Madison – State Representative Warren Petryk (R-Town of Washington), State Senator Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield), State Representative Kalan Haywood (D-Milwaukee), and Senator LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement following the governor’s signature of Assembly Bill 218 into law, which is now Act 118.
“With nearly 20% of Wisconsin’s workforce requiring a license to perform their job, any delays in licensing can leave workers and businesses in limbo,” said Representative Petryk. “That is why I introduced this bipartisan legislation with Senators Kooyenga and Johnson, and Representative Haywood to remove some of the artificial and unnecessary delays in the licensing process and give people the ability to start their career in Wisconsin sooner.”
This new law gives the Department of Safety and Professional Services the tools needed to work directly with credentialing boards to speed up the application approval process. In addition, once an application for a license is complete, a board under this bill will have 10 business days to decide on the application or it will be automatically considered approved.
“Far too often, government puts up barriers for people who are simply trying to start their career. This new law will make a real difference in the lives of people who are trying hard to move up the economic ladder by tackling a key source of delays in the licensure process,” said Senator Kooyenga. “This is one of a number of initiatives that will reduce government-imposed barriers to work.”
“With the direct focus and intent to help all the people that make our state great, we must be deliberate in attacking any barrier that may hinder people from achieving their highest potential and from being the greatest assets to our economy and future,” said Representative Haywood. “This is why we must actively work to eliminate any hurdles to entrepreneurship and employment statewide, especially among communities of color. People from my district and across the state have spoken out about the need to reform the professional licensure process. This legislation is the start point of doing just that. I look forward to seeing continued bipartisan support for legislation like Act 118.”
“We know employers all across Wisconsin are looking for highly-qualified employees, and we have shortages in a number of critical professions, so anything that the Legislature can do to speed up the process of granting state licenses and credentials without sacrificing health and safety is a win-win for our state’s families and for our economy,” said Senator Johnson.
