Safe Professional Licensing Under Attack

Wisconsinites have come to trust that we will receive high quality work by licensed professionals. Whether it is electricians, plumbers, health care providers, or welders, the public can rest easy knowing that these workers have been adequately trained, tested and licensed to ensure high-quality and safe service for all consumers as well as a safe, stable workplace for every worker.

Now, after being pulled from the budget last spring, a bill that could weaken our current system of professional licensing, SB 288 and AB 369, is up for debate and passage in the legislature.

SB 288 and AB 369 could eliminate or weaken state occupational licenses by creating an undemocratic Occupational License Review Council and require it to examine each and every occupation and profession currently requiring a state-issued license. The bill requires the Council to unilaterally decide whether a license could be, in their opinion, eliminated or whether the licensing standards could be weakened or modified.  

SB 288 and AB 369 is set to receive a hearing in front of both Assembly and Senate committees on Thursday. This hearing is likely the only chance the public will have to be heard on this bill.

 

Joint Public Hearing on Undemocratic License Review Bills AB 369 & SB 288

Assembly Committee on Regulatory Licensing Reform &

Senate Committee on Public Benefits, Licensing and State-Federal Relations

10:00 a.m.

Thursday, August 24

State Capitol, 411-South

 

Fair licensing allows Wisconsinites to have confidence in licensed professionals, and allows professionals to trust the skills and knowledge of their co-workers and colleagues, which in turn creates safe and dependable workplaces.

Occupational and professional licenses are the key link between a reliable, trusted services for the consumers and safe workplaces. Email your legislator and tell them to reject SB 288 & AB 369.

The public expects and deserves to receive high quality work by licensed professionals in Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s trained workers rely on the value of their licenses, ensuring that our colleagues and co-workers have received adequate training and appreciate high safety standards, as well as ensuring a consistent work product.

This bill could damage the public’s trust in important services we rely upon, weaken worker safety, deteriorate many industries within our state, and ultimately is an affront to our democratic principles.