Licensing Law Stunts Budding Florists' Growth While 'Fertilizing' the Nanny State

Nanny State Liberation Front; July 20, 2010

Until recently, anyone seeking to become a florist in Louisiana was required to pass strict licensing requirements typically reserved for jobs associated with protecting public health and ensuring general safety. While some of the state’s licensing regulations have changed for the better, budding florists are still finding it difficult to grow their businesses.

Aspiring florists once required by the state’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry to pass a written test and practical exam judging their abilities to prepare floral arrangements can ‘partially’ thank the the Institute for Justice (IJ), the nation’s “only libertarian, civil liberties, public interest law firm,” for making it easier to get licensed in the ‘Big Easy.’ However, there are a few bureaucratic loopholes that still hinder the process.

Last March, the IJ filed a civil rights lawsuit, Chauvin v. Strain, in federal court against the Commissioners of the Louisiana Horticulture Commission in an effort the state’s “anti-entrepreneur, anti-competitive, and anti-consumer florist licensing scheme” declared unconstitutional, an IJ press release announced. “If Louisiana can license florists, there is no limit to what it can license or to the burdens it can impose on honest, productive livelihoods.”

Deeming the licensing law an “abitrary” and “unreasonable” affront to potential florists’ budding careers, the IJ’s federal lawsuit gained the attention of state lawmakers, prompting them to pass legislation that outlawed a portion of the licensing exam which allowed the IJ to cease its case in court.

“H.B. 1407, sponsored by Rep. Franklin Foil [R-Baton Rouge], abolishes the demonstration portion of the floral licensing exam, while leaving in place (for now) a short written exam that presents no serious obstacle to would-be florists,” the IJ declared on July 12. “The bill passed both houses of the Louisiana legislature by wide margins.”

Unfortunately for florists entering the market, the licensing requirement and accompanying fee still remain intact, leaving Louisiana as the only state in the nation that regulates floral arrangers … READ MORE