February 24, 2020
By Mark Flatten
Barriers to work are coming down in
Arizona thanks to a new law pushed by the Goldwater Institute that cuts through
the bureaucracies and red tape that previously blocked new arrivals from
working in their chosen professions.
Since the new universal recognition law took effect less than a year ago, 751 people have used it to obtain their occupational licenses in fields as varied as cosmetology to construction to dentistry, according to a survey of state licensing entities.
Last April, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed the legislation, which basically allows a person
with an occupational license in good standing in another state for at least a
year to obtain an equivalent license in Arizona. That eliminated many of the
usual impediments that licensed professionals moving to Arizona would otherwise
face, such as meeting minimum education and testing requirements that vary
widely from state to state. The basic idea is that if a person has been safely
and successfully practicing a licensed trade in one state, that person should
be qualified to practice it in Arizona.
As Ducey put it when he signed the
law, which was championed by the Goldwater Institute, “There’s dignity in all
work. And we know that whether you make your living as a plumber, a barber, a
nurse or anything else, you don’t lose your skills simply because you moved
here.” Since Ducey signed the first-in-the-nation law, Pennsylvania adopted similar
legislation, and more than a dozen additional states have bills pending.
Past experience in occupational licensing in particular and government in
general tells us that there is often a disconnect between passing a law and implementing
it effectively. In December, the Goldwater Institute reported on “feel-good” laws passed
nationally that were meant to ease the licensing hassles for military spouses,
who typically move every few years. While every state claims to have
military-friendly licensing laws or policies, most proved ineffective because
of vague language, poor implementation, or outright “arrogance and ignorance”
from licensing boards reluctant to cede any of the powers of their regulatory
fiefdoms.
So the Goldwater Institute surveyed
Arizona’s occupational licensing boards to find out how the new law is working.
It sent public records requests to the roughly three dozen Arizona regulatory
boards or offices that issue occupational licenses, seeking data on the number
of licenses approved under the new law. Not all of the results are in yet. And
the Goldwater Institute will continue pursuing the story. However, early
results indicate the law is working.
Since the law took effect, 867 people
have filed license applications under the universal recognition law, according to the data provided by
the 25boards that have responded so
far. Of
those, 751 licenses have been approved, three have been rejected and the rest
are still pending or have been withdrawn.
Fifteen of the boards have received
applications under the new law, and nine have not. Of the rest, 12 have not yet provided
numbers and one does not track applications for universal recognition.
The Registrar of Contractors, which licenses the construction trades, had
237 applications and approved 231, the most of any licensing entity. The remaining applications are
either pending or were withdrawn. None has been rejected.
The Registrar’s office licenses
businesses, not individuals, so the actual number of people working under the
benefits of the new law is far more than the 231 licenses that were approved,
said Jeff Fleetham, director of the Registrar of Contractors.
“I love this legislation,” Fleetham
said. “It gives us an additional tool to use to help people get into business.
Our agency’s goal is to find reasons to license people, not reasons not to.”
The Board of Cosmetology, which
licenses hair stylists and beauticians, also has received 237 applications and
approved 214 of them. No applications have been rejected, and 23 are pending.
Kim
Scoplitte, executive director of the cosmetology board, said the transition was
an easy one because the board already had reciprocity with the 49 other states.
Reciprocity is similar to universal recognition, but usually is confined to the
limited number of states that sign onto an agreement. Arizona had no such
restriction, Scoplitte said.
“It wasn’t difficult for us because
we were already familiar with reciprocity and it just was a very smooth
process,” Scoplitte said. “If their documents were in line they just moved
through the process. It was pretty seamless.”
The Board of Behavioral Health Examiners, which licenses mental health
counselors, social worker and therapists, had the third-highest tally with 177
applications, 144 approvals and no rejections. The remaining 33 applications
are pending.
Tobi Zavala, executive director of
the behavioral health board, said transitioning to the new law has been fairly
seamless, in part because the board previously had policies that allowed people
practicing for at least three years in another state to qualify for a license
here. Prior to the new law taking effect, applicants who did not meet the
three-year requirement were contacted by the board to inform them of the
change. That led to a flood of early applications which were quickly processed.
The old policy, which does not have a
residency requirement, remains in place. That gives people in other states two
avenues to obtain a behavioral license in Arizona through universal
recognition, including people who may practice in multiple states but do not
live here.
“I’m a big fan of it,” Zavala said of
the new law. “It’s allowed the opportunity to have a better way of applying to
Arizona.”
Mark Flatten is the National Investigative Journalist at the Goldwater Institute. Goldwater
Institute policy intern Jordan Donaldson assisted in compiling the data.
