05/10/13 Governor Mike Pence Wednesday vetoed HEA 1242 requiring licenses for diabetes educators and SEA 273, which created a license requirement for anesthesiologist assistants and dietitians, as well as state certification for music therapists.
“Lower taxes and less regulation, including fewer licensing requirements, will mean more jobs for Hoosiers,” said Pence. “I am vetoing these licensing bills because I believe they create barriers to the marketplace for Hoosiers and restrict competition.”
Over the last ten years, licensing has exploded in Indiana. In 2004 approximately 340,000 Hoosiers held a professional license. Today there are more than 470,000, representing a 38 percent increase. Indiana’s population has increased seven percent in that same time period.
“I have been willing to sign licensing legislation that opens new opportunities for employment or streamlines existing practices and procedures, and I will continue to do so,” said Pence. “However, the bills that I am vetoing today do not meet that standard.”
In this session, Governor Pence proposed restructuring the existing Regulated Occupation Evaluation Committee to reduce artificial barriers to employment. The new ERASER Committee would have helped reform licensing in Indiana by performing a “sunrise” review of new occupational license legislation. Further, it would have established a process to automatically sunset unnecessary licenses, permits and certifications.
“I will continue to work with members of the General Assembly as we pursue efforts to reduce red tape and reform licensing in Indiana, because less regulation will mean more jobs for Hoosiers,” said Pence.
