A Litany of Useless Laws Have Been Exposed By the Coronavirus

The ability to suspend these laws without fear of endangering the public opens the door to questioning their purpose.

By Charles Blain. He is the founder and executive director of Urban Reform, a Houston-based non-profit focused on free-market solutions to urban issues.

Excerpts:

"In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott waived oversize and overweight restrictions for commercial trucks and suspended requirements to register under the International Registration Plan or to obtain temporary registration, as long as the truck is registered in one US state.

Gov. Abbott also waived regulations allowing doctors to receive the same payment for over-the-phone telemedicine visits that they would for in-person visits for patients on state-regulated insurance plans.

Most notably, he waived state laws that prohibit alcohol industry trucks from delivering supplies to grocery stores saying, “by removing these regulations, we are streamlining the process to replenish the shelves in grocery stores across the state.” All of these moves allowed for the market to identify the needs of the public and fill them as quickly as possible.

In Boston, restaurants typically need a specific permit to provide carry-out service, but Mayor Marty Walsh lifted that requirement to allow for every restaurant to offer the service. Even New York City suspended its enforcement of illegal e-bikes during the crisis to accommodate for the influx of delivery orders, the state also moved to allow liquor-to-go.

Supply and Demand

Due to the increased demand, and ability for the supply chain to keep up with that demand, supermarket companies like H-E-B, Kroger, and Randall’s announced they’d be hiring thousands of additional staff. The newfound flexibility on trucking regulations means that grocers like H-E-B are deploying 1,300 trucks a day to continuously supply their stores.

In New Jersey, Bayonne ended enforcement of expired Resident and Driveway Parking permits. They also suspended issuing permits for what they consider “minor work,” like plumbing, electrical, mechanical, fire, and building. As long as contractors alert the city of the work they intend to do, the city will inspect it at a later date."