July 23, 2025 • 22 mins
Explore Michigan’s Cutting Red Tape Report, revealing how LARA is working to reduce licensing barriers, simplify regulations, and help businesses thrive.
View the Cutting Red Tape Report and the Press Release.
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Episode Transcript
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Music (00:01):
Thank you.
Anastasha Osborn (00:19):
Welcome to a special episode of the LARA
Living Room.
Today, we're going to be takinga closer look at the Cutting
Red Tape Report.
And this was a really biginitiative from LARA that
focused really on reducingbarriers to licensure,
streamlining regulatoryprocesses, and truly just making
it easier for people to dobusiness and serve their
communities right here inMichigan.
This report is the result ofmonths of hard work and includes
(00:43):
nearly 80 recommendations,which were all shaped by
feedback from over 16,000licensees and stakeholder
partners across three of ourhighest volume bureaus.
So in this episode, what we'regoing to be talking about and
sharing is how the report cametogether, what we heard from the
public, and what changes we arealready making.
So you know the drill, fill upyour coffee, grab a seat, and
(01:06):
get cozy and comfortable becauseyou are now in the LARA Living
Room.
I'm joined today by fourincredible guests who were
deeply involved in shaping thiswork.
I'd really love to kick thingsoff by having each of you
introduce yourselves.
Just go ahead and share yourname, your role, and just a
quick overview of the work thatyou do.
And let's go ahead and startwith you, Courtney.
Courtney Pendleton (01:26):
Well, thank you for having me here today.
I think we're all excited totalk about the LARA Cutting Red
Tape.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Courtney Pendleton,and I have the honor of serving
as the Chief Operating Officerfor LARA.
My role consists of a lot ofdifferent things, and luckily,
no day ever looks like this.
(01:47):
the next.
And there's a lot of stuff thatgoes on in this department.
And I help just make sure thatit all keeps working.
I work directly with ourdirector, Dr.
Marlon Brown, with AdamSandoval, who is our chief legal
officer, and then all of thebureaus and agencies across the
department.
So I get to learn about all thefantastic stuff that we do
(02:10):
every single day to serve thepeople of Michigan.
Andrew Brisbo (02:13):
I'm Andrew Brisbo.
I am the director of the Bureauof Construction Codes in LARA,
or BCC as we call it.
I've been in state governmentfor about 20 years and with LARA
since 2008, and I've worked infive different bureaus and
agencies around LARA, so I'vebeen around for quite a while in
this department.
In BCC, we regulate skilledtrades throughout the state, and
that includes residentialbuilders, electricians,
(02:35):
plumbers, mechanicalcontractors, elevator
contractors, boiler installerrepairs, and we also regulate
ski areas, carnival amusementsafety, and manufactured housing
communities.
And we adopt codes and setstatewide standards for all of
these program areas, includingresidential and commercial
construction, elevators,boilers, ski lifts, carnival
amusement rides, andmanufactured housing
communities.
Amy Gumbrecht (02:57):
I'm Amy Gumbrecht.
I serve as the Bureau Directorfor the Bureau of Professional
Licensing here in LARA,otherwise known as BPL.
We have the honor of regulatingmost of the health professions
here in the state of Michigan.
That is 28 health professions,as well as 13 other professional
occupations.
Those include accountancy, realestate, cosmetology.
(03:17):
So if you have a licensedprofession, it's very likely
that you deal with BPL on asemi-regular basis.
We are lucky to have roughly185 staff people in in our
bureau that review and issuelicenses, complete inspections,
investigate complaints, initiateand track discipline.
So we are a very busy bureau.
Ben Parker (03:37):
All right.
Ben Parker.
I'm the licensing divisiondirector at the Corporation
Securities and CommercialLicensing Bureau.
The licensing division overseesthe licensing and regulation
under 13 different statutes.
The Bureau itself has adivision that handles all
corporations' documents for thestate of Michigan.
(03:59):
Over one million entities areformed in the state.
We have another division calledthe Securities Division,
Securities and Audit, and theyhandle some of the financial
licenses across the state aswell as doing audits on funeral
homes, cemeteries, and prepaidfuneral providers.
Unknown (04:20):
Okay.
Anastasha Osborn (04:21):
So I'm really looking forward to this
conversation.
I think it's really important.
After we put the report out, wereally didn't do much more than
just putting the report outthere so people knew what it was
about.
We sent out a press release.
We did our due diligence there,but I'm really excited to kind
of break this down a little bitfurther.
So I want to start at thebeginning just to understand
what really led to thisinitiative.
