When the 2024 legislative session begins on February 7, Gov. Ned Lamont will present lawmakers with a budget adjustment proposal for 2025 that would eliminate licensure application fees for certain workers in the education, childcare, and healthcare fields.
The proposal would eliminate the initial application fees for educator certificates, home childcare licenses, registered nurse licenses, practical nurse licenses, and advanced practice registered nurse licenses.
If enacted, the elimination of select application fees is estimated to save workers $3.5 million annually, around the amount that the fees, administered by various state agency, generate in annual revenue.
The initial application fee for educator certificates, according to a press release accompanying the announcement of the proposal, costs $200 and generates around $1 million in annual revenue for the state. Home childcare license fees cost $40 and initial application fees for staff costs $15. Together, those fees generate approximately $20,000 in annual revenue.
The initial application fees for nurses range from $150, for practical nurse licenses, to $200 for advanced practice registered nurse licenses. Registered nurses must pay $180 for an initial application fee. All three license fees generate around $2.4 million in annual revenue.
At a January 31 press conference held at the University of Hartford announcing the proposal, Lamont said eliminating initial licensure fees for various nurses was “not a lot, but it’s a little” and added that he likes to think it would make a difference. Lamont described nursing licensure fees as “one more little speedbump that may make you hesitate before you get into nursing.”
The press conference emphasized the proposed reform to nursing licensure fees, but Lamont also noted his administration is looking to help home daycare workers and teachers in an effort to make it easier to obtain a degree without an application fee and help support testing fees, with an end goal of brining more daycare workers, teachers and nurses into the state.
Both Lamont and Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani referenced the state’s nursing shortage, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Juthani noted that the state has seen a 20 percent increase in the number of registered licensed practical nurses, a 40 percent increase in registered nurses, and a 50 percent increase in advanced practice registered nurses since 2019 but also noted that an increase in the number of licenses does not mean everyone who holds a license is working. She stated the state still has a nursing shortage.
According to data collected by the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce, there were 89,919 individuals who held a registered nurse license in 2022. Of that group, 57.3 percent were actively working and 50.1 percent were employed in Connecticut. The number of licensed practical nurses was lower, but a higher number were actively working in 2022. Of 14,422 license holders, 69.3 percent were actively working and 57.8 percent were doing so in Connecticut.
Lamont indicated the proposal is likely to be the only one addressing occupational licensing reform to come from his administration this budget cycle. Lamont acknowledged that occupational licensure is “relatively costly” and a “somewhat regressive regulatory burden” but suggested further proposals would depend on future budgets.
That Connecticut’s occupational licensing requirements are a burden on the workforce are borne out by recently completed surveys.
A November 2022 study from the Institute for Justice ranks Connecticut as having the 17th highest burden for licensed occupations. Of the 102 lower-income occupations the survey looked at, Connecticut licenses 65 and licensure on average costs $290 and requires 374 days to obtain.
A 2023 survey from the Knee Regulatory Research Center in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University ranked Connecticut’s occupational licensing laws as the 30th most burdensome in the nation and is among fewer than 20 states to require licensure in 18 different occupations.
While Lamont suggested his administration would not offer further reforms this session, legislative Republican leaders reacting to the proposal suggested they would like to expand upon it.
“Occupational licensure reform is a concept House Republicans support as a means to reducing cost-related barriers that could make it more difficult for someone who is pursuing a career or startup in a particular field, and while I’m glad this topic has been elevated by the Governor’s proposal, my caucus believes our state can afford to do more and will have a proposal that aims to extend the conversation beyond careers he targeted, such as the building trades.” House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, told Inside Investigator.
Senate Minority Leader, R-Monroe, Kevin Kelly indicated in a statement that eliminating fees for occupational licensing will be at the center of a Republican legislative plan, “A Better Way to an Affordable Connecticut,” which will be unveiled in February. “For far too long, Connecticut’s economy has not created better paying jobs. That’s unacceptable. We must work collaboratively to create multi-faceted pathways to prosperity for Connecticut families, a more vibrant workforce and a more affordable state.” Kelly said in a statement.
Chris Davis, vice president of public policy for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), said the group, which has previously supported occupational licensing reforms, is supportive of the governor’s proposal to “target critical needs occupations” and thankful of the governor for recognizing the importance of reform.
“We feel this is a very positive step, and feel we can do even more.” Davis continued, adding that the CBIA supports looking at reducing or capping occupational licenses for many different trades.
The CBIA has previously advocated for occupational licensing reforms. During the 2023 legislative session, the CBIA testified in favor of several bills that would have reformed occupational licensure, including by limiting the maximum fee for licenses to $100 and allowing military service to count towards licensure requirements. Neither of those bills made it out of committee.
In its recently released report outlining its 2024 policy proposals, the group again proposes reducing and capping occupational license fees. Davis said occupational licensure “really serves as a barrier of entry into many of these trades” and said the CBIA would ultimately like to cap fees for all licenses issued by the Department of Consumer Protection so that “individuals can concentrate on doing their trade and skill, upscale their business by obtaining additional licenses, and remove barriers of additional license fees that could force a choice between paying rent or for a car payment.”
The CBIA’s 2024 policy proposals also include a recommendation for a task force to create a bachelor’s degree equivalents for teachers looking to teach trade courses. The proposal would allow tradespeople to obtain a bachelor’s degree equivalents and enter a master’s degree teaching program, which Davis says would mean a “significantly larger number of people have access” to that career path.
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