I love my home state of Arizona for many reasons, and believe in much of what the governor is doing. In this post I will touch on just one way that Arizona is making itself open for opportunity:

On April 10th, 2019 the Republican Governor of Arizona and former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, Doug Ducey, signed House Bill 2569. In line with Ducey’s priorities of eliminating unnecessary red-tape and creating an environment where businesses can thrive, this bill makes Arizona the first-state to recognize out of state occupational licenses. It allows those moving from out of State to automatically gain licensure if they have already been licensed in the state they are moving from for at least one year, and do not have a criminal record. Of course, this provision is groundbreaking, but is also already in place, and working fine, for the spouses of military personnel stationed in Arizona.

During Ducey’s time as Governor of Arizona, the state has seen huge growth. The state is a top 3 state for economic momentum, and the fourth fastest growing state in the United States. His administration has reportedly rolled back 1,098 regulations and saved businesses over $79 million. The Governor is a former CEO, and holds the perspective that Government does not create growth, but it does create the environment necessary for growth. To him, this is common sense legislation to help incorporate all the people moving in from out of state. Ducey said after the passage of the bill, “(I)f you’re moving to Arizona there’s opportunity waiting for you here… you don’t lose your skills simply because you moved here.”

However, there was some opposition to the legislation by some democratic members in the state legislature. It passed the house in a vote of 36-24. Democratic representative Pamela Hannley of Tucson told Reason TV, “We don’t really know what the standards are in the other states.” Well this may seem a valid concern, we do know that many other states have high standards as well. Even if the standards were slightly below Arizona’s, that would not cause an eminent danger to the public in most situations.

If Ducey continues to champion a free market, he might go even further with occupational licensing reform, by repealing occupational licensing for hairdressing and related low-risk vocations. His own comments have revealed that he might like to do this when he said, “We have licensing for yoga instructors, I think that’s insane.” In a state which is growing at +1.7 percent per year, and has a tight labor market, accepting occupational licenses from out of state should help to keep unemployment low.