A license to wrangle gators in Florida?
Many occupational licenses are nothing more than a tax to start working and should be eliminated.
Above image was created with ChatGPT.
At the end of April, a licensed alligator wrangler in Florida made national news. Journalists seemed fascinated by this man’s work. The fact that he claimed to be licensed caught my eye and attention immediately.
Do you actually need a license to wrangle gators in the Sunshine state? Surprisingly, yes you do. For $50, submitting an online application, and successfully completing an interview (yes, you read that right) you are eligible for consideration to fill vacancies for a “Nuisance Alligator Trapper” in Florida (I’ll use “alligator wrangler” from here on out).
Licensed alligator wranglers are contractors for the state, but do not receive much in compensation. They can either keep the meat and hide from each nuisance alligator that they successfully trap, or they are eligible for a $30 stipend for each alligator harvested.
It is certainly tough to make a living as an alligator wrangler in Florida. Indeed, on the website for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission it is noted that:
Trappers may need to have additional employment. Being a contracted nuisance alligator trapper will not provide sufficient income to support an individual or family.
As comical as this example of licensing is, there are many more examples of jobs where aspiring workers must pay a fee to the state— with no additional competency requirements— to start working.
It is hard to justify how simply requiring aspiring workers to pay a fee to the state government to start working is justified on any grounds other than creating a barrier to enter and also raising revenue for the state. Essentially, these types of licensing are nothing more than a tax on working.
This is a modern throwback to most early colonial occupational licensing laws in the US. Recent published work by Robert Wright details these early licensing laws. Lottery brokers, grocers, and inspectors of salted fish were all subject to fees to begin legally working. Wright aptly labels this category of licenses as “revenue licenses.”
Licensing is often portrayed as a means of protecting the public. But to accomplish this guise of a goal there must be requirements that at least appear to be correlated with competence such as minimum levels of education and training or passing an exam.
Other than alligator wranglers in Florida, do we see other examples of revenue licenses today? Let’s review the License to Work report from the Institute for Justice. Here are a dozen examples of occupational licenses that are nothing more than revenue licenses for the state:
Animal breeder: licensed in 22 states; 18 of which require nothing more than paying a fee ranging from $10 (West Virginia) to $625 (Texas).
Animal trainer: licensed in 7 states; 3 of which require nothing more than paying a fee ranging from $5 (Maryland) to $88 (New York).
Auctioneer: licensed in 27 states and DC; 3 of which require nothing besides paying a fee from $52 (Missouri) to $155 (Hawaii).
Commercial carpenter/cabinet maker: licensed in 24 states and DC; 6 of which require nothing other than paying a fee from $50 (Idaho/Iowa) to $655 (DC).
Residential carpenter/cabinet maker: licensed in 29 states and DC; 11 of which require nothing other than paying a fee from $50 (4 states) to $442 (DC).
Commercial cement finishing contractor: licensed in 23 states and DC; 5 states requiring fees alone ranging from $50 (Idaho/Iowa) to $655 (DC).
Residential cement finishing contractor: licensed in 29 states and DC; 12 states requiring fees alone ranging from $50 (4 states) to $442 (DC).
Commercial door repair contractor: licensed in 23 states and DC; 5 states requiring fees alone ranging from $50 (Idaho/Iowa) to $655 (DC).
Residential door repair contractor: licensed in 28 states and DC; 11 states requiring fees alone ranging from $50 (4 states) to $442 (DC).
Commercial drywall installation contractor: licensed in 24 states and DC; 5 states requiring fees alone ranging from $50 (Idaho/Iowa) to $655 (DC).
Residential drywall installation contractor: licensed in 29 states and DC; 11 states requiring fees alone ranging from $50 (4 states) to $442 (DC).
Farm labor contractor: licensed in 10 states; 7 requiring fees alone ranging from $25 (Pennsylvania/Maryland) to $250 (Idaho/Nebraska).
And this is just a sample. There are many more.
It is also worthwhile to differentiate business licenses from occupational licenses. It is a subtle difference. Occupational licenses are for individual workers, business licenses are at the establishment level. Nearly all business licenses are examples of revenue licenses— involving nothing more than an establishment owner paying a fee to the government for the privilege of operating a business.
All examples of revenue licenses, including alligator wranglers in Florida, are low hanging fruit for reform. There is no public safety argument to be made—they are just an odd, but very costly way for the state to raise revenue. States should eliminate revenue licenses and make it less burdensome for individuals to start working.