Columbus, OH – As the Ohio House State and Local Government Committee prepares to issue its first review of Ohio occupational licenses, The Buckeye Institute issued its newest policy brief, Opening Doors: Occupational Licensing Reform in Ohio After Senate Bill 255, where it identified 30 licenses that the state can eliminate or where training hours can be reduced, saving Ohioans hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, and countless hours in training. 

“Too often in Ohio, a seemingly arbitrary system of occupational licensing stands between Ohioans and their chosen careers,” said Andrew J. Kidd, an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center and a co-author of Opening Doors. “To aid the legislature’s review, The Buckeye Institute examined the same licenses currently being reviewed by the Ohio House, and identified 30 licenses that can be eliminated or reformed. By adopting these changes policymakers will make Ohio a more attractive place to live and start a business.”

In its review, The Buckeye Institute identified 16 licenses where current regulations and private certifications demonstrate professional competence making a government license redundant. Eliminating these licenses will let more Ohioans start their careers more quickly without the expense of obtaining a government permission slip.

In conducting their research, the authors identified another 14 licenses where reducing training hours would align Ohio’s requirements with other states. These include: massage therapist, physician assistant, sanitarian, and sanitarian-in-training (see policy brief for full list).

In Opening Doors, the authors reviewed the same licenses that are currently being reviewed by the Ohio House State and Local Government Committee and will be reviewed by the Ohio Senate in 2020. This initial review of roughly one-third of Ohio’s occupational licenses was undertaken as required under the Buckeye-championed policies in Senate Bill 255, which, among other things, requires all licensing boards be renewed at least once every six years or they will automatically expire.

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