HELENA — Montana currently has about 200,000 professional license holders, across more than 200 license categories. Now, after six months of work, a state task force has come out with recommendations on how to reform the system used to administer those licenses.
Gov. Greg Gianforte established the Licensing Reform Task Force in January. On Tuesday, they presented their initial report.
(Watch the video to hear more about what's in the task force's recommendations.)
Gianforte said his goal was to make sure licensing requirements aren’t getting in the way of qualified people interested in providing much-needed services.
“We brought this group together to serve Montanans who want to contribute to our economy but need and deserve a more efficient system,” he told members Tuesday.
The task force’s 130-page report includes 37 recommendations. Some of them apply to specific professions – from revising licensing rules for contractors and plumbers to restructuring licensure for certified nursing assistants to allowing cosmetologists to practice across state lines. Other proposals are for the system as a whole, like streamlining how people applying for a license get their credentials approved.
“I don't think the system of licensing itself will look different per se, but the system of licensing will look a whole lot more efficient,” said Commissioner of Labor and Industry Sarah Swanson, who chaired the task force.
Swanson says members went through the state’s licensing rules one by one to make sure each one serves a public benefit.
“If it does, we should absolutely be willing to defend that standard,” she said. “But if it doesn't, we should have the courage to confront it, to make it better, or to revise the standard to make sure that it still serves its purpose in licensing in Montana.”
One of the biggest recommendations in the report is instituting a 10-year cycle for the state to review whether existing licenses, programs and licensing boards should be continued or need changes. Swanson said that’s a way for leaders to ensure the type of work the task force did won’t be put off for decades again.
Of the task force’s recommendations, 15 – including the review proposal – will require state lawmakers to take action, so Swanson says their work is not done.
“I hope to see you all in the Legislature, where we get to defend those recommendations starting in January,” she told members during Tuesday’s meeting.
Leaders say 12 of the remaining recommendations can be accomplished administratively by the executive branch, while the other ten will require additional study and development before being implemented.
