In addition to fighting in court on behalf of small business owners, educational choice advocates, property owners and free speech issues, the Institute for Justice has a legislative team working to make changes at the local and state government levels.

IJ advocates on behalf of property owners, entrepreneurs and others whose homes, livelihoods and freedom of speech are threatened by pointless, overreaching and unnecessary government regulation. Our legislative team engages in carefully selected efforts across the country to pass pro-liberty legislation and defeat anti-liberty legislation by employing IJ’s arsenal of legal analysis, strategic communications, activism and research.

Sometimes we stand alone at state capitols and city council meetings as the only advocates of government reducing the things it does. In other cases, we join forces with other organizations to advance liberty.

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IJ’s Legislative Team

Lee McGrath
Senior Legislative Counsel
Meagan Forbes
Director of Legislation and Senior Legislative Counsel
Jessica Poitras
Legislative Counsel
Jaimie Cavanaugh
Legislative Counsel
Nick Sibilla
Writer & Legislative Analyst

Legislative News

Administrative Law petitions

Federal laws are seldom written by Congress. Similarly, some state statutes reflect little more than state legislators’ aspirations. Instead, Americans increasingly must abide by administrative rules prepared by officials in executive branches in Washington D.C. and state capitols. These rules control many aspects of life and are as binding as any statute until legislators enact superseding legislation.

Consistent with its commitment to liberty, IJ engages in the development of administrative laws in select, strategic ways. In addition to litigating against adopted rules, IJ attorneys submit comments on proposed rules in fields about which IJ knows from its research, litigation and legislative advocacy.

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