With support from OSAE, ASAE and the Professional Certification Coalition (PCC), associations are raising concerns about a bill in the Ohio Senate that calls for the government to set up its own voluntary certification programs in certain cases to compete with those administered by associations. Ohio Senate Bill 255 passed the Ohio Senate in June and has been introduced in the House but has not yet been referred to a committee.
The bill defines certification as “a voluntary program in which a private organization or the state grants nontransferable recognition to an individual who meets personal qualifications established by the private organization or state law.” The bill text goes on to state, “If regulations are intended to protect consumers against asymmetrical information between the seller and the buyer, the appropriate state action shall be to offer voluntary certification.”
After associations reached out to Ohio legislators, a co-sponsor of the bill indicated that the government may follow through on the language in the bill to set up voluntary certification programs that would compete with the associations, said Jim Clarke, CAE, ASAE’s senior vice president for public policy. ASAE is encouraging members to contact Ohio lawmakers regarding their concerns about potential state-run certification programs and their impact on credentials issued by private-sector organizations with subject matter expertise.
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