Reform Brings Hope
In 2019, Arizona passed the Breaking Down Barriers to Work Act, a groundbreaking new universal licensing recognition bill that required in-state occupational licensing boards to honor any out-of-state license that met a few basic requirements. This law meant that people moving to Arizona from other states no longer had to go through the licensing process again just to use their training and experience in their careers, often saving them hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars.
This law—the first of its kind in the nation—was designed and backed by the Goldwater Institute, the state’s preeminent pro-freedom advocacy organization and an Atlas Network partner. The Goldwater Institute stands up for professionals when occupational licensing restrictions—like the ones Carol fought—are used by industry lobbyists to prevent new competition from entering the market. The Breaking Down Barriers to Work Act helped ensure that Americans can move and work more freely by limiting the power of anti-competitive licensing boards, usually made up of existing businesses and their lobbyists.
Goldwater Institute’s Vice President of Legal Affairs Timothy Sandefur said economic liberties are central to the organization’s work. “It’s something that matters a lot to me because it’s a really neglected part of [the law],” he continued. “There aren’t that many people who speak up for the right to earn a living, the right to start a small business, the right to own and use private property.”
Unfortunately, when Carol applied for her license under the new law, the Arizona Board of Psychology Examiners (BPE) refused to grant it to her. Incensed that Carol had supported a law that even slightly reduced their power, the board invented reasons to oppose her at every turn. Before the ordeal was over, they would even go so far as to disregard a letter directly from the governor explaining they were violating the law by denying Carol’s application.
But Carol didn’t have to face down the board alone; the Goldwater Institute’s litigation team had her back.
Taking the Bureaucrats to Court
Supporting Dr. Gandolfo’s case made perfect sense.
“We really are truly privileged to be able to step in in those cases where there’s a vacuum and nobody else would be able to fight back for individual liberty,” said Jon Riches, Goldwater Institute’s vice president of litigation.
The BPE’s pretexts couldn’t have been thinner. First, it denied Carol’s application to become credentialed in Arizona because she was not a new Arizona resident and because she had earned her doctoral degree from a state-accredited, rather than a regionally accredited, university. Under the law neither of these facts disqualified her. The BPE continued to deny her application, however, in open defiance of the law.
After the Goldwater Institute stepped in to appeal the board’s decision, the BPE ceased challenging Carol’s credentials and issued her a license to practice. They weren’t finished harassing her though, and soon opened a new investigation alleging that her volunteer work with firefighters had amounted to practicing psychology without a license.
It hadn’t, of course, but that didn’t matter to the board.
Goldwater Institute continued to defend Carol in court, knowing that allowing the BPE to win would not only be a miscarriage of justice but would create a precedent of allowing occupational licensing boards to trample on Arizona workers’ rights. Goldwater Institute kept up the pressure until the board finally relented, admitting that Carol had done nothing wrong.