By: Huffines S.B. No. 1185
(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2015; March 17, 2015, read
first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
May 11, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 11, 2015,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1185 By: Huffines
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a biennial study regarding occupational licensing
requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 302.0191 to read as follows:
Sec. 302.0191. REPORT REGARDING OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING.
(a) In this section:
(1) "License" includes a certificate, registration,
permit, or other authorization that is issued by a licensing
authority.
(2) "Licensing authority" means a department,
commission, board, office, or other agency of the state that issues
a license.
(b) Subject to the availability of appropriated money, the
commission shall biennially study and report on the extent to which
a requirement that a person must obtain a license to engage in a
particular business, occupation, or profession serves as a barrier
to entry into the workforce. The report must discuss whether and to
what extent license requirements affect unemployment in this state.
(c) In preparing the report required by Subsection (b), the
commission shall:
(1) solicit input from interested parties, including
license holders and licensing authorities, and parties who favor
decreasing or repealing occupational licensing requirements; and
(2) for each license required by a licensing
authority:
(A) evaluate the costs associated with the
license requirement, with a focus on:
(i) unemployment;
(ii) competition within the occupation; and
(iii) associated increases in prices to
consumers of goods or services;
(B) conduct a risk analysis of the harm to
consumers in purchasing goods or services from practitioners in the
licensed occupation;
(C) consider the extent to which consumers are
adequately informed when making decisions related to the licensed
occupation;
(D) consider whether the occupation is capable of
regulating itself without governmental intervention;
(E) consider the availability and adequacy of
alternatives to licensing by the state, including nonexclusive
certifications or registrations provided by nongovernmental
entities;
(F) consider whether the license requirement
serves to protect existing practitioners;
(G) conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine
if the social costs of the license requirement are justified by any
benefits to the public health, safety, or welfare; and
(H) consider the anticipated effect of repealing
the license requirement on:
(i) overall unemployment, including the
rate at which people seeking to enter the occupation or profession
are able to do so; and
(ii) workforce training costs incurred by
the state, community colleges, or career schools or colleges.
(d) The commission by rule shall establish a schedule for
the review of licenses under this section. The rules must require
that:
(1) the commission review each license required by a
licensing authority not more than once in a 10-year period; and
(2) the commission review approximately 10 percent of
the licenses during each biennium.
(e) On request of the commission, a licensing authority
shall provide information to the commission or otherwise assist the
commission in preparing the report. On request of the commission, a
licensing authority and the Sunset Advisory Commission shall
provide staff support to the commission for purposes of conducting
the study and preparing the report required by this section.
(f) Not later than November 15 of each even-numbered year,
the commission shall:
(1) provide a copy of the report to:
(A) the governor;
(B) the lieutenant governor;
(C) the speaker of the house of representatives;
and
(D) each standing committee of the senate and
house of representatives having primary jurisdiction over matters
relating to occupational licensing; and
(2) make the report available to the public on the
commission's Internet website.
(g) The commission may solicit, accept, and administer
gifts, grants, and donations of any kind from any public or private
source for the purposes of conducting the study and preparing the
report required by this section.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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