Both pieces of legislation are intended to spur job growth in the state

The House Consumer Protection and Business Committee (CP&B) unanimously passed two bills from Rep. Stephanie McClintock on Wednesday.

“This is great news for Washingtonians looking to advance their career goals,” said McClintock, R-Vancouver. “Anything we can do to help simplify the licensing process for those who need it is a positive step forward.”

Both pieces of legislation are intended to spur job growth in the state. House Bill 1360, cosponsored by the CP&B Committee Chair, would allow the Department of Licensing (DOL) to consider competency-based standards for professional licenses.

That means the DOL could issue a professional license to an applicant who meets all requirements and passes a competency-based test for that specific professional license.

House Bill 1301, which also received full bipartisan support from the CP&B Committee, would direct the DOL to review and analyze 20% of professional licenses each year.

It would also require the DOL to submit an annual report to the Legislature with recommendations on whether the reviewed professional licenses should be terminated, continued, or modified in an effort to streamline the licensing process and more efficiently use our tax dollars.

“I’m excited to see these bills move forward,” said McClintock. “They are commonsense policies that would help our workforce and our state economy.”

Both bills now wait for a vote from the full House of Representatives.

The 2023 session is scheduled to run for 105 days and end on April 23.

Information provided by Washington State House Republicans, houserepublicans.wa.gov