Pensacola, Fl.—In a blow to entrepreneurs across the Sunshine State, a federal judge yesterday upheld a Florida law that gives state licensed dietitians and nutritionists a monopoly on giving individualized dietary advice. The ruling means that privately certified health coaches like plaintiff Heather Del Castillo can face up to a year in jail or $1,000…

Louisville, Ky.—It is time to shed light on why some Metro Council members keep pushing new food truck regulations. This morning, the Institute for Justice (IJ) sued four Metro Council members who are refusing to turn over public records. This is the latest action in a legal battle that began in 2017 when two Louisville…

Chicago, Ill.—”How’s business?” is the simple question that kicks off each episode of a new podcast series from the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago (IJ Clinic). The answers from business owners are different each time, yet similar challenges of operating in the Windy City come up time and time…

Rhode Island became the latest state to deregulate hair braiding thanks to a bill signed Monday by Gov. Gina Raimondo. Previously, braiders could only work if they first obtained a hairdresser license, which takes at least 1,200 hours, far more than what’s required to become a licensed emergency medical technician. Tuition to attend a cosmetology school in Rhode…

Arlington, Va.—Today, a federal judge in Georgia ruled that a lawsuit challenging the city of Doraville’s use of traffic tickets and other fines to generate revenue may go forward. The lawsuit was brought by two Doraville homeowners and two others who commute through Doraville. These plaintiffs partnered with the Institute for Justice (IJ), a non-profit,…

Atlanta, Ga.—Does the term “every state office” include the offices of the Georgia General Assembly? According to an opinion released yesterday by the Fifth Division of the Court of Appeals of Georgia, the answer is “no.” The decision comes in the case of Institute for Justice v. Reilly, a lawsuit filed by the Institute for…

Jackson, Miss.—All of the food Upton’s Naturals sells in Mississippi is proudly labeled as vegan. Even though no reasonable consumer would think Upton’s Naturals foods contain meat, a new labeling law would require the company to either stop selling in the state or change its labels to be less clear. On July 1, Mississippi’s new…

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed a bill into law that stops the Internal Revenue Service from raiding the bank accounts of small-business owners. The Clyde-Hirsch-Sowers RESPECT Act, part of the Taxpayer First Act (H.R. 3151) that  Congress passed unanimously, is named after Institute for Justice clients Jeff Hirsch and Randy Sowers, two victims of…

Late yesterday, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that police and prosecutors can keep and use the money they seize, rather than transferring the money to the state’s Common School Fund. The decision contradicts a state constitutional requirement that “all forfeitures which may accrue” must be paid into a fund for the benefit of public education.…

Arlington, Virginia—The U.S. Supreme Court announced today it will hear an appeal of the most important school choice case in the nation—a case in which the Montana Supreme Court ruled the government must exclude religious options for parents who want to participate in a generally available tax-credit scholarship program. The case, Espinoza v. Montana Department…

Austin, Texas—In virtually every state, when you get sick and visit your doctor, you can obtain prescribed medication right there in the doctor’s office—a practice known as “doctor dispensing.” Not in Texas. The Lone Star State bans most doctors from dispensing medication. Dr. Michael Garrett and Dr. Kristin Held want to use doctor dispensing to…

Portland, Maine—United States District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby today issued a ruling upholding a Maine law that excludes religious schools as an option for parents and students from the state’s high school tuitioning program. In his written ruling, Judge Hornby cited a prior appellate court decision upholding the exclusion of religious options as binding…

Arlington, Va.—By a 7-2 margin, the U.S. Supreme Court today issued a broadside against state-based economic protectionism as it struck down a Tennessee law that had required anyone seeking a retail liquor license to first reside in the state for two years—and 10 years before they could renew it. “To put it mildly, today’s opinion…

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to defund a notorious federal forfeiture program when it passed a “minibus” appropriations bill (H.R. 3055) to finance the Justice Department and other federal agencies. Organized by the Institute for Justice, a bipartisan coalition of two dozen organizations, including the American Conservative Union, the ACLU, Heritage Action for…

Hawaii Gov. David Ige announced on Monday that he intends to veto HB 748, a bill that would substantially reform the state’s civil forfeiture laws and end law enforcement’s perverse incentive to police for profit. Under current law, agencies can confiscate valuable property without ever filing criminal charges. Once property has been forfeited and auctioned…

Tallahassee, Fla.—Yesterday, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 82, legislation protecting the right of all Floridians to grow vegetables and fruit on their own property. For one Miami-area couple, this represents the end of a years-long struggle that started when their town ordered them to dig up the garden they had been growing for 17 years.…

Tallahassee, Fla.—The hours of training necessary to earn a living as a barber would be decreased under a proposed regulation issued today by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The proposal eliminates 700 hours of unnecessary training to obtain a restricted barber license (the license used by many barbers) by reducing the pre-test…

New Orleans, La.—Why does the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology require 500 hours of training to do something as safe as hair braiding? That is the question three Louisiana hair braiders raised in a new lawsuit Thursday with the Institute for Justice (IJ), a national public interest law firm that fights for economic liberty. Lynn…

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation that stops the Internal Revenue Service from raiding the bank accounts of small-business owners. The Clyde-Hirsch-Sowers RESPECT Act, passed as part of the Taxpayer First Act (H.R. 3151), is named after Institute for Justice clients Jeff Hirsch and Randy Sowers, two victims of the IRS’s aggressive seizures for so-called “structuring.” Through structuring…

Gov. Kay Ivey signed the Alabama Forfeiture Information Reporting Act (SB 191) late Monday, which will shine a light on law enforcement’s often secretive use of civil forfeiture. Without ever charging the owner with a crime, police and prosecutors can seize cash, cars, and other valuables, and if the property is forfeited, keep up to…