And so Courtney, I'm going tohave you just walk us through
(04:43):
what sparked the idea for theCutting Red Tape Report.
Courtney Pendleton (04:47):
So this all started with our strategic plan
for the department and reallydigging into our key goals.
And we have four of them,reducing barriers to licensure,
educating before we regulate,providing efficient, effective,
and timely services, andenhancing the customer's
experience.
So as we looked at these keygoals, We threw around a bunch
(05:11):
of different ideas on how do weachieve these goals?
How do we make sure that we'reliving and breathing our
mission, vision, and values forthe department and really making
sure that we're doing all ofour work to the best of our
abilities?
And one of the ideas that wehad was to do a deep dive into
(05:31):
the professions that we licenseand regulate.
And that's what sparked thisidea.
We wanted to look at, do wehave any rules regulations
processes that might be obsoletethat might be out of date and
maybe there's new trends in thatparticular industry that we
(05:52):
need to take into considerationand then also our internal
processes are there better waysthat we can protect people and
promote business And so to kickthis work off, we decided to
start with three differentstatutes that we work within
across the department.
So the Michigan Public HealthCode, the Michigan Occupational
(06:13):
Code, and the Skilled TradesRegulation Act.
And focusing on those threestatutes alone meant that we
were focusing on about 50different professions that we
license and regulate.
And that led us to work withthe three bureaus that we did on
this project, the LARA Bureauof Construction Codes that we
call BC Bureau of ProfessionalLicensing that we call BPL and
(06:38):
Corporation Security andCommercial Licensing that we
call CSCL.
Anastasha Osborn (06:42):
I wanted to ask you, there was back in 2023,
Governor Whitmer had released aletter and it was a call for us
to do this work.
Can you tell the listeners justa little bit about that letter
and then how that shaped ourapproach here at LARA to do this
report itself?
Courtney Pendleton (07:01):
Thank you so much.
What that did was allow us toreally take this even further,
(07:36):
knowing that we had thegovernor's support, not only
because it tied directly intothe key goals that I mentioned
in our strategic plan, but alsobecause it played into the
governor's priorities, one ofthose being to cut red tape and
ensure that we are streamlininggovernment processes and
services.
Anastasha Osborn (07:56):
Why was it important for LARA to take a
proactive role in reducinglicensure barriers?
Courtney Pendleton (08:02):
Thank you so much.
can help them be successful inthat profession.
(08:36):
It also allows us to make surethat we are upholding our
mission of protecting people andpromoting business.
So we like to take a proactiverole in reducing barriers.
Anastasha Osborn (08:47):
Now for this report, LARA surveyed over
16,000 licensees and that's ahuge number.
So kind of walk me through whatdid that process look like, not
just across the department, butmore specifically just those
three bureaus?
Courtney Pendleton (09:02):
I love that we got so many responses to that
survey.
We kept seeing the numbersclimb, which was really
incredible.
And so what that process lookedlike for us, first, I want to
say thank you to everyone whosubmitted a response, all our
licensees and our industrypartners for sharing their
(09:24):
opinions and their ideas forreducing barriers to licensure.
And we took that veryseriously.
So the process for us was thatwe went through all 16,488
responses that we received.
We read every single one ofthem and we were then able to
(09:45):
take all of that information andbuild it into the almost 80
recommendations that you seewithin that final report.
And so the three bureaus, BCC,BPL, and CSCL that were involved
in this project broke all ofthose survey responses down
based on the the profession thatit was impacting and built that
(10:06):
in.
And so again, thank you toeveryone who provided responses.
It was amazing and I think whatwe got out of that was
absolutely incredible and willhelp reduce those barriers to
licensure.
Anastasha Osborn (10:23):
Andrea, can you share one or two highlights
from the Bureau of ConstructionCode's recommendations?
Andrew Brisbo (10:28):
Sure.
The expansion of licensingthrough reciprocity is one
particularly exciting ideastemming from this project.
We solicited feedback fromstakeholders in all our program
areas, and this idea proved tobe a common thread across all
the trades.
Promoting skilled trades acrossthe state has been a key goal
in my time with BCC, soproviding opportunities to ease
the licensing process forqualified individuals who want
(10:50):
to make Michigan home alignswell with our strategic plan.
And selfishly, as a bureau thatemploys over 100 skilled
tradespeople, improving theskilled trades pipeline in the
state also benefits us from anemployer perspective.
And we were particularlyexcited the governor even
mentioned this reciprocity inher state of the state address.
