One of the most irritating problems in Mississippi’s healthcare sector is the Certificate of Need (CON). A CON is a legal document required before proposed acquisitions, expansions, or creations of healthcare facilities are allowed. They can be issued by a government regulatory agency with authority over an area to affirm that the plan is “required to fulfill the needs of a community.” If it doesn’t, then the entity applying will not be allowed to continue their business. Does that not sound like central planning (i.e., the Soviet Union)?

While socialism is not equivalent to a planned economy, a key aspect of the ideology involves the replacement of a market system with some form of central planning in order to achieve coordination of the economy. The goal of such a system would be to achieve conscious control over the economy to prevent surplus, inflation, rising prices, etc. While this sounds like a nice idea, of course, we know this doesn’t work. The same can be said for CON laws.

Several factors spurred the U.S. Government (which later backtracked and got out of the CON business, as they saw it didn’t work) and states to require CONs in the healthcare industry. Chief among these was the concern that the excessive establishment of healthcare facilities would cause competitors in an oversaturated field to cover the costs of a diluted patient pool by unnecessarily diagnosing procedures and hospital stays, thereby overcharging. The problem is that you cannot – just like an economy – predict markets for goods and services. People should be free to operate a healthcare facility (and any other business, for that matter) and people should be able to freely choose if they want to use that healthcare facility, or not. It's just that simple and just that moral.

Numerous studies have shown that CON laws do not live up to their original goals, but instead – just as Soviet planning led to low-quality products and other negative outcomes – decrease access to healthcare, increase costs for consumers, and limit competition.

In 2016, the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice issued a joint statement, concluding, “CON laws, when first enacted, had the laudable goals of reducing healthcare costs and improving access to care. However, after considerable experience, it is now apparent that CON laws can prevent the efficient functioning of healthcare markets in several ways that may undermine those goals. First, CON laws create barriers to entry and expansion, limit consumer choice, and stifle innovation. Second, incumbent firms seeking to thwart or delay entry or expansion by new or existing competitors may use CON laws to achieve that end. Third, CON laws can deny consumers the benefit of an effective remedy following the consummation of an anticompetitive merger. Finally, the evidence to date does not suggest that CON laws have generally succeeded in controlling costs or improving quality.”

At the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, we are fighting against this socialist-like mandate by advocating for the repeal of the state's Certificate of Need law, as well as the 40-year-old moratorium set on the issuance of new certificates for home health agencies, which the Mississippi Justice Institute has recently made great progress on. Especially, at a time when we need more healthcare providers than ever, we should make it easier for them to operate and easier for patients to receive care.

As the 2022 Mississippi Legislative Session continues, you can keep up with measures to expand healthcare in a truly free market way by watching our Legislative Tracker.

The United States has seen a notable increase in home-based businesses in recent years. However, despite their potential to grow incomes and expand opportunities, many local regulations have hamstrung these businesses. The Mississippi Senate and House both have bills introduced to address these issues, thanks to the initiative of Senator Daniel Sparks and Representative Jansen Owen.

According to 2016 pre-pandemic data from the Small Business Administration, approximately 50 percent of all small businesses are home-based. In the wake of greater familiarity with working from home brought on by the pandemic, in conjunction with many starting their own businesses, the evidence suggests that these numbers have only increased.

As people harness the power of new technologies and leverage opportunities for growth, small business owners have been able to build home businesses that can provide supplemental or even primary income. In many cases, home businesses eventually expand and grow to full-scale operations with offices, warehouses, and dozens of employees.

In addition to the immediate benefits for small businesses, many of these small businesses eventually become mid-sized companies or even multi-billion dollar corporations. Amazon, Hobby Lobby, Microsoft, Google, Dell, Disney, and a host of other companies started out small in garages, houses, apartments, and dorm rooms.  

Despite all of the potential behind home-based businesses, the need for a friendly regulatory environment is stronger than ever before. A study conducted by the Center for Growth and Opportunity at the Utah State University found that many cities and local governments have zoning laws, permit fees, and a tangle of other regulations that make launching a home-based startup all the more difficult.

