By Loryn Cesario

NCSL, along with its partners at The Council of State Governments (CSG), the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), cohosted a breakfast briefing today on the recent release of case studies from the Occupational Licensing Learning Consortium project.

The case studies highlight the work of the 11 original states in the consortium—Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, Utah and Wisconsin—and focus on one policy area each state addressed related to occupational licensing.

The studies offer detailed summaries of the numerous approaches, both regulatory and legislative, to reducing barriers to licensure and increasing licensee mobility.

The Occupational Licensing Learning Consortium is a three-year project funded through a DOL grant. The consortium consists of the 11 original states and five states that recently joined the project—Idaho, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Vermont. The project’s goals are to reduce barriers to licensure and the increase mobility of licensed professionals across states.

The briefing highlighted the progress of numerous states as they work to reduce barriers to employment through occupational licensing legislation and regulation. In addition to NCSL, CSG and NGA staff the briefing featured Representative Robert Brooks (R-Wisc.), Representative Norm Thurston (R-Utah) and Daniel Greenberg from the DOL, as well as Gauri Rege from the American Institutes for Research, who helped compile the case studies.

Thurston emphasized two pieces of legislation from Utah. The first, HB19-226, allows for the Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing to implement competency-based licensing requirements which would enable applicants to demonstrate their ability to perform a licensed occupation through practical assessment. The other, SB18-227, exempts qualified individuals serving in the military and their spouses from several occupational licensing requirements, enabling them to begin working in Utah sooner.

The case studies will be featured in the final report for the project due out in the summer of 2020. Read more about the Occupational Licensing Learning Consortium and the work being done by NGA, CSG and NCSL on occupational licensing. 

Loryn Cesario is a policy associate in NCSL’s Employment, Labor and Retirement Program.

Email Loryn