Posted on 06/01/2024 5:23:00 AM PDT by Twotone
America's most insane occupational licensing law is about to get a whole lot better.
Louisiana is the only state in the country that requires florists to be licensed by the government. A bill that is now on the way to Gov. Jeff Landry's desk sadly won't change that fact, but it will eliminate the mandatory test that prospective florists in Louisiana must pass before being allowed to earn a living by placing different types of flowers together in an arrangement. Going forward, obtaining a florist license will require only the payment of a fee to the state.
The bill cleared its final legislative hurdle with a unanimous vote in the state House on Wednesday. Landry, a Republican who has supported other licensing reforms, is expected to sign it.
Requiring any sort of government permission slip before someone can work as a florist is obviously ridiculous, and Louisiana's florist-testing regime was a uniquely perverse and protectionist scheme. This week's passage of state Rep. Mike Bayham's (R–Chalmette) reform bill is the culmination of a two-decade battle to eliminate it.
That effort began in the early 2000s, when the Institute for Justice filed a lawsuit challenging the florist licensing law. One of the plaintiffs in that case, a woman named Sandy Meadows, had been fired from her job at a Baton Rogue grocery store when state inspectors discovered she had been arranging flowers without the proper license. She tragically died, unemployed and in poverty, before the case could be heard.
Several subsequent lawsuits and legislative efforts have failed to kill the florist licensing law, although Louisiana lawmakers did adopt changes in 2012 that put an end to the practical portion of the licensing exam. Yes, before that, would-be florists were not only quizzed on their knowledge of the profession but also on their subjective skills at arranging flowers. The judges for the exam, naturally, were already-licensed florists.
Even after the exam was pared back to being only a written test, the requirements were still quite onerous, Sarah Harbison, general counsel for the Pelican Institute, a free market think tank that supported the reform bill, told Reason this week. The test would be offered only a few times a year, and would-be licensees had to travel to Baton Rouge to take it in person.
The arguments for maintaining the florist license strain credibility. During a Louisiana Senate hearing on the reform bill earlier this month, Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain fretted about the risk of "pest and disease problems" if the licensing requirement was removed. Louisiana does not require a license to sell cut flowers—which would presumably carry the same, truly terrifying risks—but does require a license if you want to arrange different types of flowers into a bouquet. And if Louisiana is protecting the public from the danger of unlicensed floristry, why isn't there mass chaos in the 49 other states where florists can work without first passing a government-issued test?
"This will lead to greater sales of flowers. This will help people get jobs. This will expand opportunities for people to sell flowers, and this will get rid of a needless regulation," Bayham said last month when the House first approved his bill.
Good riddance to Louisiana's absurd florist licensing exams. But this week's reforms do leave one dilemma: What will be America's worst licensing law now?
Doesn’t New York still require a license to braid hair?
I don’t know if that’s the worst, but it ought to be right up there.
Not what I read, if takes away the stupid test. I assume that one had to purchase a license all along, which will remain.
Great news for florists!
Now, how about reminding g the law in Alaska that states that flamingos are not allowed in barber shops!
Oh, a d avoid Hawaii because apparently
You cannot place a coin behind your ear by law
What about getting a fish license?
“Doesn’t New York still require a license to braid hair?”
“I don’t know if that’s the worst, but it ought to be right up there.”
It’s a sanitation issue, the same as barbershops and hair salons. What’s interesting is that barber shops and hair salons might practice sanitization (by law) to a stricter code than abortion clinics.
I don’t see why that is “dumb”. If you are going to hang out a shingle claiming a skill, you should demonstrate that skill before getting a license.
Now please, can we do this with house painters? Let the market decide who can paint a house instead of the government!!
The most ridiculous licensing requirement was for the New York City cab medallion where the price could exceed a million dollars. One good thing about Uber and Lyft was to destroy that insane system of restraint of trade by the government. I never heard any logical reason to limit the number of cabs. Sure, the current cab owners didn't want competition, but that should never have been the government's business. Even safety and fraud protection arguments never were reasonable for the restriction in the number of cabs.
Something over & above a business license for something as simple as flower arranging doesn’t make much sense to me. Even a “business license” shouldn’t require more than an incidental processing fee. All the gov’t is doing is giving you an EIN.
Support pets are not allowed in barber shops? That’s absurd.
I know. And you would think that if they were allowed anywhere, it would be in barber shops where all that hair murder goes on.
A “Fee”
No, it’s a tax
Dog license/tag?
No, it’s a tax.
A tax to have a pet dog.
What’s next, mandatory pet ownership continuing education classes?
“That effort began in the early 2000s, when the Institute for Justice filed a lawsuit challenging the florist licensing law.”
Just 20 short, short years for a stupid law, that everyone agrees is stupid, to be overturned.
Seems like reversing the deep dangers of the deep state is going to take longer than that.
I’m curious about the history of Louisiana’s florist licensing regulation. Was it the result of corruption?
Few laws and regulations aren't.
I don’t see why that is “dumb”. If you are going to hang out a shingle claiming a skill, you should demonstrate that skill before getting a licenseLike a business license? How is that skill demonstrated? It only requires where, not how you conduct your business.
My city's business tax fee is a mil. The tax is one mil (1/1000) of your gross business income. I asked if a tax return is required? No. So how does the city know what my income is?
Answer: "We have ways".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.