late 2013, a legislative study committee recommended against advancing the bill for consideration. However, the sponsor of the bill indicated that, at some future time, he will again advance the bill for legislative consideration.56 Indiana In January 2012, House bill 1006 was introduced in the Indiana General Assembly that would eliminate mandatory licensing for barbers and cosmetologists, as well as for dieticians, hearing aid dealers, PIs, and security guards.57 The sponsor of the bill stated that “regulations are killing small businesses.” However, its sponsor withdrew the bill 1 week after it was introduced presumably because of opposition to the bill, namely from cosmetologists (whose training requirements in Indiana are 1,500 hours and at least 10 years of education). Soon after the bill was proposed, it was denigrated as the “right to work for less” bill, an acknowledgment that licensing raises earnings. The bill was also criticized because, despite its purported aim of reducing government bureaucracy and saving taxpayer dollars, it would allegedly cause the state to lose more than $1 million in revenue from licensing fees. (Many licensing regimes generate surpluses for state coffers, which may be another obstacle U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS 10 MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW for those seeking deregulation.) Finally, the criticism was raised that, without licensing, many beauty schools would move out of state, thereby eliminating teaching jobs and reducing profits for beauty school operators.58 As the bill’s sponsor put it, “Even though I agree with the overall goal of the legislation—that being less government involvement—I understand that this is not the year to do it, and this is not the legislation to do it with. I decided to withdraw the bill because we can do better.”59 The Indiana state senate passed a similar bill (Senate bill 520) in February 2013.60 This bill would create a committee to “eliminate, reduce, and streamline employee regulation” (the so-called “ERASER committee”). It would also automatically eliminate licensing requirements for some 14 occupations (e.g., dieticians, beauty workers, and massage therapists) over a 5-year period unless the legislature voted to retain them. However, the bill failed to receive a hearing in the state house. Michigan The Michigan Office of Regulatory Reinvention (ORR) released a report to the public in April 2012 recommending the complete deregulation of 18 occupations (about half of them licensed), among them acupuncturist, auctioneer, interior designer, dietician, nutritionist, and speech pathologist.61 The ORR based its recommendations on the findings of a special committee made up of lawyers, business owners, policy analysts, academics, and officials from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Noting that Michigan is among the most heavily regulated states with respect to occupational licensing, the LARA director stated that “occupational regulations, while in many cases necessary to protect consumers and public health, operate as a barrier to entry into a given profession.”62 According to LARA, the recommendations are expected to encourage business growth and job creation by removing barriers to entry and allowing employers to hire qualified employees without government dictating an employee’s qualifications.63 Any changes in licensing or other occupational regulations must still be implemented through the state legislature. The Michigan legislature has considered a number of bills that would deregulate several of the occupations just listed, but not one is a licensed occupation. Texas In June 2013, House bill 86 was signed into law and described as “relating to the criteria for review by the Sunset Advisory Commission.”64 Strictly speaking, the act was not designed to de-license groups of occupations but rather to furnish the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission with a broader set of criteria for de-licensing an occupation. Specifically, the act (effective in September 2013) requires that when the commission reviews an agency that licenses an occupation, the commission will consider the following: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS 11 MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW 1. 2. 3. Whether the occupational licensing program serves a meaningful, defined public interest and provides the least restrictive form of regulation that will adequately protect the public interest The extent to which the regulatory objective of the occupational licensing program may be achieved through market forces, private or industry certification and accreditation programs, or enforcement of other law The extent to which licensing criteria, if applicable, ensure that applicants have occupational skill sets or competencies that correlate with a public interest and the impact that those criteria have on applicants, particularly those with moderate or low incomes, seeking to enter the occupation U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS 12 MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW 4. • • • The impact of the regulation, including the extent to which the program stimulates or restricts competition and affects consumer choice and the cost of services. The Texas statute also creates a sunrise process for proposed new licensing of occupations, with criteria similar to those just stated.65 In May 2014, the Sunset Advisory Commission prepared a staff report for the Texas