In an effort to highlight the work of its new economic liberty task force, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently launched new pages on its website to promote the policy initiative, the first enacted by Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen.
Ohlhausen’s initiating the task force’s formation came following President Donald Trump’s executive memorandum directing federal agencies to explore ways to cut costs, regulations and processes.
The task force is intended to address regulatory issues that might hinder job growth, including the proliferation of occupational licensing, according to an FTC press release, which states that “[n]early 30 percent of American jobs require a license today, up from less than 5 percent in the 1950s.”
The release states that although such licensing is necessary in some professions to protect the public against legitimate health and safety concerns, there are many instances where “the expansion of occupational licensing threatens economic liberty” because “[u]nnecessary or overbroad restrictions erect significant barriers and impose costs that harm American workers, employers, consumers and our economy as a whole, with no measurable benefits to consumers or society.”
“This is an important moment for economic liberty,” Ohlhausen said in the release. “Governors, state legislators, and many other stakeholders want to move forward to remove or narrow occupational licensing regulations and open doors to opportunity, enhancing competition and innovation. The FTC’s economic liberty task force has moved quickly to create a website that will gather many existing resources, from the FTC and elsewhere, into a central repository for stakeholders. It will be a dynamic resource and will grow to incorporate additional work by the task force and others in this important area.”
Specifically, the website promotes the work the FTC has done advocating for the reduction or elimination of unnecessary occupational licensing requirements imposed by state laws or regulatory statutes, among other work.
The website, www.ftc.gov/policy/advocacy/economic-liberty, also showcases examples of state-based initiatives, background information on state-elected officials and other officials who share the agency’s goal of occupational licensing reform. The website features FTC testimony before Congress on occupational licensure, as well as blogs on the topic, and selected speeches and articles by FTC officials and staff.
The FTC regularly shares its expertise on licensure issues affecting health care workers, other professionals such as attorneys and interior designers and workers in occupations such as online auction trading and real estate closing services, upon request by a state legislator or in response to an open public comment period, the release states.