HB 170: Removing Occupational Cost Barriers to Entry

This bill passed the House and Senate unanimously.

The ideal path out of poverty is through work. Too many people get caught in a situation where staying on government assistance is more profitable than keeping a job. In addition, often times certain professions require fees and other bureaucratic hoops in order to receive a license allowing them to work.

Representative Susan Pulsipher’s new legislation, House Bill 170, seeks to remove one of these barriers to entry: fees. If a person is on government assistance but is pursing a valid option to full-time employment by obtaining the education and training required for an occupational license, then that person’s licensing fees are waived. Rep. Pulsipher’s bill also extends this waiver to those serving in the armed forces.

License fees and other frivolous barriers to employment keep hard-working people from obtaining the kinds of jobs that can sustain them and their families. Utah should do all it can to decrease these barriers and defend the right to work in an honest profession.