Utah should be the easiest state to live, work, and raise a family. Our state is known for as one of the most business-friendly states in America, but there is more we can be doing to help small businesses, entrepreneurs, and new ventures succeed. Prosperity Utah’s Cutting the Red Tape: Reducing Barriers for Utahns initiative aims to make Utah’s market the freest and most open and dynamic economy in the world.
The Problem
Utah’s regulatory structure makes life more difficult for Utah citizens to get by, increases the financial strain on families, and stifles job growth and innovation. Utah has 88,000 regulations on the books. This is much more than competing states like Arizona & Nevada who each have 64,000 regulations and more than double Idaho’s 41,000. While our neighbors are leading the way, Utah’s burdensome regulation continues to be a primary source of high healthcare costs and a lack of affordable housing.
The Solution
Prosperity Utah’s regulatory reform effort seeks to change that. Our goal is to make Utah the least regulated state in the nation. We have a three-part plan to cut job-killing regulations, clean up our regulatory code, and unleash private sector prosperity like never before seen.
#1 CUT OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING REGULATIONS BY 25%
High occupational licensing requirements prevent our most needy communities from quickly finding employment and stability. They contribute little to public safety and increase costs to consumers. We call on the Utah legislature to pass the bipartisan Regulatory Reduction Pilot Program and reduce occupational licensing requirements by 25%.
#2 REMOVE OUTDATED REGULATIONS FROM THE UTAH CODE
Idaho recently became the least regulated state in the nation just by removing outdated regulations from their code. Things like payphone and horse racing regulations clutter our state code and increase compliance costs while decreasing enforcement efficiency. The state should review and repeal these outdated regulations.
#3 ENACT SUBSTANTIAL REGULATORY REFORM
Cutting occupational licensing and cleaning up our code are important changes but not sufficient. Utah needs to review and repeal our most burdensome regulations holding back growth and driving up costs with a special emphasis on healthcare, affordable housing, energy, and new business creation.
Utah is known as the most business-friendly and entrepreneurial state*. We need a regulatory code that compliments this reputation and allows us to maintain our edge while outpacing the rest of the pack. Prosperity Utah’s regulatory reform initiative will make Utah the least regulated state in the nation and become an example for other states to follow to unleash untold economic prosperity.
*Amazon’s 2019 Small Business Impact Report
MEDIA
Stay Up To Date
CORRECTING THE CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM: Criminal Justice for Utah’s Future
Repeat crimes from those previously incarcerated have increased by eight percent in Utah since 2014. Right now, we do not even have data to indicate if our publicly funded drug rehabilitation programs are failing or succeeding. Utah is growing. As a state’s population grows, crime increases, so we can expect these problems to get worse….
HEALING OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: Affordable Care for Everyone
60% of bankruptcies are caused by medical expenses. 79% of Americans are dissatisfied with the healthcare system. Prosperity Utah is advancing policy change that decreases the cost and increases the quality of healthcare in the United States. Addressing price transparency, regulatory approvals, driving competitiveness in the industry, and investing in medical education to create more…
STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM: Using Markets to Drive Social Progress
Capitalism has gotten a bad rap lately, blamed for poverty, inequality, and greed. In reality, open & dynamic markets are responsible for wealth, social progress, and increased charitable giving. Prosperity Utah’s stakeholder capitalism initiative aims to reframe the general public’s understanding of capitalism while urging our state’s largest companies to prioritize employee and community interests…
ZONED OUT: Reforming Utah’s Housing Regulations
Overbearing zoning regulations are causing home prices to skyrocket in Utah, pricing many out of the housing market. You could say that potential homebuyers are “Zoned Out” from homeownership. Prosperity Utah’s “Zoned Out” initiative aims to reform zoning codes and regulations along the Wasatch front to allow market forces, not government planners and regulators, to…
CUTTING THE RED TAPE: Reducing Barriers for Utahns
Utah has 88,000 regulations on the books. This is much more than competing states like Arizona & Nevada who each have 64,000 regulations and more than double Idaho’s 41,000. Prosperity Utah has a three-part plan to remove these burdensome regulations and unleash the power of entrepreneurship and markets. #1. Cut occupational licensing by 25%. #2….
