My wife has a license to practice law.
My dogs have licenses to practice being dogs.
Thanks to the First Amendment, I don’t need to apply for a license to be a journalist, even if my grammar am lousy and my spelling wurse. I are automatically allowed literary license.
But let’s suppose I wanted to change careers and become, say, a micropigmentation practitioner. I have no idea what that is, but I do know the state of Maine requires anyone doing that job to get an annual license that can cost up to $150. If I decided to be a funeral attendant, I’d have to train for an entire year (no, stupid, don’t bury that one, he’s still alive) and pay a $300 licensing fee. Landscape architects need bachelor’s degrees, two years training and $200 licenses to make sure they don’t plant any ugly shrubs. On the other hand, milk samplers (could I have chocolate this time, please?) need a license, but it’s free.
You could be excused if you concluded Maine’s occupational licensing system is a senseless bureaucratic muddle.
There’s no argument that some professions need regulation to protect the public’s health and safety. It makes sense for medical-care providers, plumbers and hazardous waste transporters to be properly trained and licensed. But sardine packers (50 bucks a year)? Taxidermists ($89 annually)? Nail technologist (a C note every 12 months)?
That’s not about protecting the public. So, what is it about? Matthew Gagnon of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a conservative think tank, believes he knows.
“It’s really held up by a group of people that are trying to protect their own jobs, and stop competition from affecting them,” Gagnon said at a press conference in July. “It’s in their best economic interest to hold out as many economic competitors as possible.”
The center recently issued a deadly dull report called “Let Us Work: Resurrecting Entrepreneurship by Removing Barriers to Economic Opportunity” that claims Maine’s licensing apparatus hurts low-income people and costs the state thousands of jobs. Don’t read this document while driving or operating heavy equipment. (Those dispensing this sort of sleep-inducing verbiage should be subject to the same licensing requirements as pharmacists.)
After being revived (by a licensed professional), I noticed that the report does contains some reasonable arguments for reforming what has become an arbitrary system. Why are log scalers – those are folks who estimate the value of timber – required to have two years of training, while emergency medical technicians need only 26 days of work experience? Why are interior designers licensed at all?
“Bad shag carpeting?” suggested state Sen. Eric Brakey at the press conference. “I mean, the horror to Maine people if that would happen.”
Brakey introduced a bill in the last legislative session that would have studied a couple dozen of the more than 160 licensed professions in the state to see if such regulation was really necessary. The measure went down to defeat due to heavy lobbying by the licensees, who had no interest in anything that might force them to share their occupations with uncouth outsiders.
Of course, there’s a flip side to all this, but it’s buried deep in the report. It turns out restricting the number of people who can engage in a profession boosts the wages of those lucky enough to get a license. For instance, electrical helpers in Maine earn about $2,500 more per year than those in New Hampshire, where such jobs aren’t regulated. Tank testers and packagers also get a few more dollars here than in the Granite State. Doing away with these rules would depress wages and give employers a nice dividend, which is probably why a right-wing think tank is pushing this agenda.
That doesn’t mean the fundamental concept is faulty. Regulating professions that don’t need regulating is unproductive. The state has occasionally acknowledged that reality by taking tentative steps toward reform. In 2012, the Legislature passed simplified rules for barbers, veterinarians and contractors doing “incidental” electrical work. More recently, lawmakers decided hair braiders didn’t have to earn a cosmetologist’s license to practice their craft.
But these minor shifts were the exception. In the past decade, Maine has added about 30 new professions to the licensing lists. The trend doesn’t seem to be going in the right direction.
Maybe the bureaucrats who manage this stuff should be required to get a license in common sense.
No need to regulate your outrage when emailing me at aldiamon@herniahill.net.
Al,
There is a much simpler explanation. Maine is run by a progressive government that wants money from every
Business owner or anyone who makes a decent living. We have hundreds of agencies to support!!! And 1000’s
Of state workers in the many agencies. They want to keep their jobs, so they think up ways to tax us. Here are
A few silly examples. I own a small wood working business in Wilton. I have 2 air compressors (60 gallon
And 80 gallon) that are the same size as what many homeowners may have in their workshop or garage. The
State of Maine has an inspection program to check these air compressors and once per year or two I would
Get a visit from a nice fella. He would walk in and spend 1 minute looking at it and chit chat with the crew for
5 minutes. He traveled all over the state doing that and I paid an annual fee of $60 or $100 for the honor of
Having each air compressor. About 5 years ago I got tired of it and called that state agency and told them I Disconnected those air compressors and they stopped charging me. Home owners are not required to pay
The fee. The state did the same thing to me for my wood boiler that heats my mill. I got rid of that fee too.
