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CPA Conversations Podcast: The Fight to Protect Responsible Professional Licensing

Skip Braziel, Vice President – State Regulation and Legislation with AICPA and Veronica Meadows, Senior Director of Strategy with CLARB discuss the ongoing fight to ensure responsible licensing standards for professions that protect the public interest, new public opinion results on the importance of professional licensing, and how coronavirus has affected this issue.

CPA Conversations · Update on the Fight to Protect Responsible Professional Licensing

Chad Danos, Licensed Landscape Architect

Chad Danos, licensed landscape architect, explains the unique impact of his work on protecting the public and bettering communities — and why deregulating the profession would result in dangerous unintended consequences.

LTE: Floridians Right to Demand Rigorous Professional Licensing

Floridians Right to Demand Rigorous Professional Licensing

By: Christopher Sharek, President, ASCE Florida Section

Tallahassee Democrat

A recent article in the Democrat, Deregulate it? Florida lawmakers aim to boost employment by cutting licensing requirements (Feb. 7, 2020), described efforts by some state legislators to weaken or eliminate licensing requirements for Florida professions.

While lowering barriers to entry for occupations is a worthy goal that should be pursued, lawmakers must be careful not to sweep up professions with high public impact in the name of “reform.”

These proposals ignore one simple fact: the best way to ensure that Florida consumers are protected is to continue to require rigorous education, examination and experience for professions that directly impact public health, safety and welfare — overseen by licensing boards composed of independent experts.

The devil, as always, is in the details. Broad-brush deregulation will have the unintended consequence of putting all Floridians at needless risk.

A clear majority of consumers believe the current system protects the public, and they understand certain professions — like engineers, architects, landscape architects and certified public accountants (CPAs) — have systems in place that are rigorous for a reason. For example, professional engineers are designing the bridges you cross every day and the safe drinking water systems on which your family relies. By doing away with licensure, Florida is doing a disservice to its citizens.

Tallahassee would do well to listen to the will of consumers who are actually affected by changes in licensing laws. We ask leadership to be mindful of legislation that undermines the systems that are in place to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of our citizens.

CLEAR Podcast, Episode 26: ARPL

Skip Braziel, Vice President – State Regulation and Legislation with AICPA and David Cox, CEO of NCEES introduce listeners to the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing.

It’s about our duty to protect the public, and where we see that threatened is where ARPL will become involved.

Skip Braziel talks licensing on Cronkite News, Arizona PBS

Skip Braziel, ARPL, speaks with Cronkite News, Arizona PBS about the importance of responsible licensing for professions with high public impact.

We are very specific, unique professions that have a high public impact. If something goes wrong, the public suffers a great deal. So we want to make sure that the standards remain high and that we balance economic development with public safety.

New Survey: Consumers Concerned About Rush to Eliminate Professional Licensing

2/5/2020

New Survey: Consumers Concerned About Rush to Eliminate Professional Licensing

Clear Support for Rigorous Professional Licensing to Protect the Public Exists

Findings Come as State Legislatures Weigh Weakening or Eliminating Licensing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing (ARPL) today announced the results of a national survey that indicated widespread public support for maintaining rigorous professional licensing standards for professions that have a clear impact on public health, safety and welfare. These findings were announced as many state legislatures are considering broad proposals to overhaul or eliminate state licensing requirements in the current legislative session.

Legislation weakening state professional licensing requirements was introduced in the West Virginia legislature earlier this month. Similar legislation is expected to be introduced in other states in the coming weeks and months.

Eliminating licensing has become a top priority of groups such as the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity, with model legislative proposals that include the complete elimination of all professional and occupational licensing.

The survey was conducted by Benenson Strategy Group and yielded these key findings:

75% of voters believe that it is important to ensure qualifications for professionals in certain industries. A majority of voters believe that current professional licensing requirements protect the public and should not be reformed.
More than 70% of voters believe that regulating professionals in accounting, engineering, architecture, landscape architecture,and related fields with high impact on public safety and welfare is important.
71% of voters believe professional licensing should be required unless it can be proven that eliminating licensing will not have a negative impact on public health and safety. The public is wary of the alternative approach: requiring licensing only when it is proven necessary for health and safety.
67% of voters believe that consumers are best protected by a system that regulates education, examination and experience standards—all of which are overseen by a professional licensing board.

“An overwhelming, bipartisan majority of the American people understand that professional licensing is rigorous for good reason and they want to keep it that way,” said Skip Braziel, a member of the ARPL, who also serves as Vice President for State Regulatory and Legislative Affairs at the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). “Consumers want to know that the professionals they hire are qualified and as this survey makes clear, voters want to see responsible licensing protected.”

“The public recognizes the critical role that licensing and licensing boards play in protecting the public,” said Marta Zaniewski, an ARPL member who also serves as the Assistant Vice President of External Engagement for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). “This is why consumers are understandably wary of the anti-licensing proposals being floated in their state capitals. Licensing boards not only establish qualifications for a profession, but act on the public’s behalf to uphold the highest standards for our profession and take action against bad practitioners. This indispensable public protection role will be lost if licensing is eliminated.”

