Brothers & Sisters,

HB183 (Occupational and Professional Licensing Amendments) has been assigned to House Business and Labor Committee and will most likely be heard the first of next week.

The Utah AFL-CIO Labor Caucus took an OPPOSE position on HB183 at our Utah AFL-CIO Labor Caucus Meeting the 2^nd week of the 2021 Legislative Session. This bill Allows a person who has practiced an occupation or profession outside of Utah in a state, district, or territory of the United States that does not require a license, but where Utah does require a license, to receive a license from DOPL if certain conditions are met; and makes technical changes.

 58-1-302.  License by endorsement.
30          (1) Subject to Subsections [(2), (3), (4), and (5)] (3), (4), (5), and (6), the division shall
31     issue a license without examination to a person who has been licensed in a state, district, or
32     territory of the United States if:
33          (a) after being licensed outside of this state, the person has at least one year of
34     experience in the state, district, or territory of the United States where the license was issued;
35          (b) the person's license is in good standing in the state, district, or territory of the
36     United States where the license was issued; and
37          (c) the division determines that the license issued by the state, district, or territory of
38     the United States encompasses a similar scope of practice as the license sought in this state.
39          (2) Subject to Subsections (3), (4), (5,) and (6), the division shall issue a license
40     without examination to a person if:
41          (a) the person has at least three years of experience in an occupation or profession
42     outside of this state in a state, district, or territory of the United States that does not require a
43     professional license to practice the occupation or profession, but where this state does require a
44     license to practice the occupation or profession;
45          (b) the person has no previous or pending criminal indictments or civil actions against
46     the person related to the person's practice of the occupation or profession for which licensure is
47     sought; and
48          (c) the division determines that:
49          (i) the person's education and training are similar in scope to the requirements to
50     qualify to receive a license in this state; and
51          (ii) the person's scope of practice while completing the experience required by
52     Subsection (2)(a) encompasses a similar scope of practice as the license sought in this state.

Our position is that if they want to work or do business in the State of Utah, they should have to pass the same licensing exam that our Highly Skilled Utah Trades Professionals are required to pass to obtain a license.  Not all States are equal in their requirement standards!

I have listed all of House Business and Labor Committee members below with their email addresses and phone numbers. I am asking all of you to send each of them an email or text message stating our position of OPPOSITION why we oppose HB183. The Licenses that our Union Members worked for and studied so hard for is a source of Pride that we take seriously. What is being proposed by HB183 only DILUTES our Professional Licensing Standards in the State of Utah.

Let’s fill their email boxes with OPPOSITION emails and text messages from Utah’s Union Labor Workforce so that our message is heard loud and clear! Please remember who we are and what we represent, and keep your messages professional! Below is an example email or text message that you can fill in the blanks and copy & paste if you prefer.

Example email or text message:

Representative ______________,

My name is ________ . I am a Highly Skilled, Highly Trained, Licensed Union Member that lives and works in Utah. As Licensed Professionals in our Trades, we are opposed to HB183. Our position is that if others want to work or do business in the State of Utah, they should have to pass the same licensing exam that we as Utah Trades Professionals are required to pass to obtain a license.  Not all States are equal in their requirement standards!

Please Vote NO on HB183.

House Business and Labor Committee 2021

Rep. Joel Ferry - jferry@le.utah.gov                                801-726-4032

Rep. Walt Brooks - wbrooks@le.utah.gov                       435-817-3530

Rep. Brady Brammer - bbrammer@le.utah.gov              801-839-4653

Rep. Jim Dunnigan – jdunnigan@le.utah.gov                 801-840-1800

Rep. Timothy Hawkes - thawkes@le.utah.gov                801-928-9008

Rep. Jon Hawkins - jhawkins@le.utah.gov                      801-769-0975

Rep. Brian King - briansking@le.utah.gov                       801-560-0769

Rep. Cory Maloy - corymaloy@le.utah.gov                     801-477-0019

Rep. Ashley Matthews - amatthews@le.utah.gov           385-264-2024

Rep. Mark Wheatley - markwheatley@le.utah.gov          801-264-8844

Rep. Calvin Musselman - cmusselman@le.utah.gov      801-941-6188

Rep. Casey Snider - csnider@le.utah.gov                       435-890-3383

Rep. Mark Strong - mstrong@le.utah.gov                       385-275-5682

Rep. Jordan Teuscher - jteuscher@le.utah.gov              801-810-6170

Rep. Norm Thurston - normthurston64@gmail.com        801-477-5348

Rep. Mike Schultz - mikeschultz@le.utah.gov                 801-564-7618