Hidden among the many bizarre attempts this session by state lawmakers to push legislation that would do almost nothing to move West Virginia forward was an important piece of legislation that should actually do some good — the Universal Professional and Occupational Licensing Act.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey was right to quickly get his signature on the measure, which will allow those moving to the Mountain State to easily transfer their occupational licenses. It mandates that professional boards grant licenses to those who have been licensed in other states for at least a year, under certain circumstances.

“It’s my priority to make sure that West Virginia is the most attractive place to live, work and play and the best place to raise a family,” Morrisey said. “Part of that means reducing bureaucracy and red tape for those who are already here or for those who want to move to West Virginia and contribute to our economy.”

Of course, those licensees must have been in good standing in their previous states, and meet other requirements (including paying state fees), but removal of this red tape should help those planning to make the move to West Virginia speed up their transition.

It truly gets government out of the way and serves as one of Morrisey’s integral pieces in his economic backyard brawl with our neighboring states.

“This is going to ensure that nurses, doctors, contractors, realtors, skilled workers licensed in other states … can move to West Virginia, and you can get to work right away,” Morrisey said.

Wonderful.

The question now, with the session in its final day (the 2025 regular session ends as the clock strikes midnight Sunday morning, April 13), is whether state lawmakers can do more in the coming months to put West Virginia on a brighter path toward prosperity. That didn’t happen over the past 59 days, as lawmakers instead focused on weakening vaccine requirements and tackling a handful of social issues. The licensing bill, in fact, is one of the key pieces of legislation to move this session. That says much particularly since it’s a bill that everyone should be in agreement upon.

The positive momentum built up over the past few years took a hit this session. Lawmakers need to get together and assess what went wrong — and then pledge, moving forward, to work for a better and brighter West Virginia.