Two Federal courts, one in New Orleans and another in Washington DC have issued conflicting decisions on whether cities can require licensing of tour guides. An advocacy group, Institute for Justice, acting on behalf of a group of guides, has asked the Supreme Court to resolve the difference in favor of no licensing; they see it as a free speech issue.
Numbers of cities have moved to license guides, usually with the idea that professional guides produce positive impressions of the city. Some of the laws require background checks, tests on local history, health checks and more. The recent cases allowed New Orleans to keep a licensing law, but struck down one in DC.
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