by ACRE Policy Analyst Zachary Burt If you’re a license-holding professional, it may be harder than you’d expect to move your out-of-state license to Arkansas. Licensed workers from other states often have to go through the same licensing process all over again when relocating to Arkansas. These are unnecessary barriers that could convince you to […]
Occupational Licensing Review Committee Kicks Off Second Session
By Zach Burt The Occupational Licensing Review Subcommittee recently began its second-ever round of license reviews since its creation in 2019. Representatives from the Department of Labor and Licensing and the Department of Agriculture presented arguments to the committee about the importance of licensing abstracters, plant breeders, industrial hemp growers, and agricultural seed dealers/labelers. On […]
Occupational Licensing Successes and Shortcomings in 2021
By Alex Kanode The 2021 legislative session saw many changes concerning licensing of occupations in Arkansas. The Red Tape Reduction Working Group released a 2018 report stating that there were 704,141 occupational licenses in Arkansas. That amounted to 52 percent of the state’s labor force at the time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, […]
Improve Economic Opportunities by Ending Fee-Only Licenses
By Caleb Taylor Should Arkansas eliminate many fee-only licenses? The 2019 Arkansas Legislature passed Act 600, mandating sunset reviews of every licensed occupation in Arkansas. “Occupational Licensing and Arkansas’s Act 600,” by ACRE Policy Analyst Alex Kanode discusses the reforms and missed opportunities of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Occupational Licensing Review Subcommittee’s first round of […]
Smith Testifies on Shampooing De-Licensure Bill
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Legislative Research Associate Dr. Nathan Smith recently testified in favor of legislation removing barriers to work to certain cosmetology workers House Bill 1746 delicenses shampooers and exempts those who provide “simple” hairstyling services from being required to complete 1500 training hours to get a cosmetology license. Smith said at a House […]
Kanode Testifies on Licensing’s Effect on Low-Income Arkansans
By Caleb Taylor Should Arkansas exempt low-income residents from initial licensing fees? ACRE Economic Policy Analyst Alex Kanode testified on how occupational licensing in Arkansas can serve as a barrier to opportunity for low-income workers at a Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Labor committee meeting on March 17th. Committee members were deliberating on whether to […]
ACRE Experts Featured in “Believe in Arkansas”
By Caleb Taylor Three ACRE experts recently appeared in “Believe in Arkansas” segments hosted by Americans for Prosperity. UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl discussed state government spending and Arkansas’s tax rates on March 25th. For more on Horpedahl’s recent research and testimony on sales taxes in Arkansas, check out […]
ACRE Experts Testify on Licensing Research
By Caleb Taylor Two ACRE economic experts shared their research on occupational licensing legislation last week. House Bill 1465 would have mandated that a licensing entity consider the “good moral character” of an individual before granting an occupational license. “Good moral character” is defined in the bill as a personal history of honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, […]
Kanode Discusses Automatic Licensure With Senate Committee
By Caleb Taylor Should new Arkansans with occupational licenses in their previous residence be given automatic licensure in the Natural State? Senate Bill 78 by State Sen. Ricky Hill R-District 29 would do just that for some Arkansans. The bill expands automatic licensure to military members, military spouses and widows who move to Arkansas who […]
Denial of Economic Opportunities: The Case of Barber Licensing
By Caleb Taylor What was the motivation and reasoning behind the original state regulation of barbers in Arkansas? ACRE Research Fellow Tanner Corley explored this question and more in an op-ed, “Hairy regulations,” published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on December 11. According to Corley, Arkansas barbers were able to appeal to fears of unsanitary barber […]