Regulatory Reform in Louisiana: An Opportunity for Greater Economic Growth

What could Louisiana gain by clearing out outdated, duplicative, or unnecessarily burdensome rules?

Louisiana’s administrative code contained more than 180,000 regulatory restrictions in 2024, placing it 10th among the states measured. That’s a tally of binding terms like “must,” “shall,” and “may not.” For a small business, sorting through those requirements takes time and resources that could go toward hiring, serving customers, or growing.

In a new report from the Pelican Institute and Pacific Legal Foundation, researcher Patrick A. McLaughlin examines how Louisiana could reduce red tape while preserving essential protections. The report looks at what Idaho, Virginia, and British Columbia did to review and reduce their regulatory burdens, then models four scenarios for Louisiana.

In the report’s central estimates, a 10 percent reduction in regulatory restrictions over three years could make Louisiana’s economy about $7 billion larger by 2037 than it would be under current policy. A 20 percent reduction could make it more than $14 billion larger.

View the full report here:
Regulatory Reform in Louisiana 2026

or download the pdf here.

View the one pager here:
Louisiana Regulatory Reform One Pager

or download the pdf here.