My research brief this week discusses how New Mexico is joining the de-licensing revolution. Other states are also poised to join, but North Carolina still isn’t among them:

Oklahoma is also beginning a comprehensive review of its licensing structure. New Hampshire, Louisiana, Michigan, and Ohio are all considering bills to curtail occupational licensing and restore people’s right to earn a living.

Look at all the deep, significant occupational licensing reform that has happened since the Supreme Court ruling against the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners in 2015. (This list doesn’t include de-licensing of hair braiders, although that’s another reform North Carolina hasn’t done.)

The De-licensing Revolution so far

2016: Arizona (4 occupations)
2016: Rhode Island (27 occupations)
2016: Tennessee (systematic restructuring: Right to Earn a Living Act)
2017: Arizona (systematic restructuring: Right to Earn a Living Act)
2017: Nebraska (bank CEOs)
2017: Mississippi (systematic restructuring: Occupational Board Compliance Act)
2017: Connecticut (system streamlining, affecting 4 – 6 occupations)
2017: Illinois (2 occupations, as well as ending the practice of denying licenses for irrelevant conviction records)
2018: Nebraska (animal massage therapy)
2018: Nebraska (systematic restructuring: Occupational License Reform Act)