So we know we're aligned withthe executive needs as well.
And the other idea is a littlemore subtle, but I think it'll
(11:11):
have a substantial impact.
It's encouraging the use ofplain language in all of our
content used by applicants andlicensees, including on
applications and through exams.
When we're using laws, rules,and codes as our guides, it's
often easy to get caught up inthe legalese or the technical
jargon.
And some of it's required incertain contexts, but where it
is This isn't essential.
We're leveraging tools toanalyze the language we use to
(11:31):
ensure it's easily understood byall users.
It's a simple concept, but wethink it'll have a tremendous
impact.
Anastasha Osborn (11:39):
Now, you mentioned being aligned
executively, and my nextquestion is going to be, how do
the BCC recommendations alignwith what you're hearing from
licensees day to day?
Andrew Brisbo (11:51):
So the survey we sent to our licensees and other
stakeholders really helpedreinforce and provide some color
to the ideas that have beenbubbling up from time to time in
different contexts.
So we try to engage with ourstakeholders regularly.
And so some of these thingswere things we'd heard before,
but seeing that survey andseeing the results really helped
us understand and provide somedetails around some of these
ideas.
We've routinely heard concernsabout the demand for skilled
(12:14):
tradespeople around the stateand that the demand exceeds the
supply in general.
So providing stakeholders withthe opportunity to be a part of
the development of thesesolutions has been very
fruitful.
From identifying ways tostreamline licensing processes
to aligning the scope ofpractice in certain trades to
the practical realities of theindustry today, the input from
those engaged in the trades hasbeen critical as part of that
(12:34):
process.
Anastasha Osborn (12:37):
Amy, what types of feedback really stood
out the most from the surveyresults regarding BPL
specifically?
Amy Gumbrecht (12:45):
You know, the feedback that stood out the most
to me wasn't necessarily abouta specific topic.
Again, since we have so manydifferent professions, it's hard
to talk about just one topicbecause there's so much
variation.
But just the amount of timethat people took to share their
thoughts.
I think when you publish asurvey like this, there's always
(13:05):
some question of, well, peopleactually going to fill it out.
If they fill it out, what isthat response going to be like?
Is it going to be like, Yes, Ithink things are fine or no,
things are terrible, but not,you know, a lot of other detail
to that.
So I was very pleased to seejust the amount of time and
(13:25):
nuance that people put intotheir responses, you know,
paragraphs of people saying, youknow, here's a change you
should make, and here's why, andhere's how it impacts me.
And those types of commentswere just very helpful as we
worked on this project, havingthat context for, we're doing
things this way currently, buthere's why this professional
(13:47):
thinks that maybe we could makethis slight change just to make
things a little easier onpeople.
So that was a really nice thingto see.
Anastasha Osborn (13:55):
Were there any surprising patterns or
consistent concerns that emergedfrom BPL licensees?
Amy Gumbrecht (14:01):
Interesting to see throughout the survey
results, again, because we havesuch a breadth of professions
that we're dealing with for, youknow, those professions that
have continuing education orthose that don't.
So people, when I'm talkingabout continuing education, if
you aren't aware, most of ourprofessionals have continuing
education requirements that theyhave to complete.
(14:22):
And the goal of those is thatthey have to complete, you know,
a certain amount of hours eachyear to, you know, stay current
on their skills in their field,as well as learning new advances
in their fields as well.
So we have some professionsthat don't have CE.
Most of ours do have CE,continuing education.
There's a lot of variety ofprofessionals saying our hours
(14:47):
are too much.
You also had people saying it'stoo few.
We need more continuingeducation.
You had some professionalssaying we don't need continuing
education at all.
We had professionals saying,no, we don't have it currently,
but we should.
And here's why.
So that was very interesting.
The other thing I would say wasit was nice.
Obviously, we had I think mostof the responses to the survey
(15:10):
were for BPL.
It was interesting to see,because obviously we were
working internally on thisproject as well, seeing how many
of the comments we got kind ofaligned with some of the
recommendations that we weretalking about internally.
It was really nice to see thatthe things that we were talking
(15:31):
about on a weekly basis in ourmeetings during this project
were also very likely going tobe supported by our respondents.
Anastasha Osborn (15:41):
All right, Ben, what were some of the
standout suggestions or changesidentified for CSCL?
Ben Parker (15:46):
There were several standout ideas that I think were
presented to us.
I do want to mention that forour division, I'm sorry, for
CSCL, this report only impactedone of our professions, and
that's mortuary science.
So mortuary science is thestudy of funeral directing.
