I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3145 

To require Executive agency review of occupational licensing requirements, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 12, 2021 

Mrs. HARSHBARGER (for herself, Mr. BANKS, Mr. ISSA, Mr. JACKSON, Mr. 

LAMALFA, Mrs. LESKO, and Mr. BUDD) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in 

addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require Executive agency review of occupational licensing 

requirements, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom to Work 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Occupational licensing has grown exponen2 tially, comprising nearly 25 percent of the United 

3 States workforce today, up from 5 percent nearly 60 

4 years ago. 

5 (2) According to a 2018 Bureau of Labor Sta6 tistics survey, 84.4 percent of employed people with 

7 a certification or license responded that their creden8 tial was required for their job. 

9 (3) Studies show little evidence that licensing 

10 improves quality of services and instead costs con11 sumers $203,000,000,000 annually, reduces the 

12 number of jobs by 2,850,000, with the most impact 

13 on low-income workers seeking to enter occupations 

14 for the first time. 

15 (4) Occupations experience slower employment 

16 growth in States where they are licensed, compared 

17 to States where they are not, proving occupational li18 censing serves as a barrier to employment. 

19 (5) Enacted into Federal law in 2014, the stat20 ed purpose of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor21 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) is to strengthen 

22 the United States workforce development system 

23 through innovation in, and alignment and improve24 ment of, employment, training, and education proVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3145.IH H3145

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1 grams in the United States, and to promote indi2 vidual and national economic growth. 

3 (6) In fiscal year 2021, Congress appropriated 

4 $2,845,332,000 for States to assist Americans in 

5 overcoming barriers to employment and help employ6 ers hire and retain workers. 

7 (7) If States enact unnecessary occupational li8 censing requirements that create barriers for indi9 vidual job seekers, when no requirement or a less re10 strictive alternative may serve the same purpose, 

11 States are acting in contradiction to the goals of 

12 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

13 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). 

14 (8) On December 14, 2020, the Executive Of15 fice of the President published Executive Order 

16 13966, Increasing Economic and Geographic Mobil17 ity to establish it as the policy of the United States 

18 to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens on the 

19 American people and require the Federal Govern20 ment to review and report on authorities, regula21 tions, guidance, and policies to alleviate such occupa22 tional licensing burdens. 

23 (9) Policymakers at all levels of government 

24 should require evidence to determine if there is a 

25 demonstrated need to regulate an occupation and 


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1 should consider a range of less restrictive alter2 natives such as, quality ratings, voluntary third3 party professional certifications, bonding or insur4 ance, or inspection requirements. 

5 SEC. 3. EXECUTIVE AGENCY REVIEW OF OCCUPATIONAL LI6 CENSING REQUIREMENTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 

8 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 3117. Executive agency review of occupational li11 censing requirements 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

13 date of enactment of the Freedom to Work Act and every 

14 2 years thereafter, the head of each Executive agency 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) review any authority, regulation, or policy 

17 of, or Federal law pertaining to, the Executive agen18 cy that— 

19 ‘‘(A) imposes an occupational licensing re20 quirement with respect to any position (includ21 ing any position of a contractor or subcon22 tractor thereof) at the Executive agency; or 

23 ‘‘(B) is causing a State, local, or tribal 

24 government to adopt an occupational licensing 

25 requirement for public and private sector posiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3145.IH H3145

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1 tions within the State or area encompassing the 

2 jurisdiction of the local or tribal government; 

3 ‘‘(2) identify any changes to such an authority, 

4 regulation, policy, or law that would result in no re5 quirement or the least restrictive alternative to an 

6 occupation licensing requirement with respect to any 

7 such position while maintaining protection for con8 sumers and other individuals from significant and 

9 demonstrable harm to their health and safety; and 

10 ‘‘(3) submit to the Director of the Office of 

11 Management and Budget, the Assistant to the Presi12 dent for Domestic Policy, and the Assistant to the 

13 President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs 

14 a report that identifies such changes. 

15 ‘‘(b) REPORT TO PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS.—Not 

16 later than 30 days after receiving the report under sub17 section (a)(3), the Director of the Office of Management 

18 and Budget shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) submit to the President and to Congress 

20 such report; and 

21 ‘‘(2) publish such report in the Federal Reg22 ister. 

23 ‘‘(c) AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION.—Each Executive 

24 agency shall implement any changes (excluding any 


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1 change requiring a change in Federal law) described in 

2 a report submitted under subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE.—The term ‘oc5 cupational license’ means a license, registration, or 

6 certification without which an individual lacks the 

7 legal permission of a State, local, or tribal govern8 ment to perform certain defined services for com9 pensation. 

10 ‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ has the mean11 ing given the term in section 9101(a)(4).’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

13 for such subchapter is amended by inserting after the item 

14 relating to section 3116 the following: 

‘‘3117. Executive agency review of occupational licensing requirements.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. UNIFIED STATE PLAN. 

16 Section 102(b)(1)(D) of the Workforce Innovation 

17 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112(b)(1)(D)) is 

18 amended by adding before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, 

19 and of how the State will reduce occupational licensing 

20 barriers to entry in specific occupations or industry sectors 

21 and any broader occupational licensing process reforms’’. 

Æ 


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