Edward J. Timmons, director of the Knee Regulatory Research Center, told the Joint Committee on Government Organization that universal recognition—a policy by which a state accepts out-of-state professional licenses that are in good standing—has measurable economic effects in places that adopt it. "Universal recognition... trusts other licensing authorities," Timmons said, and his center's research finds adoption is associated with higher employment and migration of licensed workers.

Timmons summarized several empirical findings from his group's work and collaborators: states adopting universal recognition saw border counties gain roughly 11 tax filers (associated with an estimated $1,700,000 annually for those counties in the analysis he cited), an approximate 1 percentage-point increase in the employment ratio statewide after adoption, and close to a 48% increase in migration of licensed workers into adopting states. He cautioned that these are estimates from the studies his team has produced and that effects can vary by occupation and state language.

He contrasted universal recognition with other policy tools: compacts (occupation-specific, multistate agreements that take effect only after several states enact them), reciprocity (bilateral agreements), and endorsement (board-level review that can introduce delays). Timmons told the committee that the evidence for universal recognition's labor-market effects appears stronger than for substantially-similar/endorsement approaches in several of the analyses he discussed.

West Virginia example: Timmons noted that House Bill 4634 (2022) implemented recognition-like language for a limited set of trades (HVAC, electricians under cited code chapters) but does not yet cover the broader set of chapter 30 professions that include many licensed occupations. He said adopting more comprehensive universal recognition coverage would extend benefits more broadly.

What’s next: Timmons offered to provide state-level breakdowns and methodological details. Committee members asked follow-up questions about rural impacts and whether portability would help provider deserts; Timmons said the effect on rural shortages was plausible but that his team has not yet done a rural-specific study.