Unlike traditional occupational licenses, Certificate of Necessity (CON) laws are not meant to protect consumers or the general public by requiring practitioners of a trade to demonstrate expertise or education. Instead, their purpose is to restrict competition and boost prices established...

Throughout the country, state “Certificate of Necessity” (CON) laws govern a variety of industries, from moving companies and taxicabs to hospitals and car lots. A legacy of economic thinking in the early 20th century, CON laws restrict economic opportunity and raise costs for products and...

This written testimony to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission addresses the consequences of government restrictions on entrepreneurship. The testimony focuses first on occupational licensing restrictions and second on certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) or certificate of need...

People who receive a “compliance order” from the Environmental Protection Agency, directing them to alter their property to bring it in compliance with EPA regulations, face a Hobson's choice. The EPA claims the order does not have actual legal force, which means the EPA does not offer an...