Occupational Regulation - Office of the Legislative Auditor

68 OCCUPATIONAL REGULATION
there is a need to periodically re-examine the contemporary relevance of
regulatory programs, and the Chapter 214 criteria are a useful place to start.
We recommend
a review of
existing
regulatory
programs.
Recognizing the possibility that some programs are out of date, some other states
have enacted sunset laws that require periodic reviews of regulatory programs.
However, as we discussed in Chapter 1, in many cases sunset laws have not
rewarded the promise that led to their enactment. While sunset requirements have
been repealed or scaled back in some states, they are still credited with some
modest successes. National analysts of occupational regulation still call for some
form of sunset reviews, and many of the people we talked with believe there is a
need to take a fresh look at occupational regulation to see if regulatory
requirements are still needed in all cases. 17
Minnesota has more regulated occupations than most states, and Minnesota
regulates some occupations that are regulated in few other states. Minnesota also
has some very small occupations regulated by independent boards. While it is
beyond the scope of this study to provide definitive answers, this section addresses
the following questions:
· Are there occupations that do not have significant initial or continuing
education, experience, or examination requirements and thus may not
need to be regulated
· Are some regulatory requirements inconsistent or out of date in terms
of coverage Is there a consistent use of terminology in regulation of
different occupations Are there small or outdated regulatory boards
that could be eliminated or consolidated
· Is there a way of reorganizing occupational regulation so that related
occupations are located in the same agencies or otherwise affiliated
with other similar professions or occupations.
The Directory
of Regulated
Occupations we
compiled can
help focus this
review.
Education, Experience, and Examination
Requirements
A comprehensive review of the 188 regulated occupations is well beyond the
scope of this study. However, we have compiled a Directory of Regulated
Occupations (published separately) that presents descriptive information on
regulated occupations including data on the education, experience, and
examination requirements for each occupation, the number of regulated
professionals, and the number and type of complaints filed against license holders.
Analysis of this database could be a starting point for a review, or oversight
hearings relating to occupational regulation.
17 Kara Schmitt and Benjamin Shimberg, Demystifying Occupational and Professional Regulation:
Answers to Questions You My Have Been Afraid to Ask (Lexington, KY: Council on Licensure,
Enforcement and Regulation, 1996), 19; Richard C. Kearney, “Sunset: A Survey and Analysis
of the State Experience,” Public Administration Review, vol. 50 (January-February 1990), 56;
and Finocchio et. al., Strengthening Consumer Protection, 29-3.