occupational licensing

Knowing that North Carolina law already provides a way for consumers to choose a non-licensed service professional in one area (real estate) ought to make it easier to expand that freedom in other licensed fields.

The key to the Occupational License Consumer Choice approach is something called a nonlicensed disclosure. With that, occupational licensing is no longer an entry regulation.

This is a post about an important change in state law concerning how licensing boards deal with applicants who have conviction records. Plus, it has alligators.

The N.C. Board of Funeral Service opposes a bill that would allow for provisional licenses for funeral directors here. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the governor just signed a law allowing for provisional licenses across licensing boards.

Being able to petition the board “at any time” is a particularly strong reform. For people whose conviction record would disqualify them from the license no matter what, being able to find out beforehand would save them a great deal of time and money, let alone heartbreak.

Here is why the changes House Bill 770 would make to how licensing boards treat applicants with conviction records are important.

North Carolina is partly responsible for the de-licensing revolution going on in other states. But oddly enough, so far we've been sitting it out. So the Wall Street Journal writes about "Arizona's Licensing Liberation."

What point would this serve? Even if this new requirement were supposed to address a burning need in the state (which is highly unlikely), the fact that only two of the eight hours would be of a mandatory course strongly suggests it's unnecessary. Requiring six hours a year on elective instruction? What is that but to enrich the board and the instructors?