More state legislatures plan to consider joining multistate licensure compacts in 2024 for physicians and other healthcare providers. The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, a project coordinated in part by the Federation of State Medical Boards, facilitates physicians practicing in multiple states; a total of 39 states, along with Guam and the District of Columbia participate in the compact. According to MedPage Today, “of the 11 states that aren’t members of the compact, four state legislatures introduced bills to do so in 2023,” with those bills carrying over into the 2024 legislative session.
Maine remains one of 15 states not requiring licensing for general contractors. A bill in the Legislature proposes requiring contractors to be licensed when they perform work that totals over $7,500. In addition, the bill sets up a licensing board to oversee new requirements. “Since 2018, the Maine Office of the Attorney General has received nearly 4,000 complaints about home construction contractors. Fewer than 200 of those complaints have resulted in restitution,” according to the Portland Press Herald.
The 2023 State Occupational Licensing Index ranked Alaska by the number of licensed occupations, focusing on the 331 occupations in the Knee Regulatory Research Center’s licensing database. Alaska establishes minimum entry requirements for 162 of those occupations; eight of those occupations require licensure in 20 states or fewer nationally. Alaska, for example, remains the only state in the country to issue a separate license for a mechanical administrator. In the 2023 SOLI, Alaska ranked 44th nationally—with 1st the most burdensome.
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