Most employees may not realize it, but all EMPLOYERs in the state must pay an annual tax to the Dept of
Labor for potential “unemployment compensation” in the future. We pay into that fund forever, even if we
Never lay off any employees. My tax for many years was about 1.5% of payroll, then I did something stupid!!
I hired 3 people who lost their jobs when the Nezinscot Guild in Turner went bankrupt. I had never laid off
Any employee and I had about $12,000 in “reserves” in my unemployment compensation acct. But in this
State, no good deed goes unpunished!!!! The state Dept of Labor promptly raised my tax rate to 2.5% of
Payroll. This costs me a few thousand extra dollars per year!!! When I asked why, they said that I needed
To have “more” money in my reserve acct IN CASE I laid off some people in the future. I tried to fight this
Ridiculous increase and even managed to get a meeting with allllll the fat cats who run that agency (after
A call to Gov. Lepage’s office). But that got me nowhere!!! Some of those managers agreed with me, but
Said that it is what it is, there is a mathematical formula all EMPLOYERs must follow. I paid that elevated
fee for years. I finally had Enough last fall , or maybe I got smarter?? I got rid of 5 employees and put my
mill up for sale. Something else the readers may not know. Maine is ranked 49th in the nation for it’s
“business friendly” environment. We have been ranked in the bottom 3-4 forverer!!!!! Anyone interested
In a busy wood working mill in Wilton??? I have lots and lots of work, :0).
Al:
You are correct in one respect. The state licensing system should distinguish between professions that need experienced workers for safety reasons (elevator inspectors, dentists, engineers) and occupations that don’t (interior designers, auctioneers, cosmetologists). Inclusion of the later demeans the licenses of the former.
In a state with limited union activity, state licensing does help consumers easily verify experience and gives experienced workers some wage protection. It’s a balancing act between these benefits and the cost of licensure and restriction on trade. It’s also my guess that increased “incidental” electrical work by unlicensed contractors is directly proportional to fire hose usage.
Also, some jobs are completely outside the loop of state licensure and seem to be overseen by the invisible hand (baby sitters, governors).
@seamus. Cosmetologist should in fact be licensed. Do you want any smo doing your hair ? Color or cut ? My wife has been a licensed cosmetologist for many years and we have paid good money for her education and licensing. We pay people in a lot of different jobs for what they have put into their education and these licenses help protect their wages. I for one don’t want someone untrained doing anything they just feel like doing without proper education. We have these licenses to keep unskilled people from hurting certain skill sets.
Parent:
My apologies. I hesitated on adding cosmetologists to the list. Please forgive this bald man.
That said, I have to take issue with your statement:
“I for one don’t want someone untrained doing anything they just feel like without the proper education”
Caveat Emptor has to come into effect sometime or we will be licensing lemonade stands.
Some jobs are best left OJT.
Certainly wish they would license baristas. Can’t stand a bad cup of coffee.
Just because someone is licensed or certified is not a guarantee that the service will be good or even done correctly.
Keep voting Democrat, keep being OVER REGULATED, hence my nom de plume…..they seem to love a daddy-like gov’t of the elite who know nothing, and make your life like a day spent in the DMV. And it will only get worse and worse and worse….
If professionals are not licensed than what protection does the consumer have against people who lie about their credentials and abilities. There has to be something in place to serve legally as an acceptable standard. Instead of leaving it to the consumer, the State determines credibility by requiring proof of training/education or even some proficiency testing before issuing a license. Don’t knock this …it is a needed safeguard to protect consumers not only from shoddy workmanship but also fraud. Sure licensing fees go towards funding the agency that oversees the licensing, but that money to operate needs to come from somewhere. Isn’t it only fair that at least some comes from the people getting licensed? I hope, Mr. Diamon, that you talked to some of the licensing agencies at the State to hear why licenses are needed and some of the horror stories of people who the State had to deny licenses to or revoked licenses from in order to protect the public. You have no idea what goes on out there and licenses and regulations are our legal protection. While most people do the right thing….legal safeguards have to be in place for those few who don’t.
