News and Commentary
In a piece in the Arkansas Times, Molly Mitchell covers a new state law that will ensure that DACA recipients will not be ineligible for any occupational licenses due to their immigration status. Previously, state legislators had passed laws to secure such protections for more narrow fields.
In a piece for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Dwain Hebda covers a new Arizona law that “gives certified nurse-midwives full practice authority in gynecological, prenatal, delivery, postnatal care and reproductive health cases.” Until now, nurse-midwives were required to contract under a physician’s supervision.
In a conversation on NPR’s All Things Considered, host Danielle Kurtzleben chats with Marinelle Reynolds on how occupational licensing rules impact military families. Reynolds argues that, since many military spouses work in licensed fields and must also frequently travel, rules that enable licensees to work across state-lines will be particularly valuable to them.
In an article for the Brookings Institution, Ryan Nunn writes on how policymakers can remove existing policy obstacles to competitive labor markets. First, he describes how occupational licenses create unnecessary difficulties for those with criminal records, those who move between states, non-physician health-care providers, and low-income people more broadly. Next, he discusses how non-competes make it difficult for workers to earn higher wages, switch jobs, or start new businesses. Finally, he provides a list of reforms to solve some of these problems. Most importantly, these include limiting licensing strictly to legitimate safety concerns, “minimizing barriers to accessing and maintaining licensure”, and banning non-competes.
In a post on the university website, Willamette University announces its law school dean’s support – along with a task force of Oregon legal experts – for alternative pathways to licensure. Their proposal provides two alternatives to the bar exam in Oregon. The first is “an experiential learning pathway in which students would focus on experiential coursework during their last two years of law school and submit a capstone portfolio.” The second is a “supervised practice pathway in which students would work between 1,000 and 1,500 hours under the supervision of a licensed attorney before submitting a portfolio of work.”
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