Public Good vs. Individual Nightmare
Will the government come after your house next in the name of the "public good?"
Weber County Bans So-Called “Light Trespassing”
Residents in one county in Utah are now expected to buy lights that don't cause "light trespassing."
Utah needs more affordable housing, less zoning
As Utah economy continues to grow, the housing market remains stagnant. The reason why is not what you might expect.
Prosecutors Aim to Sabotage Forfeiture Reform
Police and prosecutors continue to fight efforts to reform civil asset forfeiture—a law allowing them to take property from innocent people not charged with, let alone convicted of, a crime. In the last legislative session,...
Arbitrary Animal Limits: Farmington as a Model Example
Last year, we released the Freest Cities report—a first-of-its-kind analysis of city laws and fees for the top 50 most populous cities throughout Utah. One of the metrics we analyzed was that of animal ownership, helping...
New Report Shows Why Utah Police and Prosecutors are Taking Property
Utah has a controversial history with civil asset forfeiture—a tool allowing the government to confiscate property from people not charged with, let alone convicted of, a crime. Last Friday, the Commission on Criminal and...
Utah’s Tax Freedom Day — How long do you have to work for the government?
Tax Freedom Day is the day when individuals in the entire nation, or state, have earned enough money to pay the total tax bill for the year. It includes all federal, state, and local taxes and divides them by the total income of...
The Fundamental Right to Use One’s Own Property
An oversight in constitutional protection has allowed the government to routinely violate the right of individuals to peacefully use their property as they see fit.
What Utah’s Breastfeeding Laws Do (and Do Not) Say
This past week, a nursing mother was told to leave a Layton business because she was nursing. The woman claims that the establishment “broke the law” and that she “knows her rights,” and for that reason...
Farms, Food, and Freedom: Informed Consumerism in Utah
While regulation can protect the health of consumers not connected to their food, it is not needed—and should not be required—in direct-sales situations.