THE TRIM ACT

The TRIM Act — Trimming Redundant and Inefficient Mandates

Streamlined Occupational Licensing

Wisconsin requires licenses for hundreds of occupations. Some of those requirements make sense — they protect the public from genuine harm. Others exist primarily to protect established practitioners from competition, creating artificial barriers that prevent hardworking people from earning a living in their chosen field without serving any meaningful public safety purpose.

The TRIM Act takes a simple position: if a license protects the public, it stays. If it doesn't, it goes.

The Wisconsin Occupational Licensing Review Board

A dedicated, bipartisan Wisconsin Occupational Licensing Review Board — separate from the PRUNE Act's Regulatory Review Commission — conducts systematic review of every occupational license on Wisconsin's books. The board operates independently of the agencies and professional associations that administer existing licenses, because those bodies have a direct financial interest in keeping licensing requirements in place regardless of whether they serve the public.

Every license is evaluated against one primary question: does this license demonstrably protect public health, safety, or welfare — or does it primarily restrict entry into the profession? If the answer is the latter, the board issues a formal recommendation to the legislature to amend or repeal it.

The Public Safety Burden of Proof

Any new occupational license proposed in Wisconsin must clear a public safety burden of proof before it can be created. The proposing agency or professional body must demonstrate:

• A specific, documented public safety risk that the license addresses

• That the proposed licensing requirements are proportionate to that risk

• That no less burdensome alternative — such as registration, bonding, or insurance requirements — would achieve the same safety outcome

• That the license does not primarily serve to limit competition or protect existing practitioners at the expense of new entrants

If the burden of proof is not met, the license does not get created. Wisconsin will not add new barriers to employment without a clear and compelling public safety justification.

Interstate Reciprocity — Work Here Without Starting Over

When a skilled, licensed professional moves to Wisconsin from another state, they should be able to get to work — not spend months and thousands of dollars re-licensing for a profession they've already proven themselves in.

The TRIM Act establishes a formal evaluation of every other state's licensing standards for each profession Wisconsin licenses. States whose standards meet or exceed Wisconsin's requirements receive automatic reciprocity — their license is recognized in Wisconsin immediately. States whose standards fall below Wisconsin's do not receive reciprocity until their standards are raised.

This approach protects Wisconsin consumers by ensuring that reciprocity is earned through equivalent standards — not handed out indiscriminately. And it ensures that qualified professionals moving to Wisconsin from high-standard states can contribute to the Fox Valley economy from day one.

Proportionality — The Hours Should Match the Risk

Some Wisconsin licenses require hundreds of hours of training for professions that pose minimal public risk — while professions with significantly higher risk potential face lighter requirements. The TRIM Act requires that training and education hour requirements for every licensed profession be proportionate to the actual documented risk that profession poses to the public.

A profession that poses minimal risk to public safety should not require the same licensing burden as a profession that poses significant risk. Where current requirements are disproportionate, the Licensing Review Board recommends reductions. Where they are insufficient relative to actual risk, the board recommends increases.

The Bottom Line:

The TRIM Act doesn't eliminate necessary licensing. It eliminates the assumption that every license is necessary — and builds a permanent mechanism to tell the difference. Licenses that protect the public stay. Licenses that protect market incumbents go. And qualified professionals moving to Wisconsin from states with equivalent standards can get to work immediately. That's a regulatory environment that works for workers, consumers, and businesses alike.