Articles

PLF’s Timothy Sandefur testifies to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on entrepreneurship and civil rights

February 07, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

I’ll be testifying tomorrow at a briefing for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights about how barriers to economic liberty limit opportunity and perpetuate the underclass in America. As I’ve argued in several articles and in The Right to Earn A Living, government restrictions on economic freedom have terrible consequences for racial minor ...

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How licensing laws cripple competition

February 25, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

Reason’s Eric Boehm has an excellent article on PLF’s lawsuits challenging anti-competitive licensing laws for movers in Nevada and Kentucky—in which we just won an important decision this morning. Here’s a taste: In 2009, the Pacific Legal Foundation challenged a similar law in Oregon on behalf of college student Adam Sweet and ...

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Kentucky takes first step to abolish anti-competitive mover licensing law

February 28, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

Yesterday, the Kentucky State Senate voted to approve SB 132, a bill that would repeal the anti-competitive licensing law for movers that we’re challenging in our lawsuit on behalf of entrepreneur Raleigh Bruner. The bill had been quickly approved by the Senate’s Licensing and Occupations Committee, and was passed overwhelmingly by th ...

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Fake reform delivers nothing for New Mexico entrepreneurs

March 04, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

The New Mexico legislature is currently debating a bill, HB 194, which would reform that state’s cumbersome Public Utility Commission. Sadly, some reform advocates mistakenly think it would “reduce or remove the barriers preventing new taxi, shuttle, bus, limo, and moving companies from opening.” In fact, it would do no such thi ...

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Think twice about opening a moving company in Kentucky

March 07, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

Bloomberg Businessweek‘s Patrick Clark has an excellent story about Kentucky’s anti-competitive licensing rules for moving companies. Here’s an excerpt: In August, Marty Vaughn tried to open a College Hunks Moving franchise in Lexington, KY. She learned state law first required her to obtain something called a Certificate of Publi ...

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PLF's Timothy Sandefur speaks at San Jose State University tomorrow

April 22, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

I’ll be speaking tomorrow at 5:15pm at San Jose State University as part of the David Saurman Provocative Lecture Series. My talk will focus on the right to earn a living–and some of the startling details we learned during our lawsuit against Missouri’s Certificate of Need law. The public is welcome, and you can learn … ...

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Kentucky federal judge bars state from enforcing its anti-competition law

June 13, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

This afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Danny Reeves issued an order blocking the state from enforcing its Competitor’s Veto law for moving companies, at least until he has the opportunity to decide whether that law is constitutional. That decision came after PLF lawyers filed an emergency motion to block the state from prosecuting our clie ...

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Moving-firm law hurts competition

June 26, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

The Lexington Herald-Leader had an editorial yesterday urging Kentucky lawmakers to repeal the state’s anti-competitive licensing law for moving companies, and focusing on our lawsuit on behalf of Raleigh Bruner. Excerpt: Under Kentucky law, anyone may challenge the application and force the newcomer to prove there’s a need for addition ...

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Court throws out Maurice Underwood’s case—PLF will fight on for the right to earn a living

June 27, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

I’m saddened to report that a federal judge in Reno yesterday dismissed Maurice Underwood’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Nevada’s licensing law for moving companies. That law—the most anti-competitive licensing law in the country—requires any person who wants to run a moving company to first prove that he or sh ...