Such regulations have included local ordinances against home-based businesses having employees, bans on customers coming to the home, and commercial building requirements. According to another report on the issue from the Cato Institute, 18 states have passed laws reducing such burdens on home-based businesses. Such laws have helped home-based business models ranging from music lessons to cottage food sales.

The bills in the legislature would accomplish such protections in Mississippi. Senator Daniel Sparks' Home Business Relief Act and Representative Jansen Owen's Home-based Opportunity Freedom Act would both explicitly establish that arbitrary fees and regulations cannot single out home-based businesses.

It's time for Mississippi to step up to the plate and enact policies to protect home-based businesses from excessive local regulations. It should not be a crime or a privilege to practice entrepreneurship in your home. This legislation would ensure that Mississippians are protected from government intrusion as they pursue opportunities through home-based businesses.

The Mississippi Center for Public Policy approves of this legislation and will continue to update you as the 2022 Mississippi Legislative Session continues, and you can keep up with measures by watching our Legislative Tracker.

It would be an understatement to say that the number of regulations in Mississippi is immensely high. But Senator Kevin Blackwell has introduced legislation to proactively lower that number. Senate Bill 2162 would require several state agencies to repeal two regulations for every new regulation.

While many regulatory reforms have addressed regulatory burdens in certain areas, policies have seen success in other states due to the numerical nature of the reform. While certain reforms that single out specific regulations are laudable, this legislation is unique in that it addresses the bigger picture behind regulatory burdens as a whole.

A study by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University found that there are “117,558 restrictions and 9.3 million words. It would take an individual about 518 hours—or almost 13 weeks—to read.” Such regulations have been brought about over several decades, with some dating back to the 1950s.

While such a gargantuan number of regulations can seem daunting, regulatory excesses have been tackled before using policies similar to SB2162. In 2017, the Trump Administration incorporated a similar “one-in-two-out” policy and other reforms with the aim to reduce federal regulations. According to a report from the Heritage Foundation, these reforms led to reduced regulatory burdens and saved the American economy billions of dollars in regulatory costs.

The same is true on a state level. While individual repeals of such regulations can be extremely helpful in many cases, Mississippi needs an overhaul of its entire regulatory system that is based upon empirical data and facts. As the state of Mississippi turns the page into the 2020s, it is time for any new regulations to start clearing away old regulations. In addition, Blackwell’s legislation does not just replace old regulations with new ones. There is a 1:2 ratio for the number of new regulations versus the reduction in existing regulations. The time has come for Mississippi to do some regulatory clean-up and clear away the tangle of regulations that have built up over the years and threaten to clog economic growth. Senator Blackwell is to be commended for introducing this legislation that could serve as a real catalyst for regulatory reduction and economic prosperity.

The Mississippi Center for Public Policy approves of this legislation and will continue to update you as the 2022 Mississippi Legislative Session continues, and you can keep up with measures by watching our Legislative Tracker.

Too many Mississippi kids are missing out on a good education. Our state has some of the worst outcomes in primary and secondary education in America.

Despite certain counter claims by those within the education bureaucracy that the outlook has been improving, if you measure the academic performance of Mississippi students in terms of ACT scores, things have not been getting better. In fact, the Covid crisis is likely to have made things even worse. 

So, what can we do about it? Quite a lot, actually.

Our new report out this week, Transforming Mississippi Public Education, proposes a series of key reforms that are needed if we are to give Mississippi students a better standard of education.

We all know that many Mississippi school districts have been underperforming for years. But until now, every time that this gets pointed out, the conversation moves on to money. If only there was more funding, we are constantly told, things would be better.

Our report shows that the problem is not a lack of funds. Over the past twenty years, real spending per student has increased by a quarter, and over the past thirty years, per student spending has risen about 60 percent. The trouble is that there has been nothing like a 60 percent improvement in standards.

The problem is not a lack of funding, but rather what the education system does with the money they have.

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(Jackson, MS): Today the Mississippi Center for Public Policy released a report on the state's K-12 Public Education System, identifying issues and offering solutions.

