Licensing reforms already creating new jobs and businesses
In 2018, the Platte Institute for Economic Research was able to show Nebraska’s legislators definitive proof that occupational licensing reform can work to create more and better jobs and businesses. And sometimes, the results can be immediate.
Not even six months after a Platte Institute-supported bill to repeal licensing for entrepreneurs offering massage services for horses, dogs, and cats took effect, new small businesses are starting and growing across the state.
In Columbus, Nebraska, Dawn Hatcher opened Peak Performance Equine Bodywork. The company’s Facebook page shows regular updates from happy horse clients, whose owners couldn’t have previously booked services for them because of the state’s burdensome licensing law. And in North Platte, Nebraska, a newspaper article shows that a local dog groomer is increasing the services she offers thanks to the new law.
Of course, not everyone can work in these fields or is interested in these services. But now, lawmakers have seen a full-circle example of how removing red-tape regulations can help working Nebraskans in a variety of fields and communities have better economic opportunities.
And the Platte Institute is just beginning to scratch the surface of the hidden tax of excessive job licensing. To assure that policymakers have the tools to prevent more laws like the animal massage license from lingering on the books, the Platte Institute also helped the Legislature create a new review of Nebraska’s job licensing laws, which will require for all of the state’s licenses to be scrutinized for less restrictive alternatives every five years.