You can read the survey summary here.

Background:

ARPL is a unique coalition that brings together professional organizations and their licensing boards at a time when there is significant concern over the appropriate level of licensing required by law. The coalition was formed to ensure their voices are heard by policymakers and the public amid the growing debate around licensing. You can learn more about the Alliance and the importance of professional licensing at www.responsiblelicensing.org.

Members of ARPL include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), American Institute of Architects (AIA), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB), National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

For more information about the study or to request an interview with an ARPL representative, please contact Joe Sangiorgio at JSangiorgio@craftdc.com or 1-202-550-2709.

New Research: Exploring Public Opinion of Professional Licensing

A recent national survey was conducted to understand public opinion toward professional licensing standards.

Click here to download an executive summary of the research findings.

AICPA CEO Melancon: CPA licensing under threat

American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon talked about the need for CPAs to learn new skills as hiring of accounting graduates has slowed and the CPA licensing model has come under threat in some states… It’s not just targeted to CPAs, but it’s targeted to all licensing. Now that doesn’t mean it’s manifested itself in every state, but it’s manifested itself with attempts in probably about 35 states over the last four years.

Read the full article here: https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/aicpa-ceo-melancon-cpa-licensing-under-threat

ASLA Joins New Coalition to Protect Professional Licensing

1/16/20

ASLA Joins New Coalition to Protect Professional Licensing

American Society of Landscape Architects and Others Unite as Public Put at Risk by Calls to Eliminate or Weaken Licensing

Washington DC – The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has joined the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing (ARPL) — a coalition of advanced professions focused on educating policymakers and the public about the importance of rigorous professional licensing standards.

ASLA will work with other ARPL members to ensure the voices and concerns of advanced professions are heard by lawmakers amid the growing debate around licensing. The coalition was formed last summer to advocate for the critical importance of maintaining licensing standards for highly complex, technical professions like landscape architecture that have a clear impact on public health, safety, and welfare.

“The practice of landscape architecture includes keeping the public safe from hazards, such as those brought on by security threats, natural disasters, and climate change. For the sake of public protection and to ensure practice competency, ASLA worked hard to ensure landscape architecture is a licensed profession throughout the country. Now those licensure laws are in jeopardy from overbroad deregulation proposals in state legislatures,” said Elizabeth Hebron, Director of State Government Affairs at ASLA.

“Becoming a member of ARPL and joining forces with so many other advanced professional organizations will help us amplify our licensure education and advocacy efforts as we face the challenges ahead,” Hebron added.

“With highly-complex, technical professions at risk of being swept up in broad calls to reduce licensing requirements for occupations and vocations, ARPL will enable landscape architects and their registration boards to educate lawmakers about the value of our rigorous education, examination and experience requirements and the need to preserve them,” said Veronica Meadows, Senior Director of Strategy for the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB).

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Background on ASLA

Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the professional association for landscape architects in the United States, representing more than 15,000 members. The Society’s mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship.

Background on ARPL

The Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing (ARPL) aims to educate policymakers and the public on the importance of high standards, rigorous education, and extensive experience within highly complex, technical professions that are relied upon to protect public health, safety, and welfare, and enhance public trust. They seek to offer best practices and solutions drawn from experience to serve as models that work for the public and members of a given profession.

The Alliance advocates for licensing practices within professions that deliver uniform qualifications, standards, safety, and consistency, while also providing individuals with a clear career path and fair opportunities to pursue and maintain that career.

ARPL Member organizations other than ASLA include: Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB); The American Institute of Architects (AIA); the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE); the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPAs); National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB); the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA); National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE); and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

LTE: Lawmakers must protect Ohio’s engineer’s license

Lawmakers must protect Ohio’s engineer’s license

By: David Martini

The Columbus Dispatch

As lawmakers in Columbus consider revising state workforce laws in 2020, they would do well to remember that professional licensing for advanced professions like engineers is rigorous for a reason. While unnecessary barriers to entry exist for some occupations in Ohio, policymakers should beware of broad, en bloc proposals like the one published by the Buckeye Institute last month that conflate “certification” with “professional licensing” for highly-complex, technical fields like engineering. Failure to make this distinction could have the unintended consequence of weakening Ohio’s professional engineers’ license.

Ohio engineers agree that some state agencies’ certification requirements for engineers could stand to be loosened or eliminated.

But as a licensed professional engineer for more than two decades and the president of the National Society of Professional Engineers representing 26,000 engineers, including more than 1,000 in Ohio, I am concerned that if Ohio’s professional engineer’s license is weakened, the public’s health, welfare, and safety would be placed in jeopardy. The public wants the professionals who design and build our airports, roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure to continue to be required to meet rigorous standards of education, examination, and experience.

In public policy debates, distinctions matter. Thus, lawmakers should focus their efforts on problematic certification laws for engineers and protect the professional engineer’s license.

David Martini is a licensed Professional Engineer and President of the National Society of Professional Engineers.

See more: https://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20200116/letter-lawmakers-must-protect-ohio-engineers-license