(The Center Square) — A new report found that Georgia ranked 12th nationwide for its average burden surrounding occupational licensing requirements.
According to the Institute for Justice’s “License to Work: A National Study of Burdens from Occupational Licensing” report, the state’s combined ranking when looking at the number of licenses and average burdens was 35th. For both the burden and combined rankings, first place denotes the worst.
The group estimated that roughly one in four American workers need an occupational license. That number is up from an estimated 1 in 20 in the 1950s, and Georgia requires a license for 41 of the 102 occupations the group tracks.
“By repealing or reducing occupational licensing requirements, lawmakers can pave the way for people to succeed economically,” IJ Legislative Counsel Meagan Forbes said in an announcement.
“Many aspiring entrepreneurs don’t realize that to earn a living using skills they already have — like braiding and applying makeup — they must invest in expensive and time-consuming training to get a license,” Forbes added. “There are many ways for the government to protect consumers while still letting people earn a living.”
Since 2017, IJ said Georgia has not created or removed any licenses, though fees changed most often and usually increased.
However, Georgia’s burden rank dropped three spots because of “large increases in burdens.” Meanwhile, its combined rank improved by one spot because another state with a similar ranking added a licensing requirement, while Georgia did not.
Additionally, the number of days lost to education and experience did not decrease for any occupation and increased for several industries, including emergency medical technicians, pipelayers and contractors.
Similarly, a Center Square analysis earlier this year found that some home-based businesses face another layer of bureaucracy: Local government licensing requirements. Georgia law allows local governments to levy and collect occupation taxes on any business or practitioner with an office in their jurisdiction.
By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor
