FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2019

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Amanda Kieffer, Communications Associate at The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy
PHONE: (304) 541-9551 | EMAIL: [email protected]

Study of West Virginia’s Occupational Licensing Regime Finds W.Va. Has More Licensing Boards, Much Higher Renewal Fees than OH & PA

Charleston, W.Va. – In partnership with the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation at Saint Francis University, the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy releases the final portion of research from a survey of the respective occupational licensing regimes in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

The initial survey (released in February) found initial occupational licensing fees for 64 occupations are, on average, 7.7 percent higher in West Virginia than Ohio and Pennsylvania and that renewal licensing fees are 8 percent higher in West Virginia than Ohio and Pennsylvania. The survey also found that 39 percent of surveyed occupations had considerably higher barriers to entry than Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In this final portion of research, the “high barrier” occupations were looked at in greater depth. A high-barrier occupation is defined as one in which the state of West Virginia had three or more requirements (initial licensing fees, renewal fees, continuing education requirements, and good moral character) that are higher in West Virginia than in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. Some topline results from this final portion of the study:

• Eight of the occupations have fees that are more than $100 more than the comparison states.
• West Virginia has higher renewal fees than PA and OH for 21 of the 25 high barrier occupations. Ten of the occupations have fees that are more than $100 more than the comparison states.
• West Virginia has 38 licensing boards and commissions. This is 17 more than Ohio and 9 more than Pennsylvania.

“It was surprising to find how much higher licensing fees in WV were relative to PA and OH. WV has a median income that is more than $10,000 lower than PA and OH, yet many occupations in WV have initial and renewal licensing fees that are more than $100 more annually than both states,” said Ed Timmons, Ph.D. and Director of the Knee Center. “It is hard to justify this difference in fees,” Dr. Timmons continued.

“West Virginia’s economy faces a lot of barriers when it comes to changing the narrative about its performance and relative lack of prosperity,” said Garrett Ballengee, Executive Director of the Cardinal Institute. “Sadly, as these studies have shown, the state can’t get out of its own way when it puts completely unnecessary hurdles in the way of folks that have the drive and desire to work and start a business,” Ballengee continued.

To schedule an interview, contact Amanda Kieffer at 304-541-9551 or [email protected].

About the Cardinal Institute
Located in Charleston, the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan non-profit founded in 2014 to research, develop, and communicate effective free market public policies for West Virginia.

About the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation
Established in June 2016 by founding Director and Professor of Economics, Dr. Edward Timmons, The Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation at Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA is a non-partisan academic research center. The Center’s mission is to provide information to citizens, policy makers, and other researchers about the extent, scope, and effects of occupational regulation.