(16:07):
And within mortuary science, wehave individuals who are
licensed.
We license the establishment.
We license those who arestudying to be a future funeral
director.
And then we also license peoplewho hold a courtesy license in
this profession for oursurrounding states.
So this report really onlyimpacted one of our professions.
(16:31):
However, we're using a lot ofthe ideas in the rest of our
licenses as well.
Additionally, since this reportcame out, they've added two new
professions into theoccupational code that this
would have impacted, and that'sdeceased removal services and
deceased refrigerationfacilities.
(16:52):
CSCL, the licensing division,is kind of a downer.
We talk about death all thetime, unfortunately.
But one thing that really stoodout to me was that the
licensees, particularly inmortuary science, are very proud
of the fact that they arecompliant with laws and rules.
And they want bad actors withintheir profession to be held
(17:17):
accountable.
And they want to see thedisciplinary action process done
quickly.
So a little background.
All of our disciplinary actionsfor mortuary science run
through a board.
And that board only meets twotimes a year.
So sometimes the small issuescan take several months to get
resolved.
And so this is kind of where wewent with their idea of let's
(17:39):
make things quicker.
So we decided that we weregoing to implement a citation
program.
And so citations will now beissued to funeral homes or
funeral directors for obviousviolations that are found during
an inspection or during aninvestigation.
This was already in statute inArticle 5 of the Occupational
(17:59):
Code, but we have never utilizedthis option up until this
point.
So this comment kind of helpedpush us over this edge, and we
see that there's a desire fromthe industry to hold others
accountable.
We're also going to use thatfor our deceased removal
services and deceasedrefrigeration facilities.
Anastasha Osborn (18:20):
Are there any of the recommendations that were
in that report that CSCL hasalready implemented?
Ben Parker (18:27):
So we have implemented the citation
program.
As of June 9th, that is now anoption available to our
regulation agents.
Before we did that, we sent outnotifications to the licensees
and other stakeholders to letthem know of this program being
implemented.
(18:48):
Additionally, we've worked withthe Board of Examiners and
Mortuary Science to update therules that help guide the
funeral industry.
So those rules have beenupdated.
I think it was as of March 1st.
I'm sorry, May 1st.
May 1st, those have beenupdated.
We've also set up asubcommittee within the Board of
(19:11):
Examiners and Mortuary Science,and they're going to evaluate
the rules on a continual basis.
And then finally, we've startedto review the state
jurisprudence exam.
And so that's used for entryinto the mortuary science
profession.
But as a result of thecomments, that's also something
that we're looking into.
Anastasha Osborn (19:33):
Courtney, as we're kind of closing out, let's
talk about what's next.
And are there any timelines orphases that we should be aware
of with the cutting red tapereport?
Courtney Pendleton (19:42):
Absolutely.
So any of the recommendationsthat are in the report that are
focused on processes, thosethings that we control
internally here at LARA areeither being worked on right now
or some of them are alreadydone and we're really excited to
get them in the implementationphase.
For any of the rulerecommendations that are in
(20:04):
there, as far as the next steps,we are looking at some of those
changes already, working withthe respective boards, our
industry partners, and ourlicensees.
And for anyone who might beinterested in getting involved
in that process, we highlyencourage you to do so.
During the rural promulgationprocess, there's ample
opportunity for the public toget involved and we like it when
(20:26):
people are involved in thatprocess.
So that's one way if you'reinterested to get more involved.
And then we look forward toworking with the governor and
all of our legislative partnerson all of those statutory
recommendations that are inthere.
So we've got some really goodwork ahead of us.
Anastasha Osborn (20:42):
Can you write for our listeners where they can
maybe see updates in terms ofjust the report and where we are
and how things are kind ofmoving forward?
Courtney Pendleton (20:50):
So check our website, www.michigan.gov slash
LARA.
And then when you're there, youcan go to the Bureau section
and visit BCC, BPL, or CSCL.
They've all got links theredirectly to the report.
And then continue to check oursocial media sites because we'll
also be sharing updates on thereport.
(21:12):
through all of those platforms.
Anastasha Osborn (21:17):
Thank you so much to Courtney, Andrew, Amy,
and Ben for sharing your time,insight, and really the
important work happening acrossLARA to improve how we serve the
people and businesses ofMichigan.
If you're listening and you'recurious about what's in the full
cutting red tape report, we'veactually went ahead and dropped
the link in the show notes foryou.
So take a look, see how yourfeedback helped shape nearly 80
(21:39):
recommendations, and now watchthe move into action.
