Freedom to Work Act
Bill: H.R.3145 | Sponsor: Rep. Harshbarger, Diana (R-TN)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Freedom to Work Act
This bill requires federal agencies to review and reduce occupational licensing requirements.
Specifically, each executive agency must review relevant laws, policies, and regulations that institute occupational licensing requirements for agency positions, or that cause a state, local, or tribal government to adopt licensing requirements for positions within their jurisdictions, and identify possible changes to eliminate such requirements or to provide alternatives that are the least restrictive while also maintaining consumer protection. Agencies must implement changes to the extent permissible under law.
The bill also requires states to describe their plans to reduce occupational licensing barriers as part of their unified state plans for programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
Several executive orders have required similar review of occupational licensing requirements. For example, the executive order titled Increasing Economic and Geographic Mobility, which was issued on December 14, 2020, outlined certain principles for occupational licensing requirements, including that such requirements should be the least restrictive to competition while also maintaining consumer protection; the order directed executive agencies to review and identify changes to their regulations, guidance, and policies in accordance with these principles. Additionally, the executive order titled Promoting Competition in the American Economy, which was issued on July 9, 2021, directs the Federal Trade Commission to consider addressing practices that inhibit competition, including unfair occupational licensing restrictions, through regulations.

To require Executive agency review of occupational licensing 
                 requirements, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom to Work Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Occupational licensing has grown exponentially, 
        comprising nearly 25 percent of the United States workforce 
        today, up from 5 percent nearly 60 years ago.
            (2) According to a 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, 
        84.4 percent of employed people with a certification or license 
        responded that their credential was required for their job.
            (3) Studies show little evidence that licensing improves 
        quality of services and instead costs consumers 
        $203,000,000,000 annually, reduces the number of jobs by 
        2,850,000, with the most impact on low-income workers seeking 
        to enter occupations for the first time.
            (4) Occupations experience slower employment growth in 
        States where they are licensed, compared to States where they 
        are not, proving occupational licensing serves as a barrier to 
        employment.
            (5) Enacted into Federal law in 2014, the stated purpose of 
        the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et 
        seq.) is to strengthen the United States workforce development 
        system through innovation in, and alignment and improvement of, 
        employment, training, and education programs in the United 
        States, and to promote individual and national economic growth.
            (6) In fiscal year 2021, Congress appropriated 
        $2,845,332,000 for States to assist Americans in overcoming 
        barriers to employment and help employers hire and retain 
        workers.
            (7) If States enact unnecessary occupational licensing 
        requirements that create barriers for individual job seekers, 
        when no requirement or a less restrictive alternative may serve 
        the same purpose, States are acting in contradiction to the 
        goals of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
        3101 et seq.).
            (8) On December 14, 2020, the Executive Office of the 
        President published Executive Order 13966, Increasing Economic 
        and Geographic Mobility to establish it as the policy of the 
        United States to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens on 
        the American people and require the Federal Government to 
        review and report on authorities, regulations, guidance, and 
        policies to alleviate such occupational licensing burdens.
            (9) Policymakers at all levels of government should require 
        evidence to determine if there is a demonstrated need to 
        regulate an occupation and should consider a range of less 
        restrictive alternatives such as, quality ratings, voluntary 
        third-party professional certifications, bonding or insurance, 
        or inspection requirements.

SEC. 3. EXECUTIVE AGENCY REVIEW OF OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3117. Executive agency review of occupational licensing 
              requirements
    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of the Freedom to Work Act and every 2 years thereafter, the 
head of each Executive agency shall--
            ``(1) review any authority, regulation, or policy of, or 
        Federal law pertaining to, the Executive agency that--
                    ``(A) imposes an occupational licensing requirement 
                with respect to any position (including any position of 
                a contractor or subcontractor thereof) at the Executive 
                agency; or
                    ``(B) is causing a State, local, or tribal 
                government to adopt an occupational licensing 
                requirement for public and private sector positions 
                within the State or area encompassing the jurisdiction 
                of the local or tribal government;
            ``(2) identify any changes to such an authority, 
        regulation, policy, or law that would result in no requirement 
        or the least restrictive alternative to an occupation licensing 
        requirement with respect to any such position while maintaining 
        protection for consumers and other individuals from significant 
        and demonstrable harm to their health and safety; and
            ``(3) submit to the Director of the Office of Management 
        and Budget, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, 
        and the Assistant to the President and Director of 
        Intergovernmental Affairs a report that identifies such 
        changes.
    ``(b) Report to President and Congress.--Not later than 30 days 
after receiving the report under subsection (a)(3), the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget shall--
            ``(1) submit to the President and to Congress such report; 
        and
            ``(2) publish such report in the Federal Register.
    ``(c) Agency Implementation.--Each Executive agency shall implement 
any changes (excluding any change requiring a change in Federal law) 
described in a report submitted under subsection (b).
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Occupational license.--The term `occupational 
        license' means a license, registration, or certification 
        without which an individual lacks the legal permission of a 
        State, local, or tribal government to perform certain defined 
        services for compensation.
            ``(2) State.--The term `State' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 9101(a)(4).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such subchapter 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3116 the 
following:

``3117. Executive agency review of occupational licensing 
                            requirements.''.

SEC. 4. UNIFIED STATE PLAN.

    Section 102(b)(1)(D) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act (29 U.S.C. 3112(b)(1)(D)) is amended by adding before the semicolon 
the following: ``, and of how the State will reduce occupational 
licensing barriers to entry in specific occupations or industry sectors 
and any broader occupational licensing process reforms''.
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