The report reveals that:

• Academic standards among Mississippi public schools are poor, and no significant improvement has been documented with validity.
• The problem in K-12 education is structural, not merely a lack of money.

The report then goes on to set out a roadmap to address some of the systemic obstacles to improving public education in the Magnolia State. The report calls for:

• Capping administration costs: Some school board districts spend too much money on bureaucracy. Today’s report shows the steps that are needed to ensure money goes into the classroom instead.
• Open enrollment: Instead of automatically enrolling children in schools, the report shows how Mississippi families could be given a new right to choose a school for their child.  
• Multiple charter school authorizer boards: Today’s report reveals that less than half of one percent of Mississippi students attend a charter school.

“Today’s report shows what we need to do to address Mississippi’s historic education underperformance,” said Douglas Carswell, President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. “The great news is that right now there are a number of bills in the state legislature that would give us the three key reforms we need to transform Mississippi education.”

Carswell continued saying, “HB 874, the Mississippi Scholarship Act, would ensure that every parent had a choice to get the best for their child. HB 1349 and SB 2177 would achieve open enrollment. There are also two bills in the Senate that would begin to cap administration costs, and I am excited to see HB 1194, which would establish multiple authorizer boards to ensure that we get more Charter Schools across the state.”

For media inquiries, please reach out to Stone Clanton, [email protected].

Agricultural regulations can be among the most burdensome regulations in the entire economy. This is especially true for innovative agricultural technologies and business models. Thankfully, Mississippi legislators are leading the charge for a reduction in red tape. Representatives Jansen Owen and Kent McCarty introduced House Bill 1055 to create a pathway for innovators to be exempt from onerous regulations.  

It’s no secret that removing regulatory burdens is a catalyst for economic growth, and this bill seeks to accomplish just that in the agricultural sector. In an interview with Mississippi Center for Public Policy, Representative Owen noted: “Reducing regulatory burdens is key to growing our economy. This legislation will make it easier for farmers across Mississippi to earn their living, feed their families, and feed Mississippi’s families.”

According to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC), the agriculture sector directly or indirectly employs approximately 17 percent of the state workforce. Thousands of agricultural businesses have seen great success in the Magnolia State. Yet, many of the regulations in the state were written in the 1970s and 1980s and do not quite account for the innovative agricultural technologies and business models of the 2020s.

To address this problem, House Bill 1055 gives agricultural innovators the option to be exempt from certain regulations that do not have an effect on health or safety. Known as a “regulatory sandbox,” this regulatory relief model that exempts innovators from unapplicable regulations has seen success in several states and sectors, including financial technology, insurance, blockchain, property technology, and others.

While the complexity of agricultural regulations is immense, the bill establishes a straightforward and business-friendly program within the MDAC for innovators to test their products in the open market. If an individual encounters an agricultural regulation that is not tied to health or safety, they could apply to the innovation program and request an exemption. If the exemption request is not found to be a threat to public health or safety, the innovator’s request would be granted, and they would be permitted to operate under the exemption.

The agricultural innovations that could benefit from such a program are numerous, but these innovations can be easily summarized into two categories: innovative business models and innovative ag-tech. On the one hand, there are innovative business models that don’t quite fit into the current regulatory structure, such as urban agriculture and direct farm-to-consumer sales.

Agricultural technology also carries promise for the use of an agricultural regulatory exemption program. For instance, under current regulation in the state, a pilot’s license would be required in order for a drone operator to use a drone to distribute pesticides on fields. This is because of an outdated provision implemented in the days when planes were the only way to distribute substances via the air. Mississippi has a chance to show that it is open for business, and become a destination for agricultural innovators. Thanks to the forward-thinking of Representatives Owen and McCarty, the state could see the fruits of agricultural innovation grow and expand, without the impediment of excessive government regulations.

The Mississippi Center for Public Policy approves of this legislation and will continue to update you as the 2022 Mississippi Legislative Session continues, and you can keep up with measures by watching our Legislative Tracker.