So again, thank you so much forlistening to the LARA Living
Room.
I'm Anastasha Osborn.
You're From our living room toyours.
See you next time.
Thank you.
Anastasha Osborn (00:19):
Welcome to a special episode of the LARA
Living Room.
Today, we're going to be takinga closer look at the Cutting
Red Tape Report.
And this was a really biginitiative from LARA that
focused really on reducingbarriers to licensure,
streamlining regulatoryprocesses, and truly just making
it easier for people to dobusiness and serve their
communities right here inMichigan.
This report is the result ofmonths of hard work and includes
(00:43):
nearly 80 recommendations,which were all shaped by
feedback from over 16,000licensees and stakeholder
partners across three of ourhighest volume bureaus.
So in this episode, what we'regoing to be talking about and
sharing is how the report cametogether, what we heard from the
public, and what changes we arealready making.
So you know the drill, fill upyour coffee, grab a seat, and
(01:06):
get cozy and comfortable becauseyou are now in the LARA Living
Room.
I'm joined today by fourincredible guests who were
deeply involved in shaping thiswork.
I'd really love to kick thingsoff by having each of you
introduce yourselves.
Just go ahead and share yourname, your role, and just a
quick overview of the work thatyou do.
And let's go ahead and startwith you, Courtney.
Courtney Pendleton (01:26):
Well, thank you for having me here today.
I think we're all excited totalk about the LARA Cutting Red
Tape.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Courtney Pendleton,and I have the honor of serving
as the Chief Operating Officerfor LARA.
My role consists of a lot ofdifferent things, and luckily,
no day ever looks like this.
(01:47):
the next.
And there's a lot of stuff thatgoes on in this department.
And I help just make sure thatit all keeps working.
I work directly with ourdirector, Dr.
Marlon Brown, with AdamSandoval, who is our chief legal
officer, and then all of thebureaus and agencies across the
department.
So I get to learn about all thefantastic stuff that we do
(02:10):
every single day to serve thepeople of Michigan.
Andrew Brisbo (02:13):
I'm Andrew Brisbo.
I am the director of the Bureauof Construction Codes in LARA,
or BCC as we call it.
I've been in state governmentfor about 20 years and with LARA
since 2008, and I've worked infive different bureaus and
agencies around LARA, so I'vebeen around for quite a while in
this department.
In BCC, we regulate skilledtrades throughout the state, and
that includes residentialbuilders, electricians,
(02:35):
plumbers, mechanicalcontractors, elevator
contractors, boiler installerrepairs, and we also regulate
ski areas, carnival amusementsafety, and manufactured housing
communities.
And we adopt codes and setstatewide standards for all of
these program areas, includingresidential and commercial
construction, elevators,boilers, ski lifts, carnival
amusement rides, andmanufactured housing
communities.
Amy Gumbrecht (02:57):
I'm Amy Gumbrecht.
I serve as the Bureau Directorfor the Bureau of Professional
Licensing here in LARA,otherwise known as BPL.
We have the honor of regulatingmost of the health professions
here in the state of Michigan.
That is 28 health professions,as well as 13 other professional
occupations.
Those include accountancy, realestate, cosmetology.
(03:17):
So if you have a licensedprofession, it's very likely
that you deal with BPL on asemi-regular basis.
We are lucky to have roughly185 staff people in in our
bureau that review and issuelicenses, complete inspections,
investigate complaints, initiateand track discipline.
So we are a very busy bureau.
Ben Parker (03:37):
All right.
Ben Parker.
I'm the licensing divisiondirector at the Corporation
Securities and CommercialLicensing Bureau.
The licensing division overseesthe licensing and regulation
under 13 different statutes.
The Bureau itself has adivision that handles all
corporations' documents for thestate of Michigan.
(03:59):
Over one million entities areformed in the state.
We have another division calledthe Securities Division,
Securities and Audit, and theyhandle some of the financial
licenses across the state aswell as doing audits on funeral
homes, cemeteries, and prepaidfuneral providers.
Unknown (04:20):
Okay.
Anastasha Osborn (04:21):
So I'm really looking forward to this
conversation.
I think it's really important.
After we put the report out, wereally didn't do much more than
just putting the report outthere so people knew what it was
about.
We sent out a press release.
We did our due diligence there,but I'm really excited to kind
of break this down a little bitfurther.
So I want to start at thebeginning just to understand
what really led to thisinitiative.
And so Courtney, I'm going tohave you just walk us through
(04:43):
what sparked the idea for theCutting Red Tape Report.
