Post by Admin on Dec 5, 2021 16:56:29 GMT -7
Montana - #18 Overall in Freedom for 50 States
The Cato Institute reports:
"Residents of Big Sky country enjoy ample personal freedom and good fiscal policy, but the regulatory policy has seen a worrying, long-term decline in both absolute and relative terms. It will be welcome if a tiny turnup for the absolute score of regulatory freedom in 2019 was the beginning of a positive trend.
Montana’s tax burden is well below the national average. State taxes have held steady during the past several years at about 5.0 percent of adjusted personal income. Local taxes spiked in FY 2009 but then settled down to about 3.1 percent of income shortly thereafter. They’ve trended up slightly during the past few years to nearly 3.2 percent after nearly hitting 3.0 in FY 2017. Montanans have virtually no choice in local government, as counties control half of the local taxes. Montana’s debt burden has fallen from 19.9 percent of income in FY 2007 to 11.5 percent now. Government employment and consumption have fallen since the Great Recession and are now slightly better than national historical averages. Overall, Montana posted consistent gains on the fiscal policy up to 2017 but has fallen back slightly since in relative and absolute terms.
Land-use freedom and environmental policy have deteriorated since 2007. Building restrictions are now more onerous than average. Eminent domain reform has not gone far. The state’s renewable portfolio standards are among the toughest in the country, raising the cost of electricity. The state has a fairly high minimum wage for its median wage level. Overall, Montana is one of the least free states when it comes to the labor market. Health insurance mandates are extremely expensive. Montana has among the most extensive occupational licensing regimes. However, nurses and physician assistants enjoy substantial practice freedom. Cable franchising is still local, but telecom wireline authority has been fully deregulated. Insurance freedom is middling, as the state imposes some restrictions on rating criteria but has gone to “file and use” for most lines. It joined the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact in 2013/14. Montana has a general ban on sales below cost, and medical facilities and moving companies both face entry barriers. The state’s lawsuit freedom is slightly above average (less vulnerable to abusive suits).
Montana is one of the best states for gun rights, but constitutional carry postdates our study. Montana also does well on gambling, where it has an unusual, competitive model for video terminals that does not involve casinos. On criminal justice, Montana is above average. Drug arrests are more than 1 standard deviation below the national average, but the incarceration rate is about average when adjusted for crime rates. The state is schizophrenic on cannabis, with a reasonably liberal medical marijuana program but also the possibility of a life sentence for a single cannabis offense not involving minors and a one-year mandatory minimum for any level of cultivation. Montana reformed its terrible asset forfeiture law in 2015 but has not touched the equitable sharing loophole. Tobacco and alcohol freedoms are subpar, with draconian smoking bans, higher-than-average cigarette taxes, and state monopoly of liquor stores. Educational freedom is slightly better than average, with fairly light regulation of private schools and homeschools and, since 2015, a strictly limited tax-credit scholarship law. The state was forced to legalize same-sex marriage in 2014, and its oppressive super-DOMA was, therefore, also overturned.
Policy Recommendations
Fiscal: Trim spending on public welfare operations, public buildings, health, employment security administration, central staff, and financial administration, which are all substantially above national averages.
Regulatory: Montana is surrounded by right-to-work states. Enact a similar law that does not violate freedom of association, like the one proposed in the “Labor-Market Freedom” section of the print version (see page 46-47).
Personal: Abolish all mandatory minimum sentences for victimless crimes and reduce maximum sentences significantly."
"Residents of Big Sky country enjoy ample personal freedom and good fiscal policy, but the regulatory policy has seen a worrying, long-term decline in both absolute and relative terms. It will be welcome if a tiny turnup for the absolute score of regulatory freedom in 2019 was the beginning of a positive trend.
Montana’s tax burden is well below the national average. State taxes have held steady during the past several years at about 5.0 percent of adjusted personal income. Local taxes spiked in FY 2009 but then settled down to about 3.1 percent of income shortly thereafter. They’ve trended up slightly during the past few years to nearly 3.2 percent after nearly hitting 3.0 in FY 2017. Montanans have virtually no choice in local government, as counties control half of the local taxes. Montana’s debt burden has fallen from 19.9 percent of income in FY 2007 to 11.5 percent now. Government employment and consumption have fallen since the Great Recession and are now slightly better than national historical averages. Overall, Montana posted consistent gains on the fiscal policy up to 2017 but has fallen back slightly since in relative and absolute terms.
Land-use freedom and environmental policy have deteriorated since 2007. Building restrictions are now more onerous than average. Eminent domain reform has not gone far. The state’s renewable portfolio standards are among the toughest in the country, raising the cost of electricity. The state has a fairly high minimum wage for its median wage level. Overall, Montana is one of the least free states when it comes to the labor market. Health insurance mandates are extremely expensive. Montana has among the most extensive occupational licensing regimes. However, nurses and physician assistants enjoy substantial practice freedom. Cable franchising is still local, but telecom wireline authority has been fully deregulated. Insurance freedom is middling, as the state imposes some restrictions on rating criteria but has gone to “file and use” for most lines. It joined the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact in 2013/14. Montana has a general ban on sales below cost, and medical facilities and moving companies both face entry barriers. The state’s lawsuit freedom is slightly above average (less vulnerable to abusive suits).
Montana is one of the best states for gun rights, but constitutional carry postdates our study. Montana also does well on gambling, where it has an unusual, competitive model for video terminals that does not involve casinos. On criminal justice, Montana is above average. Drug arrests are more than 1 standard deviation below the national average, but the incarceration rate is about average when adjusted for crime rates. The state is schizophrenic on cannabis, with a reasonably liberal medical marijuana program but also the possibility of a life sentence for a single cannabis offense not involving minors and a one-year mandatory minimum for any level of cultivation. Montana reformed its terrible asset forfeiture law in 2015 but has not touched the equitable sharing loophole. Tobacco and alcohol freedoms are subpar, with draconian smoking bans, higher-than-average cigarette taxes, and state monopoly of liquor stores. Educational freedom is slightly better than average, with fairly light regulation of private schools and homeschools and, since 2015, a strictly limited tax-credit scholarship law. The state was forced to legalize same-sex marriage in 2014, and its oppressive super-DOMA was, therefore, also overturned.
Policy Recommendations
Fiscal: Trim spending on public welfare operations, public buildings, health, employment security administration, central staff, and financial administration, which are all substantially above national averages.
Regulatory: Montana is surrounded by right-to-work states. Enact a similar law that does not violate freedom of association, like the one proposed in the “Labor-Market Freedom” section of the print version (see page 46-47).
Personal: Abolish all mandatory minimum sentences for victimless crimes and reduce maximum sentences significantly."