But building contractors in the state of Maine are not required to be licensed, and demonstrate that they understand the minimum standards of safety and health for the structures they build and remodel???
Don’t need to pay a licensing fee to run for office, though, do you? To campaign for a candidate? Maybe that is an area that we need to examine- and perhaps the fee isn’t the important part, but the training and letters of recommendation from locals and neighbors.
Lindy and Tom both make good points and i agree with them. There are many professions that should require
A license and monitoring by the government to protect the public. Most other states have very strict licensing
Laws, especially for building construction. I lived in Florida for 14 years after i finished my service in the
United States Air Force. I used my Air Force training and also studied for many months and took the state
Licensing test for the mechanical contractors license and after receiving that license, i worked as a heating
And refrigeration and a/c contractor. Every type of contractor must be licensed in that state (ie, roofing, paving, concrete, plumbing, electric,framing, pool, etc). Anyone caught doing these things without a license was fined heavily. I saw many examples of unlicensed people and their poor quality work. I saw many homeowners who
Lost alot of money due to poor work by unlicensed people. Although i generally don’t like government control
Of our lives, i do believe that there are some areas where government control is needed. The downside of licensing the building trades in the more rural states with smaller populations is the costs for building
Inspection and permitting. Many folks around here don’t want to pay for these added costs.
OverRegulated , you also makes an Excellent point!!!!
General contractors are not required to have a license because you either know how to build something or you don’t and every town and county in this state has different standards and practices there is no uniform code of building things, It’s like law, Lawyers and Attorneys are required to be licensed in every state they plan on practicing law in because each state has different laws. Building codes are the same way. That is why a building code enforcement officer is required by the state. But specialized contractors are required to be licensed by the state, lead, mold, asbestos, hazardous chemical, sewage disposal and clean up, plumbing, electrical, are all required to be licensed.
Yes, some professions should be licensed, of course. Doctors, lawyers, electricians, some others. Nuclear engineers.
Not every single thing on earth needs to be regulated tho, sorry! Look around your kitchen, tell me what’s NOT regulated by a very little-knowing government. I’d say we have gone FAR enough, and need to cut it out now. Roll back some of this bull. There actually is little protection in over regulation; it’s just a money-maker for the State. 999 times out of 1000, the person gets their ‘papers’, and is never heard from again. You can sue a licensed person just as easy as a non-licensed one. And licensed folks occasionally make mistakes too, tho many have “expertphilia”, an over-love for people deemed ‘experts’.
I guess we’re a pretty fearful society that has become rather ignorant about life around us, huh? It’s too bad. Someone’s NAME in business will tell you much, much more about them and how they work than a paper they PAID for ever will…
Thanks Mike Deschenes, you make solid points as well. Not everyone ‘anti-regulation’ wants NO regulation; that’s just propaganda. We want regulation that MAKES SENSE and does not harm one’s way of making a living. Regulation is burning the forests in Cali right now….
I was once the driver of Peter Mills (senior) in the early 1970s. He was the Federal District Attorney of Maine at the time. I would drive him back and forth from Farmington to Portland where his Federal office was . He had been, If I recall correctly, earlier head of the Maine Senate. He said to me once on a trip back to Farmington, that he wished the Legislature had never licensed barbers and hair dressers. He may have included other trades, but my memory is not too clear on what they were. I think he said that the public would learn who were good hairdressers and barbers and there would be no need to license them.
In regards to licensing of barbers…..The following is a small section taken from Chapter 26 (covers required sanitation practices etc.) of the Rules for the Barbering and Cosmetology Program that Maine licensed hairdressers and barbers have to follow. This requires hairdressers to disinfect tools before using on each customer. A much needed precaution, I think. ( I contemplated presenting the section on head lice instead but thought it might be considered to be in poor taste. )
26.180 Health and Safety Standards – Hair Cutting, Styling, and Treatment Services
26.181 A tool or implement shall be properly cleaned and disinfected before being used on a subsequent client.
26.182 When not in use, tools and implements shall be stored in a clean, dry, debris-free environment. Non-practice related items, including personal items, shall not be stored or mingled with any practice tools and implements.
26.183 Tools and implements such as sectioning clips, brushes, combs and picks shall be cleaned with soap and water or other adequate method, and then disinfected by one of the following methods:
1. Complete immersion in an EPA-registered bactericidal, fungicidal, and virucidal disinfectant in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;
2. Complete immersion in isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol pursuant section 26.033; or
3. Complete immersion in an EPA-registered disinfectant chlorine bleach solution containing at least 5 percent sodium hypochlorite and properly diluted with water.