Courtney Pendleton (04:47):
So this all started with our strategic plan
for the department and reallydigging into our key goals.
And we have four of them,reducing barriers to licensure,
educating before we regulate,providing efficient, effective,
and timely services, andenhancing the customer's
experience.
So as we looked at these keygoals, We threw around a bunch
(05:11):
of different ideas on how do weachieve these goals?
How do we make sure that we'reliving and breathing our
mission, vision, and values forthe department and really making
sure that we're doing all ofour work to the best of our
abilities?
And one of the ideas that wehad was to do a deep dive into
(05:31):
the professions that we licenseand regulate.
And that's what sparked thisidea.
We wanted to look at, do wehave any rules regulations
processes that might be obsoletethat might be out of date and
maybe there's new trends in thatparticular industry that we
(05:52):
need to take into considerationand then also our internal
processes are there better waysthat we can protect people and
promote business And so to kickthis work off, we decided to
start with three differentstatutes that we work within
across the department.
So the Michigan Public HealthCode, the Michigan Occupational
(06:13):
Code, and the Skilled TradesRegulation Act.
And focusing on those threestatutes alone meant that we
were focusing on about 50different professions that we
license and regulate.
And that led us to work withthe three bureaus that we did on
this project, the LARA Bureauof Construction Codes that we
call BC Bureau of ProfessionalLicensing that we call BPL and
(06:38):
Corporation Security andCommercial Licensing that we
call CSCL.
Anastasha Osborn (06:42):
I wanted to ask you, there was back in 2023,
Governor Whitmer had released aletter and it was a call for us
to do this work.
Can you tell the listeners justa little bit about that letter
and then how that shaped ourapproach here at LARA to do this
report itself?
Courtney Pendleton (07:01):
Thank you so much.
What that did was allow us toreally take this even further,
(07:36):
knowing that we had thegovernor's support, not only
because it tied directly intothe key goals that I mentioned
in our strategic plan, but alsobecause it played into the
governor's priorities, one ofthose being to cut red tape and
ensure that we are streamlininggovernment processes and
services.
Anastasha Osborn (07:56):
Why was it important for LARA to take a
proactive role in reducinglicensure barriers?
Courtney Pendleton (08:02):
Thank you so much.
can help them be successful inthat profession.
(08:36):
It also allows us to make surethat we are upholding our
mission of protecting people andpromoting business.
So we like to take a proactiverole in reducing barriers.
Anastasha Osborn (08:47):
Now for this report, LARA surveyed over
16,000 licensees and that's ahuge number.
So kind of walk me through whatdid that process look like, not
just across the department, butmore specifically just those
three bureaus?
Courtney Pendleton (09:02):
I love that we got so many responses to that
survey.
We kept seeing the numbersclimb, which was really
incredible.
And so what that process lookedlike for us, first, I want to
say thank you to everyone whosubmitted a response, all our
licensees and our industrypartners for sharing their
(09:24):
opinions and their ideas forreducing barriers to licensure.
And we took that veryseriously.
So the process for us was thatwe went through all 16,488
responses that we received.
We read every single one ofthem and we were then able to
(09:45):
take all of that information andbuild it into the almost 80
recommendations that you seewithin that final report.
And so the three bureaus, BCC,BPL, and CSCL that were involved
in this project broke all ofthose survey responses down
based on the the profession thatit was impacting and built that
(10:06):
in.
And so again, thank you toeveryone who provided responses.
It was amazing and I think whatwe got out of that was
absolutely incredible and willhelp reduce those barriers to
licensure.
Anastasha Osborn (10:23):
Andrea, can you share one or two highlights
from the Bureau of ConstructionCode's recommendations?
Andrew Brisbo (10:28):
Sure.
The expansion of licensingthrough reciprocity is one
particularly exciting ideastemming from this project.
We solicited feedback fromstakeholders in all our program
areas, and this idea proved tobe a common thread across all
the trades.
Promoting skilled trades acrossthe state has been a key goal
in my time with BCC, soproviding opportunities to ease
the licensing process forqualified individuals who want
(10:50):
to make Michigan home alignswell with our strategic plan.
And selfishly, as a bureau thatemploys over 100 skilled
tradespeople, improving theskilled trades pipeline in the
state also benefits us from anemployer perspective.
And we were particularlyexcited the governor even
mentioned this reciprocity inher state of the state address.
So we know we're aligned withthe executive needs as well.
And the other idea is a littlemore subtle, but I think it'll
(11:11):
have a substantial impact.
