From the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep, you’re touched by Virginia’s professional licensing system, according to Brian Wolford, Director of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation or DPOR.
“From the dwelling you live in, the person who sold you that dwelling, your electricity, your HVAC system, your haircut, grooming, nails, you name it, DPOR touches it,” Wolford told a meeting of the Small Business Commission Tuesday.
The state agency’s 17 boards manage the professional licenses for about 325,000 Virginia workers. It’s funded almost entirely through licensing fees, about $30 million a year.
And Wolford had a uniquely exciting announcement for what is arguably one of the state’s least exciting agencies: Wait times for license applications are down from 33 days a year ago to about 5 days now. The agency also worked with stakeholders to reduce schooling and experience requirements. For example: 1,500 hours for a cosmetology license down to 1,000.
“Reduced time in school, reduced costs, quicker to actually being employed,” Wolford said.
Work amongst board members has also resulted in a nearly 22% reduction in regulations overall. Gov. Glenn Youngkin set a goal of 25%, a win Wolford said his agency might be able to meet. But he said efforts from the previous administration of then-Gov. Ralph Northam had already implemented a number of regulatory reductions.
“We’re pretty lean already. We’re pretty efficient already,” he said.
In a notably uplifting moment, from a notoriously bureaucratic entity, Wolford said one of the highlights of his time leading DPOR was attending board meetings where the formerly incarcerated have their applications reviewed. Felony charges set off flags for review, but he said about 95% of those reviews still end with applications approved.
“The argument is it's better to have people working,” he said. “To see the looks on their faces when the license is granted, it's a pretty good thing.”
There were also questions about the highly lauded practice of universal reciprocity, honoring similar licenses from other states to get folks who move to the Commonwealth working more quickly. Wolford said his agency had seen about 700 such licenses approved in the last year.
The improvements have garnered national praise from Penn Law’s Regulatory Review - a big deal for very nerdy people. But more changes are expected.
A new computer system, going online next year, could speed up applications even more. But the agency’s once fat coffers are also starting to dry up. That means increases in state license fees, though some haven’t gone up since the 1990s.
As for concerns about less-experienced licensed professionals, Wolford said systems are in place to review any future complaints and they’re willing to amend the process if needed.
The commission meeting wasn’t all peaches and cream, though.
Delegate Josh Thomas praised DPOR for other improvements like those for language translators in his increasingly diverse Prince William County district. But Thomas noted his bill that would have made license tests in additional foreign languages was vetoed by Youngkin.
The governor said it would be too much of a financial burden on applicants. Thomas said that cost would have been about $5 a test.
“I’d heard about the millions of dollars that are increased when entrepreneurs are allowed to go out and work and start their own companies,” the delegate asked Wolford. “It doesn’t make sense we’d prevent this much opportunity by not allowing that legislation to go forward.”
"I can't go into any depth exactly why, monetarily, it wasn't the right thing to do at the time," the agency head responded. “As we move forward, reach out and we’ll work together to get it done.”
Delegate David Reid, who chaired Tuesday’s committee, praised the increase in efficiency.
“From 30 days down to five is fantastic,” the Loudoun County Democrat delegate said, but he also looked forward to reviews of complaints in the wake of reduced regulation.
“We haven’t seen any unintentional harm to consumers, yet,” he said. “But that’s one of those things we’re going to have to watch and get those questions answered on a regular basis.”
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
