Libertas Institute (Utah)

The organization has developed and secured passage of a number of policies that were first of their kind in the nation:

1. A comprehensive digital privacy law to protect data held by third parties from government intrusion.[5]
2. A law that prohibits the government from requiring permits and licenses of minors operating lemonade stands and other small enterprises. [6]
3. A “free range parenting” law preventing parents from being punished for providing their children with some basic independence. [7]
4. A law enforcement transparency effort that requires police to disclose information about each forcible entry home invasion and SWAT team deployment. [8]
5. A food truck freedom law that prevents local governments from requiring duplicative inspections, licenses, and fees.[9]
6. A law setting a cap on the amount of interest and late fees that can be imposed on a person’s fine, to prevent the perpetual increasing of debt obligations by low income people to the state.[10]

Libertas Institute works on dozens of policy issues each year spanning a wide range of topics. On average, 82% of their proposals are successfully enacted into law. Some examples include:

Free Market:

• In 2017, the Utah Legislature passed the “food truck freedom” proposal to ensure that mobile food vendors could travel from one city to the next without having barriers stand in the way, including duplicative inspections, restrictions on where they can operate, etc.[11]
• In 2017, cities were prohibited from enforcing their restrictive ordinances on short-term rentals by using popular platforms such as Airbnb.[12]
• In 2017, Utah were no longer required to pay for licenses to operate a business out of their home, saving over a million dollars statewide.[13]
• In 2018, homemade food producers were allowed to begin directly selling their products to consumers without having to comply with burdensome food regulations designed for industrial producers.[14]
• In 2019, bowenwork practitioners were exempted from having to obtain an occupational license.[15]

Personal Freedom:

• In 2014, law enforcement was restricted as to when they could forcibly invade a person’s home when serving a warrant.[16]
• In 2017, civil asset forfeiture—the taking of one’s property without convicting that person of having committed a crime—was restricted.[17]
• In 2017, the mandatory vehicle safety inspection requirement from drivers was repealed.[18]
• In 2018, parents were no longer threatened with charges of abuse or neglect for allowing their children to play or roam independently.[19]
• In 2018, medical cannabis was legalized following a ballot initiative and Libertas Institute’s negotiations with the Legislature to preserve a broad program in law.[20]
• In 2019, the crimes for fornication, sodomy, and adultery were repealed.[21]
• In 2020, consenting adult polygamists were no longer criminalized as felons.[22]

Justice and Due Process:

• In 2014, police were restricted in using “stingray” devices to capture the location of and information about innocent individuals.[23]
• In 2014, law enforcement’s use of drones was restricted.[24]
• In 2016, the Legislature enacted substantial restrictions on the use of body cameras by police.[25]
• In 2018, a warrant was required by statute to obtain a person’s blood for law enforcement purposes without their consent.[26]
• In 2018, police quotas were banned in Utah.[27]
• In 2018, individuals who owed money to the state were allowed to perform compensatory service in lieu of paying money.[28]
• In 2019, medical providers were prohibited from performing pelvic examinations of sedated individuals without their explicit consent.[29]

Education Empowerment:

• In 2014, homeschooling families were no longer required to teach information mandated by the government.[30]
• In 2018, parents were allowed to excuse their children from school for mental health problems in addition to physical health problems.[31]
• In 2018, transparency requirements were introduced for how police officers were being used in schools.[32]

Limited and Open Government:

• In 2015, child welfare workers were prohibited from taking children over medical neglect issues until a second medical opinion was obtained by a parent who desired one.[33]
• In 2015, annual reporting requirements were imposed on law enforcement regarding their use of civil asset forfeiture.[34]
• In 2017, local governments facing a ballot proposition were required to actively disclose to residents the opportunity to submit arguments for or against the proposition for inclusion in the voter guide.[35]
• In 2017, a law was repealed that required disclosure of donors by nonprofits following Libertas Institute’s successful lawsuit overturning the law.[36]
• In 2019, the ability of the government to be immune from lawsuits in cases of wrongdoing was limited.[37]
• In 2019, the government implemented a program of automatic expungement for past offenses of qualifying individuals who had not committed any new offenses.[38]

In addition to policy work, Libertas Institute is involved offers the following educational projects:

The Tuttle Twins: a series of children’s books that teach young people the ideas of a free society.[39] Each book is based on a classic text, such as F.A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom or Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.

Children’s Entrepreneur Market: an annual series of markets operated by children selling various products.[40] The Institute hosts over a dozen markets each year, with each market attracting over 200 young entrepreneurs and nearly one thousand customers.

Free Market Rules: a weekly curriculum for families to learn about free market economics together in the home.[41] Content is delivered digitally and activities are provided for children of all ages.

• Libertas Institute