LD 2043 Testimony: Occupational Licensing Reform for Physician Assistants
Testimony in Support of LD 2043, “An Act to Add the State of Maine to the Compact for Licensing Physician Assistants”
Senator Bailey, Representative Perry, and distinguished members of the Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services, thank you for the opportunity to testify on LD 2043. My name is Jacob Posik and I am testifying in support of LD 2043 on behalf of Maine Policy Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to expand individual liberty and economic freedom in Maine.
Maine Policy supports all efforts to make occupational licensing more seamless and less onerous for hard-working Mainers in every profession. We encourage you to read our 2018 analysis titled “Let Us Work” which unpacks the cost of strict and unnecessary licensing rules on practitioners, consumers, and the state economy as a whole.
While we’re supportive of LD 2043 and view it as an improvement over the status quo, we’d also like to turn your attention to a pair of more far-reaching solutions in this arena. The Right to Earn a Living Act and another idea called Universal Licensing Reciprocity would allow all Mainers, as well as those who choose to resettle here or work here temporarily, the opportunity to work in their desired field if they’ve met the licensing requirements of any other state. Twenty states have legislation like this on the books and the number grows each year, however Maine is not one of them.
Instead of playing whack-a-mole with interstate compacts that are narrow in scope to just one or a small handful of professions, the Right to Earn a Living Act or Universal Reciprocity legislation would ensure no Mainer is prevented from practicing their trade due to unnecessary, unworkable occupational licensing regulations.
Please deem LD 2043 “Ought to Pass” and consider advancing universal licensing reciprocity legislation in future sessions.