Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine February 2018

licenses have valid reasons, particularly when they focus on health and safety. Certifying skills and specialized knowledge helps consumers.” (7) I have never met anyone in the heating and air conditioning industry that cherished licensing for the purpose of restricting competition. In fact, most don’t like licensing and regulations but feel they are a necessary evil to protect the health and safety of Arkansans. Maybe it is the crowd that I “run with” but all are passionate about public health and safety. They are the most qualified to talk about the need for licensing because they go behind the unlicensed and untrained and witness the “unbelievably unsafe and ineffective status” of heating and air conditioning systems in many homes and businesses. They hear the stories of homeowners who paid large sums “to get the job started” only to have the job left unfinished and/or in a manner that risks the health of the homeowner. The legitimate contractor wants to help the victimized consumer and generally gives them a break on the repair but there is only so much that they can do. Another group in Arkansas that can attest to the need for licensing and regulation is the state and local mechanical inspector. Another group in Arkansas that can attest to the need for licensing and regulation is the state and local

One needs to have first-hand knowledge of what is required to make the licensing and regulation decision. So, who is closest and should be the most capable of making that decision? Obviously, it is a person with first hand knowledge-someone employed within the occupation in question. This, of course, brings up the primary charge by those wanting to eliminate or seriously restrict licensing. They charge that persons in the industry want to restrict licensing in order to protect themselves from competition. One publication asserted “ occupational licenses primarily benefit licensed workers themselves.” ( 5) Forbes contributor George Leef summarized Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta’s July 21 st speech to American Legislative Exchange Council as follows, “Acosta’s crucial point is that occupational licensing is often used by interest groups simply as a means of preventing competition in their markets…” (6) I do not doubt that there may be some in some occupations that want to use licensing as a means of protecting their own business: but, don’t forget to include the fact that Acosta also said, “ Granted, many I have no or little understanding of the complexities of their craft or the level to which they could create a health and safety problem for the public.