April Williams endeavored to resume her career as a nursing when she applied for a license for a license this year at a Georgia agency that is required for 30% of the American workforce.
After he had initially forgotten to make her completion of the graduate school available, the resident of Byron reported her documents several times. After several weeks of waiting, she was ready to vent her frustration before a state legislator was commissioned to investigate questions from the Department of Professional License Minister of the Foreign Minister.
The common Blue Ribbon Committee, which examines the license problems, will hold several sessions this year, since it is demonstrably reduced to reduce professional licensing disorders, costs and the time required to process and check applications. The ideas include the acceptance of more universal standards and the lightness of the transfer of licenses from other states and countries.
The old joke among the people who are committed to better access to jobs in Georgia is that you need a license to cut hair from someone, but you don't need to build a house. However, it can be seen whether the state's legislature is willing to make it easier to get a state -licensed job.
The state department carries out administrative and easy work for 42 license fees that cover dozens of professions, including architects, electrical entrepreneurs, beauticians, social workers and nurses. A number of other independent committees supervises job certification for doctors, engineers, brokers and other specialists.
Williams said that the license employee often takes too long to respond to her e -mails and voicemails, and that she was informed that nobody was available in the Macon office to help her visit the application when she offered to visit several times.
Your plan is now to return to California to work as a nurse until she finds out what happens to her Georgia license.
“I definitely agree that the workers have to be back in the office, because if you make a phone call, you can find that you are not committed. You are revised. They are not helpful. You are not happy, ”said Williams at the committee meeting on June 26 at Middle Georgia State University in Macon. “I have to feed a family. I have to pay a mortgage. “
The Republican MP Matt Hatchett, who has the common committee co-chair, is that the most frequently received tension in the public, such as the unreliable licensing analysts and call center employees, with whom they come into contact while they are applying to be certified in a certain profession.
Gabriel Sterling, director of the professional license department, said that long -term problems in the reduction and underfunding, outdated technology and laws have contributed to the deficit of the applications.
Sterling said that it took place early on how long the staff lasted to react to the voicemails and e -mails from customers, which is partly due to the Voicemail system that no longer has a limitation of 100 messages.
A new online application system is being developed by the company to simplify the licensing and certification process. The system has so far cost 3 million US dollars, but additional funds are required because other professions come online.
The license department will benefit from the fact that a full -time director will take over later this month, said Sterling. Sterling works in other roles of the Foreign Minister and became the public face of the election department after the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
A widespread misunderstanding in public is that the foreign minister prescribes how professional committees work, he said.
“We cannot tell a board that he should do something,” said Sterling. “You are the issuer of the license and we are there to offer administrative support.”
The growing workforce in Georgia has contributed to an increase in professional licenses that are distributed every year. There are currently 545,518 active licensees, an increase of around 440,000 in 2018, but the number of full -time employees has not increased to meet demand.
Foreign Minister Brad Raffensperger has praised the legislators for increasing this year's budget for the department for the professional administrative rate by $ 1.5 million in order to hire more full-time employees.
However, Raffensperger would like to have a larger proportion of the state budget, which is assigned to licensing, which is generated every year around 30 million US dollars, but is derived from more than half of the income to the state general fund.
Changes to the licensing
The Republican Senator Rick Williams from Milledgeville, who has been a licensed funeral company for 51 years, said there was a problem with some state bodies that are more aimed at protecting their profession by creating more obstacles to people who try to get a license.
In December there was a significant change in the professional license laws when the Supreme Court of Georgia passed a legal framework, in which it was prescribed that prescribed state -approved certifications must have a mandatory interest in protecting the health, security and well -being of the public.
The unanimous judgment of the court arose with the plaintiffs, which questioned a law of 2016, which the state lactation consultant had certified in maternal side after the completion of several years of course work and test programs of a private advisory committee.
Senator Larry Walker III, a Republican of Perry, said that the committee should try to simplify the license process in order to eliminate the workforce of workforce in healthcare and other areas. Careers who also want to prescribe medication sometimes have to wait more than a year to be certified by a medical board of directors that doctors licensed after having already received a license from a nursing committee.
“If you have no convincing interest in these areas, we shouldn't believe that we should ask someone a fee and demand that you jump through all these tires to make a living,” said Walker.
The legislator of Georgia has passed several licensing points in the last two meetings, including the permission that military veterans and their spouses will quickly receive preliminary licenses for jobs that were previously certified for work in another state.
This year, new state laws enable married and family therapists to receive accelerated licenses, while employees who only use make-up and shampoo, blow-up and network have to become any more licensed cosmetics who have to complete hundreds of hour training in order to provide more extensive hair care services.
A license -task force compiled by Foreign Minister Brad Raffensperger has recommended that the directors of the license committee issue licenses if the Board of Directors does not answer within 60 days of submitting an application.
Proponents of the criminal judicial reform and cross -party legislators have urged to eliminate obstacles to people with convictions who have no to do with the crew in which they are looking for work.
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