It's encouraging the use ofplain language in all of our
content used by applicants andlicensees, including on
applications and through exams.
When we're using laws, rules,and codes as our guides, it's
often easy to get caught up inthe legalese or the technical
jargon.
And some of it's required incertain contexts, but where it
is This isn't essential.
We're leveraging tools toanalyze the language we use to
(11:31):
ensure it's easily understood byall users.
It's a simple concept, but wethink it'll have a tremendous
impact.
Anastasha Osborn (11:39):
Now, you mentioned being aligned
executively, and my nextquestion is going to be, how do
the BCC recommendations alignwith what you're hearing from
licensees day to day?
Andrew Brisbo (11:51):
So the survey we sent to our licensees and other
stakeholders really helpedreinforce and provide some color
to the ideas that have beenbubbling up from time to time in
different contexts.
So we try to engage with ourstakeholders regularly.
And so some of these thingswere things we'd heard before,
but seeing that survey andseeing the results really helped
us understand and provide somedetails around some of these
ideas.
We've routinely heard concernsabout the demand for skilled
(12:14):
tradespeople around the stateand that the demand exceeds the
supply in general.
So providing stakeholders withthe opportunity to be a part of
the development of thesesolutions has been very
fruitful.
From identifying ways tostreamline licensing processes
to aligning the scope ofpractice in certain trades to
the practical realities of theindustry today, the input from
those engaged in the trades hasbeen critical as part of that
(12:34):
process.
Anastasha Osborn (12:37):
Amy, what types of feedback really stood
out the most from the surveyresults regarding BPL
specifically?
Amy Gumbrecht (12:45):
You know, the feedback that stood out the most
to me wasn't necessarily abouta specific topic.
Again, since we have so manydifferent professions, it's hard
to talk about just one topicbecause there's so much
variation.
But just the amount of timethat people took to share their
thoughts.
I think when you publish asurvey like this, there's always
(13:05):
some question of, well, peopleactually going to fill it out.
If they fill it out, what isthat response going to be like?
Is it going to be like, Yes, Ithink things are fine or no,
things are terrible, but not,you know, a lot of other detail
to that.
So I was very pleased to seejust the amount of time and
(13:25):
nuance that people put intotheir responses, you know,
paragraphs of people saying, youknow, here's a change you
should make, and here's why, andhere's how it impacts me.
And those types of commentswere just very helpful as we
worked on this project, havingthat context for, we're doing
things this way currently, buthere's why this professional
(13:47):
thinks that maybe we could makethis slight change just to make
things a little easier onpeople.
So that was a really nice thingto see.
Anastasha Osborn (13:55):
Were there any surprising patterns or
consistent concerns that emergedfrom BPL licensees?
Amy Gumbrecht (14:01):
Interesting to see throughout the survey
results, again, because we havesuch a breadth of professions
that we're dealing with for, youknow, those professions that
have continuing education orthose that don't.
So people, when I'm talkingabout continuing education, if
you aren't aware, most of ourprofessionals have continuing
education requirements that theyhave to complete.
(14:22):
And the goal of those is thatthey have to complete, you know,
a certain amount of hours eachyear to, you know, stay current
on their skills in their field,as well as learning new advances
in their fields as well.
So we have some professionsthat don't have CE.
Most of ours do have CE,continuing education.
There's a lot of variety ofprofessionals saying our hours
(14:47):
are too much.
You also had people saying it'stoo few.
We need more continuingeducation.
You had some professionalssaying we don't need continuing
education at all.
We had professionals saying,no, we don't have it currently,
but we should.
And here's why.
So that was very interesting.
The other thing I would say wasit was nice.
Obviously, we had I think mostof the responses to the survey
(15:10):
were for BPL.
It was interesting to see,because obviously we were
working internally on thisproject as well, seeing how many
of the comments we got kind ofaligned with some of the
recommendations that we weretalking about internally.
It was really nice to see thatthe things that we were talking
(15:31):
about on a weekly basis in ourmeetings during this project
were also very likely going tobe supported by our respondents.
Anastasha Osborn (15:41):
All right, Ben, what were some of the
standout suggestions or changesidentified for CSCL?
Ben Parker (15:46):
There were several standout ideas that I think were
presented to us.
I do want to mention that forour division, I'm sorry, for
CSCL, this report only impactedone of our professions, and
that's mortuary science.
So mortuary science is thestudy of funeral directing.
(16:07):
And within mortuary science, wehave individuals who are
licensed.
We license the establishment.
We license those who arestudying to be a future funeral
director.
