Earlier this year, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) published the second edition of its Labor Reform Policy. The report highlights any recent statewide labor policies that have been enacted since September 2023 and a 50-state fact sheet that highlights ALEC’s main priorities.
Amid high-level conversations addressing current workforce challenges and streamlining state licensing requirements, Marta Zaniewski would like to continue conversations with ALEC around this issue.
“There’s opportunity to learn more about what ALEC is doing in this space and engage with groups such as ALEC to explain how complicated the regulatory and licensing infrastructure is for the [Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing] professions,” said Zaniewski, vice president of state regulatory and legislative affairs at AICPA® & CIMA®, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.
Proposed policies address workforce challenges
Within the report are details on ALEC’s proposed licensing policies, including the Occupational Licensing Review Act and the Model Interstate-Mobility and Universal-Recognition Occupational Licensing Act.
The Occupational Licensing Review Act creates a process to review all current and proposed occupational licenses within a state. According to the report, “all new licenses are put through a sunrise review process, and all current licenses are put through a periodic sunset review process that reviews 20% of a state’s licenses each year, reviewing all licenses every five years.” The review process then evaluates whether an occupational license is necessary to protect the public’s health and safety.
The purpose of the Model Interstate-Mobility and Universal-Recognition Occupational Licensing Act is to create a process to recognize the occupational license, work experience or private certification obtained by an individual in another state when applying for a new occupational license. The report states that a universal recognition policy would allow for individuals to “get to work quicker” in their experienced profession and contribute to the overall state economy.
Key points for consideration in universal recognition legislation
Expressed in the Labor and Reform Policy report are five key points for lawmakers to consider when drafting universal recognition legislation:
Every universal recognition policy should apply to all workers and occupations that require a license within the state.
Lawmakers should use terminology such as “scope of practice” rather than the phrase “substantially equivalent.” The change in preferred language evaluates whether workers can perform the day-to-day tasks of the job within their new work state. The report cites Mississippi, Kanas, Iowa, Missouri, Idaho, Utah and Arizona as examples of states that include a scope of practice standard in their universal recognition policies.
The policy should not include a residency requirement for workers.
Any universal recognition policy should recognize an individual’s work experience and private certifications.
Define a period of time when a board can respond to an applicant — with a 60-day maximum.
Universal and occupational licensing is a pertinent topic, and through the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing, the AICPA Advocacy Team will continue to engage with ALEC on responsible licensing reform and monitor these discussions. Stay abreast of the latest updates and research with articles and resources from AICPA Advocacy.