It is illegal to be a peddler in Wisconsin without a license. One of the requirements is five years of residency in Wisconsin. Because clearly, no one is trustworthy unless they’ve lived in Wisconsin for at least five years. The full list of requirements is here.
You can apply for your peddler’s license here.
(Hat tip to Jim Ulbright)
Comments Off on Regulation of the Day 85: Peddlers
Posted in Regulation of the Day
Tagged licensing, occupational licensing, peddler, peddlers, regulation, Regulation of the Day, residency, residency requirements, wisconsin
Talk about attention to detail. The federal government regulates the size of holes in Swiss cheese.
The majority of the “eyes” (technical speak for “holes”) must be between 3/8” and 11/16” for the cheese to qualify as Grade A or B. Anything bigger or smaller and the cheese is relegated to the barely-edible Grade C. Even if the cheese is otherwise perfect.
(Hat tip to Jonny Slemrod)
Posted in Nanny State, Regulation of the Day
Tagged holes in swiss cheese, regulation, Regulation of the Day, swiss cheese
The Code of Federal Regulations contains a regulation on how to cite the Code of Federal Regulations. It reads as follows:
The Code of Federal Regulations may be cited by title and section, and the short form “CFR” may be used for “Code of Federal Regulations.” For example, “1 CFR 10.2” refers to title 1, Code of Federal Regulations, part 10, section 2.
See for yourself at 1 CFR 8.9.
Standard citation formats are extremely useful. That would be why, even without regulation’s guiding hand, the private sector evolved the Chicago and MLA styles, among others.
Yet another example of spontaneous order at its finest.
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Posted in Economics, Regulation of the Day, The Market Process
Tagged cfr, chicago manual of style, chicago style, citation formats, citations, code of federal regulations, mla style, regulation, Regulation of the Day
Did you know that the federal government is in the veterinary accreditation business? It’s true. Federal certification requires completion of veterinary school, state certification, plus an orientation course that covers:
(A) Federal animal health laws, regulations, and rules;
(B) Interstate movement requirements for animals;
(C) Import and export requirements for animals;
(D) USDA animal disease eradication and control programs;
(E) Laboratory support in confirming disease diagnoses;
(F) Ethical/Professional responsibilities of an accredited veterinarian; and,
(G) Animal health procedures, issues, and information resources relevant to the State in which the veterinarian wishes to perform accredited duties.
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Posted in Regulation of the Day
Tagged cfr, federal accreditation, federal certification, vet accreditation, vet certification, veterinarian, veterinary accreditation, veterinary certification, vets
Marginal Revolution’s Alex Tabarrok points to a proposed rule in California that would reclassify adult film actors as being subject to certain employment regulations. The unintended consequences are potentially fatal:
California’s anti-discrimination laws prohibit requiring an HIV test as a condition of employment; therefore the adult film industry’s current testing process, in which every performer is tested for HIV monthly, would be illegal. Nor would adult film producers be allowed to “discriminate” by refusing employment to HIV-positive performers. As a result, untested and HIV-positive performers would be able to work in the industry, raising the risks of HIV outbreaks–particularly since condom breakage or slippage can occur.
Sounds like regulators and activists need to think that one through a little more carefully.
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Posted in Regulation of the Day
Tagged adult film industry, aids, anti-discrimination, anti-discrimination laws, california, discrimination, hiv, hiv/aids, OSHA, porn, pornography, regulation, Regulation of the Day, unintended consequences
The Code of Federal Regulations contains 12,834 words worth of rules concerning falconry, of all things. Pasted into a Microsoft Word document with 11 point font size, that’s 24 pages. On falconry.
Some of the rules are surprisingly permissive: “Your falconry facilities may be on property owned by another person where you reside, or at a different location.”
Other rules, less so: “(D) Regardless of the number of State, tribal, or territorial falconry permits you have, you may possess no more than 5 wild raptors, including golden eagles.”
Because clearly, owning six birds instead of five is a threat to public health and safety.
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Posted in Nanny State, Regulation of the Day
Tagged eagles, falconry, falconry regulations, overregulation, raptors, regulation, Regulation of the Day
It is illegal to conduct an auction without a license in Alabama. Unlicensed auctioneers can be punished with fines of up to $500.
Applicants must pay nearly a thousand dollars for 85 hours of coursework. 8 additional hours are required every two years to keep the license.
It’s worth asking: Does this benefit anyone besides the people teaching the courses and the auctioneers who get to limit the amount of competition they have to face?
Today’s New York Times has a classic dog-bites-man story. The green energy sector is shedding jobs, despite being given billions of taxpayers’ dollars by Presidents Bush and Obama.
As so often happens, regulators’ efforts to change people’s behaviors aren’t working as hoped.
To paraphrase Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren’s work on ethanol subsidies: if it’s commercially viable, then it doesn’t need any subsidies. If it isn’t, no amount of subsidy will make it so.
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Posted in Economics, Regulation of the Day, The New Religion
Tagged bush, bush and obama are the same, energy subsidies, green energy, green energy subsidies, green jobs, new york times, obama
Roberto Zabrido, a government official in Spain, is “adamant that the Happy Meal and its ilk pose a risk.”
The solution? Legislation that “would ban restaurants and food manufacturers from including toys and prizes with their products.”
If Happy Meals – Happy Meals! – are Spain’s most pressing national problem, then that country is either the most trouble-free place on Earth, or else busybodies such as Mr. Zabrido have too much money and power. My bet is on the latter.
(Hat tip: Jacob Grier)
Comments Off on Regulation of the Day 77: Banning Toys in Happy Meals
Posted in International, Nanny State, Political Animals, Regulation of the Day
Tagged child obesity, childhood obesity, for the children, happy meal toys, happy meals, Nanny State, nanny state regulation, roberto zabrido, toys
If you put chlortetracycline powder in your farm animals’ drinking water to prevent disease, please be aware that a new federal rule now allows you to buy a generic version of the powder if you wish.
Actually, I probably shouldn’t be calling that rule a “rule.” As the new rule states:
This rule does not meet the definition of ‘‘rule’’ in 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(A) because it is a rule of ‘‘particular applicability.’’
Despite the rule being called a rule twice in one sentence, it really isn’t a rule. Probably best to let logicians sort that one out.
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Posted in Regulation of the Day
Tagged agriculture, animal medication, animal medicine, chlortetracycline powder, definition of rule, fda, generic medication, hhs
Inertia Wins! 