local government

Limited and Open Government, Op-Eds

Additional Fees on Your Utility Bill Rob You Blind

The problem with this practice is that it undermines the important difference between a fee and a tax. Fees are payments in exchange for a quantitative public service while taxes cover the remaining immeasurable services that benefit society as a whole.

Read More

Free Market

Unfair Competition: Government in the Marketplace

What happens when the government competes with the free market to provide non essential services? The practice is all too common and it sabotages both the government and the people.

Read More

Justice and Due Process

Stopping Misdemeanors for Local Code Violations

The Utah legislature unanimously passed house bill 202 to stop local government's from over criminalizing ordinances.

Read More

2020 Bills

HB 131: Letting Local Government Enact Rent Control

This bill would allow local governments to create "rent control" laws that arbitrarily impose price restrictions on the cost of renting property.

Read More

Op-Eds

Local governments should rethink criminal ordinances

Local governments across Utah often rely on a Class B misdemeanor for nuisance penaltys—even when no actual harm is done.

Read More

Blog, Free Market

Are City Permits Up to Code?

Permits were intended to be straightforward and a means to protect the safety and rights of others. But over time they have been used to restrict opportunity and freedom.

Read More

Help us Nail and Scale Policies to Reduce Government Control

Your tax-deductible contributions to Libertas Institute increase freedom across the country.

Donate To Libertas Institute