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(Jackson, MS): On Tuesday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) filed a court document announcing that tomorrow the agency plans to withdraw the emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring private employers to force their employees to undergo vaccination or be subject to constant testing and mask-wearing. This comes after the United States Supreme Court issued an administrative stay temporarily halting enforcement of the mandate for private employers, which had been challenged in court by multiple states and private employers, including Gulf Coast Restaurant Group which is represented by the Mississippi Justice Institute (MJI).

"On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the Vaccination and Testing ETS, finding that challengers were likely to prevail on their claims,” read the court filing. “After evaluating the Court’s decision, OSHA decided to withdraw the Vaccination and Testing ETS as an enforceable emergency temporary standard."

The court filing indicated that OSHA still plans to move forward with the rulemaking process for a separate, non-emergency proposed rule for private employers which could potentially require vaccination or testing for employees.

"We are glad to see that the Biden Administration has finally dropped its unconstitutional vaccine mandate after months of litigation and uncertainty for Mississippi businesses and workers," said MJI Director Aaron Rice. "If the agency includes similarly unconstitutional rules in any future regulations, we stand ready to fight for the rights of Mississippi employees and businesses again."

Attorney General Lynn Fitch represented the State of Mississippi in the lawsuit, which was filed in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals by a coalition of states and private employers. The suit was ultimately consolidated with similar lawsuits from around the nation in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, before being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court following the petitioners’ motions for an emergency administrative stay of the mandate.

"The Mississippi Justice Institute is proud to have represented Gulf Coast Restaurant Group in this litigation, and to have partnered with Attorney General Lynn Fitch to challenge this extraordinary federal overreach," said Rice. "While we and our client are grateful for the development of the COVID vaccines, we could not stand by while the federal government violated the Constitution and infringed on the individual liberties of Mississippi businesses and workers."

The Mississippi Justice Institute is a non-profit, constitutional litigation center and the legal arm of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.

For media inquiries, please reach out to Stone Clanton, [email protected].

Over the course a Man's history on Planet Earth, there have always been two mindsets on how to run things: control and empowerment.

A Stand Togther video goes in depth into the ideals of these factions. The "control" view, the narrator says, "is rooted in a deep skepticism of human beings." The control views basically says that the only way for the masses to function is to be led by a small group of the "smartest" and "best" – It's like sheep with a shepherd. This, of course, has been the status quo since, essentially, the dawn of civilization. You can clearly see these roots in absolute monarchies, dictatorships, etc.

On the other hand, you have the "empowerment" view. The narrator goes on to explain that it believes "we all have dignity and worth, and that every individual has something to contribute." The most expansive example of this, he says, comes in 1776, and I couldn't agree more. The signing of the Declaration of Independence set America (and by example, the world) up as a bottom-up system. Every individual is important, and with them, the greater society benefits.

This truly correlates with the idea of free markets. Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Lonnie Johnson are all American examples of this. Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb after countless failures. Steve Jobs helped make personal computers affordable for the average person. Lonnie Johnson, an aerospace engineer, invented the Super Soaker water gun, which has been among the world's bestselling toys ever since. These three men and their inventions, wealth, contributions to society, and society's benefit(s) from them have all been products of the free market.

Despite the ups and downs of a market-based economy – which I happen to think is the beauty of it, anyway (It's trial and error, which increases competition, if not with a competitor, your own product) – , the principles and lessons of a liberal economy have been understood and successfully implemented by a significant number of countries around the globe. Economic freedom alleviates victims of poverty, encourages the betterment and innovation and progress of oneself, and ensures greater societal progress. It's critical to generating the broader-based economic growth that brings more prosperity and opportunities for a greater number of people to work, produce, and save. It's no wonder "communist" countries like China and Cuba have integrated portions of capitalism into their brand of the the left-wing ideology.

Advancing the free market is the most effective way to challenge big government and concentrated power, the status quo. At the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, we're fighting for it.

As the 2022 Mississippi Legislative Session continues, and you can keep up with measures to expand economic liberty by watching our Legislative Tracker.

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