And then we also license peoplewho hold a courtesy license in
this profession for oursurrounding states.
So this report really onlyimpacted one of our professions.
(16:31):
However, we're using a lot ofthe ideas in the rest of our
licenses as well.
Additionally, since this reportcame out, they've added two new
professions into theoccupational code that this
would have impacted, and that'sdeceased removal services and
deceased refrigerationfacilities.
(16:52):
CSCL, the licensing division,is kind of a downer.
We talk about death all thetime, unfortunately.
But one thing that really stoodout to me was that the
licensees, particularly inmortuary science, are very proud
of the fact that they arecompliant with laws and rules.
And they want bad actors withintheir profession to be held
(17:17):
accountable.
And they want to see thedisciplinary action process done
quickly.
So a little background.
All of our disciplinary actionsfor mortuary science run
through a board.
And that board only meets twotimes a year.
So sometimes the small issuescan take several months to get
resolved.
And so this is kind of where wewent with their idea of let's
(17:39):
make things quicker.
So we decided that we weregoing to implement a citation
program.
And so citations will now beissued to funeral homes or
funeral directors for obviousviolations that are found during
an inspection or during aninvestigation.
This was already in statute inArticle 5 of the Occupational
(17:59):
Code, but we have never utilizedthis option up until this
point.
So this comment kind of helpedpush us over this edge, and we
see that there's a desire fromthe industry to hold others
accountable.
We're also going to use thatfor our deceased removal
services and deceasedrefrigeration facilities.
Anastasha Osborn (18:20):
Are there any of the recommendations that were
in that report that CSCL hasalready implemented?
Ben Parker (18:27):
So we have implemented the citation
program.
As of June 9th, that is now anoption available to our
regulation agents.
Before we did that, we sent outnotifications to the licensees
and other stakeholders to letthem know of this program being
implemented.
(18:48):
Additionally, we've worked withthe Board of Examiners and
Mortuary Science to update therules that help guide the
funeral industry.
So those rules have beenupdated.
I think it was as of March 1st.
I'm sorry, May 1st.
May 1st, those have beenupdated.
We've also set up asubcommittee within the Board of
(19:11):
Examiners and Mortuary Science,and they're going to evaluate
the rules on a continual basis.
And then finally, we've startedto review the state
jurisprudence exam.
And so that's used for entryinto the mortuary science
profession.
But as a result of thecomments, that's also something
that we're looking into.
Anastasha Osborn (19:33):
Courtney, as we're kind of closing out, let's
talk about what's next.
And are there any timelines orphases that we should be aware
of with the cutting red tapereport?
Courtney Pendleton (19:42):
Absolutely.
So any of the recommendationsthat are in the report that are
focused on processes, thosethings that we control
internally here at LARA areeither being worked on right now
or some of them are alreadydone and we're really excited to
get them in the implementationphase.
For any of the rulerecommendations that are in
(20:04):
there, as far as the next steps,we are looking at some of those
changes already, working withthe respective boards, our
industry partners, and ourlicensees.
And for anyone who might beinterested in getting involved
in that process, we highlyencourage you to do so.
During the rural promulgationprocess, there's ample
opportunity for the public toget involved and we like it when
(20:26):
people are involved in thatprocess.
So that's one way if you'reinterested to get more involved.
And then we look forward toworking with the governor and
all of our legislative partnerson all of those statutory
recommendations that are inthere.
So we've got some really goodwork ahead of us.
Anastasha Osborn (20:42):
Can you write for our listeners where they can
maybe see updates in terms ofjust the report and where we are
and how things are kind ofmoving forward?
Courtney Pendleton (20:50):
So check our website, www.michigan.gov slash
LARA.
And then when you're there, youcan go to the Bureau section
and visit BCC, BPL, or CSCL.
They've all got links theredirectly to the report.
And then continue to check oursocial media sites because we'll
also be sharing updates on thereport.
(21:12):
through all of those platforms.
Anastasha Osborn (21:17):
Thank you so much to Courtney, Andrew, Amy,
and Ben for sharing your time,insight, and really the
important work happening acrossLARA to improve how we serve the
people and businesses ofMichigan.
If you're listening and you'recurious about what's in the full
cutting red tape report, we'veactually went ahead and dropped
the link in the show notes foryou.
So take a look, see how yourfeedback helped shape nearly 80
(21:39):
recommendations, and now watchthe move into action.
So again, thank you so much forlistening to the LARA Living
Room.
I'm Anastasha Osborn.
You're From our living room toyours.
See you next time.
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