This chapter looks at how the police power has evolved in judicial interpretations and legislative enactments to the present day. It begins by exploring how the shifting approaches to regulatory governance more generally and also various state constitutional developments in the past two centuries affected thinking about the overall structure and purpose of state regulatory authority. It then turns to a number of critical areas in which the police power was used as a tool of protecting health, safety, welfare, and the common good. It begins with morals, a linchpin of traditional police power regulation, and then proceeds to discuss urban blight, occupational licensing, and public health emergencies

Health care professions are regulated by state licensing boards, which are charged with promoting public health, safety, and welfare by preventing charlatans, incompetents, and quacks from practicing. Typically, these boards are populated by members of the profession being regulated since they have the requisite expertise to police the profession. However, professionals with the power to grant licenses may have a financial incentive to use that power to reduce competition and exclude other medical professionals. Reduced competition leads to higher prices and reduced access to health care. Concerned about this conflict of interest, the Supreme Court in North Carolina Dental agreed that the state should supervise such boards through the state action doctrine. In this chapter, we explore the competitive concerns economists and the antitrust Agencies have regarding professional licensure regulations. We identify two general antitrust concerns: (1) the exclusion of some competitors through entry limitations or practice restrictions and (2) supervision requirements that make the employment of competitors less attractive.