Overregulation
Business & Economics
Higher minimum wages hurt workers
If only someone had warned lawmakers
Starting on April 1, fast food restaurant chains that have at least 60 locations across the country must pay their workers a minimum of $20 an hour to comply with the minimum wage increase legislation passed and signed last year. But that’s not the end of it. Under Assembly Bill
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
November 12, 2023
Blog
Who are winners and losers of 2023 legislative session?
Progressives Dominate Legislative Session, But Will Newsom Spoil the Party?
Late Thursday evening, the Legislature wrapped up its business for the 2023 legislative session. As bleary-eyed lawmakers travel home today for the fall recess, what is the biggest story of this year’s legislative session? This year’s legislative session will go down as perhaps the most successful legislative session ever for
Tim Anaya
September 15, 2023
Blog
How will scandal impact reforms?
Aftermath of a scandal: Anaheim council spars over reforms
The recent reform effort, led by Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, comes at a wild time at City Hall. Aitken’s predecessor, Harry Sidhu, recently agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges. The findings of an explosive independent investigation were recently published and support much of what the federal authorities alleged last
Matthew Fleming
September 7, 2023
Blog
Read about latest job killer bill
Lawmakers Push Yet Another Drain on California Employers Stretched to the Breaking Point
If California policymakers set out to punish and in some cases eventually destroy small businesses, they would add to employers’ already heavy burden by nearly doubling the number of paid sick days they have to provide. Which is exactly what they are doing. Senate Bill 616, passed on Sept. 1
Kerry Jackson
September 6, 2023
Business & Economics
Watch Wayne Winegarden Discuss Legal Reform Study on Nasdaq Trade Talks
Watch PRI’s Dr. Wayne Winegarden discuss his latest study, “Enriching Lawyers, Not Helping Victims” on Nasdaq Trade Talks. To download a copy of the study, click here.
Pacific Research Institute
August 22, 2023
Blog
Read about new CA green mandate
Outlawing Commercial Gas Ovens Latest Government Hit on Minority Workers
You may have missed it, but there was another shot fired last week in the war by California bureaucrats against gas-powered appliances. The South Coast Air Quality Management District – the unelected body given sweeping regulatory powers in the name of reducing air pollution in Southern California – passed a
Tim Anaya
August 8, 2023
Agriculture
Read about a rare good bill from Sacramento
Here’s One Good Idea from Sacramento: Cut Red Tape for Farmers Markets
The popularity of farmers markets has swelled over the last three decades, from only 1,755 in 1994 across the country to 8,771 in 2019. The expansion has slowed somewhat in recent years, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the demand has peaked. The stagnation could simply mean that local government restrictions
Kerry Jackson
August 1, 2023
Blog
Read latest about government overregulation
By managing growth, planners make cities less livable
While Euclidean zoning has been credited with segregating developments that have incompatible uses – a chemical plant next to a school or a landfill right up against a residential district, for a couple of examples – it has a record of going too far. In some cases, planners “decided that
Kerry Jackson
June 15, 2023
Blog
Get a Preview of Upcoming Study
Population trends prove people prefer pro-growth cities
The movement away from large cities is not universal, however. People may be leaving Los Angeles, but they are moving to Fort Worth, Atlanta and Las Vegas. Figure 1 presents the diverse five-year percentage change in population for the 50 largest cities in the United States. The vast differences in
Wayne Winegarden
April 27, 2023
Blog
Free Markets Fuel Outdoor Dining
Cities should maintain flexible outdoor dining programs
One of the few silver linings of the coronavirus pandemic was that governments were forced to think outside-of-the-box in order to make things happen. In the early months of the pandemic, local governments across the country loosened regulations to allow restaurants and bars to serve customers outdoors. They made it
Sal Rodriguez
April 21, 2023
Higher minimum wages hurt workers
If only someone had warned lawmakers
Starting on April 1, fast food restaurant chains that have at least 60 locations across the country must pay their workers a minimum of $20 an hour to comply with the minimum wage increase legislation passed and signed last year. But that’s not the end of it. Under Assembly Bill
Who are winners and losers of 2023 legislative session?
Progressives Dominate Legislative Session, But Will Newsom Spoil the Party?
Late Thursday evening, the Legislature wrapped up its business for the 2023 legislative session. As bleary-eyed lawmakers travel home today for the fall recess, what is the biggest story of this year’s legislative session? This year’s legislative session will go down as perhaps the most successful legislative session ever for
How will scandal impact reforms?
Aftermath of a scandal: Anaheim council spars over reforms
The recent reform effort, led by Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, comes at a wild time at City Hall. Aitken’s predecessor, Harry Sidhu, recently agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges. The findings of an explosive independent investigation were recently published and support much of what the federal authorities alleged last
Read about latest job killer bill
Lawmakers Push Yet Another Drain on California Employers Stretched to the Breaking Point
If California policymakers set out to punish and in some cases eventually destroy small businesses, they would add to employers’ already heavy burden by nearly doubling the number of paid sick days they have to provide. Which is exactly what they are doing. Senate Bill 616, passed on Sept. 1
Watch Wayne Winegarden Discuss Legal Reform Study on Nasdaq Trade Talks
Watch PRI’s Dr. Wayne Winegarden discuss his latest study, “Enriching Lawyers, Not Helping Victims” on Nasdaq Trade Talks. To download a copy of the study, click here.
Read about new CA green mandate
Outlawing Commercial Gas Ovens Latest Government Hit on Minority Workers
You may have missed it, but there was another shot fired last week in the war by California bureaucrats against gas-powered appliances. The South Coast Air Quality Management District – the unelected body given sweeping regulatory powers in the name of reducing air pollution in Southern California – passed a
Read about a rare good bill from Sacramento
Here’s One Good Idea from Sacramento: Cut Red Tape for Farmers Markets
The popularity of farmers markets has swelled over the last three decades, from only 1,755 in 1994 across the country to 8,771 in 2019. The expansion has slowed somewhat in recent years, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the demand has peaked. The stagnation could simply mean that local government restrictions
Read latest about government overregulation
By managing growth, planners make cities less livable
While Euclidean zoning has been credited with segregating developments that have incompatible uses – a chemical plant next to a school or a landfill right up against a residential district, for a couple of examples – it has a record of going too far. In some cases, planners “decided that
Get a Preview of Upcoming Study
Population trends prove people prefer pro-growth cities
The movement away from large cities is not universal, however. People may be leaving Los Angeles, but they are moving to Fort Worth, Atlanta and Las Vegas. Figure 1 presents the diverse five-year percentage change in population for the 50 largest cities in the United States. The vast differences in
Free Markets Fuel Outdoor Dining
Cities should maintain flexible outdoor dining programs
One of the few silver linings of the coronavirus pandemic was that governments were forced to think outside-of-the-box in order to make things happen. In the early months of the pandemic, local governments across the country loosened regulations to allow restaurants and bars to serve customers outdoors. They made it