Mississippi’s regulatory burden leads the way among southern states with roughly 118,000 restrictive regulations on the books-- consisting of 9.3 million words restricting over 65 industries.

• According to the Justice Institute, Mississippi loses more than 13,000 job-creating opportunities each year due to licensing regulations.

• Over the last 60 years, the number of jobs requiring occupational licenses in Mississippi has grown from 4% to nearly 20%.
• A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that occupational licensing reduces Mississippi’s labor supply by 17% to 27%.

Specific examples of restrictive regulations:

• To perform a massage for compensation in Mississippi, one must have completed 600 hours of directly supervised, in-class massage instruction and 100 hours of student clinical hours.

• This includes 200 hours in massage theory with 10 hours in massage law and ethics; and seven hours in Eastern European massage methods.

• To shampoo hair for compensation in Mississippi, one must have 1,500 hours of cosmetology education.
• Mississippi has a separate barber and cosmetology board. To become a licensed barber, one must attend both schools to have, and maintain, two licenses and adhere to two sets of regulations.
• Through the Motor Vehicle Commission, Mississippi regulates how a car dealership’s website must be developed. This includes what information is required on the website, how many clicks it takes to get to various portions of the website, and how often the website must be updated.

Upon taking office, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson and his team embarked on cutting the state’s anti-competitive regulations which restrict economic growth and development. The Tackle the Tape initiative was launched in July 2020, as a premier resource for the business community to “rid the red” in Mississippi.