Act

Food Freedom | Private Property

Vegetable Garden Protection Act

People have used their property to grow food since the dawn of modern civilization. Americans are no different. Our national identity is rooted in the Jeffersonian ideal of farmers and settlers. Even as fewer people…

Salon Inspection Act

Cosmetology | Economic Liberty

Salon Inspection Act

The beauty industry offers great opportunities for work and entrepreneurship. However, states erect roadblocks by requiring barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians and nail technicians to spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to attend schools and…

Occupational Regulation Defense Act

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing

Occupational Regulation Defense Act

Occupational licensing is under increasing scrutiny. Groups as ideologically diverse as the Obama White House, the Trump Administration’s Federal Trade Commission, the Brookings Institution, the National Conference of State Legislators and the Institute for Justice, have…

Mobile Food Vendor Freedom Act

Economic Liberty | Vending

Mobile Food Vendor Freedom Act

Everyone benefits from food trucks. With low start-up costs, food trucks offer first-time entrepreneurs the opportunity to experiment, accumulate capital and build businesses. For established restauranteurs, they are a means to expand, build their brands…

Home-Based Business and Occupation Act

Economic Liberty | Private Property

Home-Based Business and Occupation Act

The pre-COVID custom of Americans living in one place but working from another is historically unusual. As one scholar noted, “the phenomenon of leaving home to go to work did not become the norm until…

Food Freedom Act

Economic Liberty | Food Freedom

Food Freedom Act

Selling homemade food is a great way for entrepreneurs with big dreams but little capital to start a business. Working from their homes, they can avoid spending tens of thousands of dollars on commercial kitchen space.

Eyebrow Threader Opportunity and Freedom Act

Cosmetology | Economic Liberty

Eyebrow Threader Opportunity and Freedom Act

Eyebrow threading is an ancient grooming technique that dates back thousands of years to parts of South Asia and the Middle East. Using only a simple cotton thread to form loops as they work, threaders…

Eminent Domain Act

Eminent Domain | Private Property

Eminent Domain Act

Despite mass public outcry following the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous decision in Kelo v. City of New London, eminent domain for private gain continues to threaten homeowners and small businesses. While 43 states reformed their laws…

Education Savings Account Act: Tax-Credit Funded

Educational Choice | Tax Credit Scholarships

Education Savings Account Act: Tax-Credit Funded

Our present system of delivering publicly funded education is in need of dramatic reform.  Educational choice programs provide that reform as they shift the power from state boards of education and school districts to parents. …

Education Savings Account Act: Publicly Funded

Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships

Education Savings Account Act: Publicly Funded

Our present system of delivering publicly funded education is in need of dramatic reform.  Educational choice programs provide that reform as they shift the power from state boards of education and school districts to parents. …

Fines and Fees

Driver’s License Suspensions and Revocations

Eleven million Americans face the suspension or revocation of driving privileges because of unpaid fines and fees. Suspending and revoking licenses for the collection of court debt, and not public safety, is bad public policy.

Braider Opportunity and Freedom Act

Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding

Braider Opportunity and Freedom Act

African-style hair braiding is a common and safe practice that has existed for thousands of years. It also offers great opportunities for entrepreneurs in African-American and African immigrant communities to support themselves and their families,…

Anti-Circumvention Forfeiture Act

Civil Forfeiture | Private Property

Anti-Circumvention Forfeiture Act

Under civil forfeiture, the state can permanently confiscate your cash, car, and other property, without a prosecutor convicting, or even charging you with a crime. Although some states have acted to protect innocent property owners,…

Fines and Fees at Sentencing Act

Fines and Fees

Fines and Fees at Sentencing Act

Fines and fees are a routine part of criminal sentences. Many courts, however, fail to consider an offender’s ability to pay before assessing them. In fact, offenders often are ordered to pay fines and fees…

Mobile Food Vendor Freedom Municipal Ordinance

Economic Liberty | Vending

Mobile Food Vendor Freedom Municipal Ordinance

Starting a food truck has helped many entrepreneurs realize the American dream. These mobile kitchens create jobs and provide an economic boost to the communities they serve. Unfortunately, many counties and cities make it near…