Louisiana is the only state in the union that requires a license for wholesale and retail florists—a job that many people who struggle with unemployment could sign up for, if not for the zeal to protect us from ugly flower centerpieces.

The average of $200 required in fees is merely the start of what one needs to become an authorized florist, and it is the prime example—and the most absurd—of the 77 moderate-income occupations that Louisiana licenses. According to the Institute for Justice (IJ), in its “License to Work“ report, Louisiana is the sixth most broadly and onerously licensed state.

Governor John Bel Edwards (D) recently announced his support for bill HB 561, sponsored by State Representative Julie Emerson (R-Carencro), that seeks to repeal licensing for florists.

Louisiana has faced tough economic times in recent years, with one in five citizens living in poverty in 2016, according to TalkPoverty.org. It also ranks second to worst for the percentage of its population going hungry at some point during the year. 

For that reason, Edwards held meetings with the private sector in 2017 and came up with alternatives to improve the business environment and promote economic growth, including occupational-licensing reform. Repealing licensing laws is a straightforward and effortless measure to improve Louisiana’s dire economy by reducing inequality and unemployment.

Economic analyses from across the spectrum agree that occupational licenses do more harm than good. They can reduce the growth of licensed jobs up to 20 percent and increase prices of related products or services from 5 to 33 percent. Further, licensing disproportionately targets minorities, preventing them from climbing the social ladder, as Mathew Mitchell, director of the American Capitalism project at the Mercatus Center, explains in his study “Occupational Licensing and the Poor and Disadvantaged.”

In brief, he asserts that “licensing laws hit the poor twice—once in the form of limiting job opportunities and then again in the form of higher prices.”

Louisiana should make it easier for low- and moderate-income workers to become florists, and bartenders, barbers, and many of the 77 occupations that require government approval. De-licensing 17 occupations that require permission in ten or fewer states across the country would be a positive start.

However, the ideal way forward is to lift all license laws and let consumers, as they already do in many industries, sort bad professionals from good ones. By doing that, the government of Louisiana would promote true equality of opportunity and take away undue political power from licensing bureaucrats and unions. 

Removing licensing laws is not only a matter of economic efficiency, it is about securing a fundamental American right—the right to earn a living.