Who would go to a barber who does not disinfect their tools? Safety and other regulations can and does exist on trades without requiring licensing. A barber who does not disinfect has more to lose from civil liability then just losing their license.
If a person contracted Hepatitis B (or even a case of head lice for that matter) while getting a haircut how would they even know, let alone be able to prove, it was the fault of the local barbershop? How is leaving things for consumers to police…based on lawsuits a better system? For many decades we have been enjoying a world where we could have confidence in the quality and safety of goods, food, services, etc. Our present system seems to be working effectively. Part of that is licensing which not only requires the licensee to be trained and aware of all applicable rules and requirements, but also serves as a valuable legal tool when one is needed.
Licensing is needed for nail techs, cosmetologists, and stylists. Just like you do not see disinfecting procedures when you go in for surgery, you have no way of knowing what people do with their tools before they work on you. You can say that you’ll find out who doesn’t disinfect their tools, but that will only happen if many people get infections and report them or use the word of mouth in a small town. Licensing is a way to protect the population from unscrupulous practitioners.
Many of you are confusing education with licensing. The license does NOTHING at all, it sits there. If you don’t have it, you can be fined or otherwise harmed by the State. The license means you paid the State and were able to show enough knowledge on that one day to pass some form of test, usually. The tests are usually quite easy, and often the instructor will even help you with is. As long as you brought your check with you…
Many of you think tests don’t reveal what students and teachers actually know…funny that. But here, it’s golden, right??
Requiring someone to pass a Health and Safety course is entirely a different story. The license does not mean you won’t get sick or be harmed…look at all the fast food joints that make people ill (77 the other day!), and their license is right on the wall, folks.
We have become a society that worships government, even tho it has done just about nothing to demonstrate why we should…and more often has shown the opposite. That’s sad.
Overregulated:
Many licenses require education and experience to be held. Of course this does not mean that some license holders are not negligent from time to time. The result of which is that their license is pulled.
Licensing professions that may cause potential sickness or harm, especially those that serve food, has been demonstrably significant in keeping places clean and people healthy for decades. Relying on the free market alone to provide this regulation flies in the face of nearly a hundred years of proof to the contrary.
Your invisible hand probably needs washing.
Getting a license is like the game show Jeopardy. You go through 2 years of college and then you have to pass the “Big State Exam”. After passing and graduating from that course it all comes down to the last question. Money talks
Seamus, I already acknowledged that some professions SHOULD be regulated, note that above, please. It’s an old “ruse” to suggest the person w/the opposite position is radical and wants some draconian situation. Not so bud. Many just want to know where the big hand of regulation is going to stop (it’s not, of course).
Back to regulation/licensing: We hashed that out over the last 150 years, and hey – aren’t we DONE yet?? Appears not…politicians gotta make hay on their way up, make a name…that’s all most of this really is…and power-grabbing, don’t forget that. $$, kickbacks, lobbyists….this just helps it along. Most of this can’t be backed up by statistics showing harm, by the way…just emotional plays, which work SO well on a gullible public.
What you’re not paying attention to is the sheer amount of regulation being heaped upon us all, increasing at a rapid pace every year. We are buried in red tape. Stacks of it, mountains, 1,000s of pages more every year. Can’t make a move without having it topple on YOU now.
A government-dominated system, aka Communism, is simply a situation of over regulation if you take a close look at how it ‘works’ (well, “democratic socialist” systems never work, but that’s another topic). Eventually the regulation simply creeps into every single thing, shutting it all down. Then you can eat your pets.
Bigger gov always = smaller citizen, always. That is why I chose “overregulated”, by the way.
But that’s ok…”it’s for the children” or some such thing, right? Just ‘reasonable’ removal of freedom. At what point do you admit we’re no longer free at all, I wonder? Fear has really gotten to us, I guess. Now we’re afraid of the barber.
HB, you’re either pregnant or you’re not. The same type of comparison does not apply to tradesmen. Apparently you know nothing about builders so you shouldn’t reference them in your argument. MUBEC, as much as I hate it, is the universal enforceable code for building. Your average guy that can build a henhouse isnt necessarily qualified to build a home to these specs. I despise regulation but if a person needs a license to make water run downhill the same rules should apply to home builders.