Lack of Licensing Reciprocity Slows Rebuilding
In recent weeks the nation has endured two of the most costly hurricanes it has ever experienced. As people return to their homes to piece their lives back together they face the dilemma of how to rebuild.
Even the most seasoned do-it-yourselfer can be overwhelmed by the damage that natural disasters bring. Few are prepared to do all the work needed to make damaged homes livable. Still fewer have the tools and equipment needed. The manual labor a homeowner might seek out — friends, neighbors and community members — is scarce as they, too, are faced with damage and devastation. There is work to be done, and contractors and construction workers are the specialists best positioned to do so. But it’s not that easy.
When disasters strike, the demand for certified contractors spikes locally, while other regions are spared. Prices on construction and renovation increase, which should draw workers from untouched areas to the state to speed the rebuilding process.
The problem is licensing. States offer a variety of occupational licenses in the building trades. For example, Florida offers 36 different licenses, roughly half of which are relevant to post-disaster rebuilding. Few states honor the building-trade licenses offered by other states, despite needed construction skills differing little across state lines. This lack of reciprocity in licensure makes it all but impossible for enterprising companies to go where prices indicate they are needed most.
This lack of reciprocity does little to protect the health and safety of residents in the wake of disaster. It bans private exchange at a time when people need it most. Homes that could be patched up sit, plywood boards on their windows and blue tarps on their roofs for lack of state-certified construction labor. Residents must wait, fingers crossed, that another storm doesn’t blow in. Lack of licensing reciprocity doesn’t just cost people money, it costs them peace of mind. It puts lives on hold, waiting for a limited pool of skilled contractors to finish work on the houses and businesses of neighbors.
This problem is known and predictable. Allowing even limited reciprocity in the building trades among neighboring states could allow states to bounce back faster when disasters strike. States like Florida could work to reconcile their building trades certification with neighbors like Georgia and Alabama knowing their contractors would be the ones best positioned to help citizens of Florida when hurricanes inevitably strike. The biggest beneficiaries would be Florida residents, who would have more options available to repair their homes and businesses and return to normalcy more quickly.
Freeing the construction labor market would help make America more resilient to natural disasters, whatever their form. Allowing skilled tradesmen to move across state borders to where they can best help benefits both the worker and the consumer. Incumbent state businesses may complain of the new competition, but construction contracting is typically a local business outside of disasters. A little competition in good times is a trivial cost when compared to the ability to more quickly rebuild in bad ones.
