This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Working Title: Offer Void In Nebraska: From YKTTW
Twin Bird: The article makes it sound like Nebraska is an especially likely state to be excluded, like Alaska or Hawai'i. In truth, I can't think of a product that's typically excluded from Nebraska. In that part of the country, you can basically cross state lines without realizing it.
Alexandra Erin: Uh, yeah... speaking as a Nebraskan, I've never seen an offer that was "void in Nebraska." You can do pretty much anything here, except set off fireworks at your gay marriage in the casino.
Pieguy259: I picked Nebraska because it sounded good. It probably isn't true.
BT The P: Tennessee has tricky truth-in-advertising laws and other statutes that prohibit things like contests and guarantees, as referenced in Lisa Simpson's song with Paul Anka in that one Simpsons Treehouse of Horror.
bluefireglow: I added an example, albeit played for comedy, that actually explicitly excludes Nebraska. I also added an Examples section to put the example in.
Idle Dandy: Actually, I think Nebraska has some of the loosest regulations on things like insurance (hence Mutual of Omaha...)
Kilyle: I suppose this makes the title funnier, really, choosing a state with some of the loosest regulations....
Kilyle: Can anyone put up the reason for restrictions on the shipment of plants? This Burpee catalogue says it can't ship some of these things to Arizona, and has restrictions on Alaska, Hawaii (both understandable), California.... Also there was apparently some sort of quarantine to Washington on grapes until recently. I'd like more info on why.
Gattsuru: There are a good number of places you can't ship ashwood to or from in Ohio, because they're big quarantine lines for emerald ash borers. I understand there are federal laws on the matter, as well. Nasty bugs -- DoA's gotten in the habit of burning down every ash tree within a half-mile of a single infested one. I know Washington state had a big phylloxera infestation, which is bad news bears for everyone involved, and not exactly the sort of thing you want to try and recover from. Arizona is probably for the Japanese beetle, which covers a lotta different plants like roses. There are also a boatload of chestnut-related diseases that Arizona's in the quarantine bar for.
United States policy, and the policy in a lot of other countries, is stop movement both ways on a quarantine. The idea is to not only slow or stop the spread of disease, but to hopefully starve the disease as well. It doesn't always or even often work, but it's often the best option.
