Meagan Forbes serves as the Institute for Justice’s Director of Legislation and Senior Legislative Counsel. Meagan advocates for legislative reform across the country in the areas of economic liberty, free speech, property rights and other civil liberties.
Meagan works with policymakers nationwide to lift regulatory barriers to work and to reduce the breadth of occupational licensing. She focuses on reducing licensing barriers that prevent people from accessing lower-income occupations and from working with a criminal record. Meagan also has been instrumental in reforming restrictive cottage food laws in several states, including Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota and Oklahoma, and simplifying laws for food trucks in Georgia.
Before turning to legislative work, Meagan litigated constitutional cases in federal and state courts. She was the lead attorney in a lawsuit brought by a group of African hair braiders in Iowa that resulted in the state repealing its burdensome licensing requirements for hair braiding. She also was part of a team that helped defend the City of Milwaukee against a lawsuit seeking millions of dollars in damages after the city lifted its protectionist cap on taxi permits. Her work has been featured by MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today and other print, radio and television outlets.
Prior to joining the Institute, Meagan served as a judicial law clerk in the Minnesota Fourth Judicial District.
Meagan received her law degree from Louisiana State University’s Law Center in 2012. While in law school, she was a member of the Louisiana Law Review and worked on a variety of policy issues at the Louisiana State Capitol.
Meagan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University in 2009. She is originally from New Orleans, La.
Meagan's Amicus Briefs
Milewski et al. v. Town of Dover et al.
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Grienpentrog v. Minnesota Department of Health
Minnesota Court of Appeals
Meagan's Legislation
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…
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…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Military Families Licensing Recognition Act
The process of transferring an occupational license from one state to another can be daunting, time-consuming, and frustrating. This is especially true for military service members, who frequently relocate due to deployments. It’s not just…
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty
Niche-Beauty Services Opportunity Act
Hairstyling salons, often referred to as “blow dry bars,” are gaining popularity nationwide. They offer fewer services than traditional cosmetology salons, focusing on shampooing, blow drying, and styling, while excluding haircuts or chemical treatments. These…
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…
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty
Salon Inspection Act: Regulate Salons—Free People
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…
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…
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…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
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…
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…
Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding
Natural Hair Braiding Opportunity and Freedom Act
African-style hair braiding has been a safe and enduring practice for millennia. Today, it presents opportunities for entrepreneurs, especially in African-American and African immigrant communities, enabling them to own businesses, promote their cultural heritage, and…
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…
Occupational Licensing
Animal Husbandry Workers Freedom & Opportunity Act
Animal husbandry is a specialty in agriculture and animal science. It focuses on breeding and care of farm animals, including cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and horses. Workers play a crucial role in maintaining the health…