South Carolina Advisory Committee

Occupational Licensing and Civil Rights

The South Carolina Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Committee) seeks to examine occupational licensing with a focus on: (a) the necessity and proportionality of training, testing, and fee requirements; (b) an analysis of discrimination, if any, based on race, color, age, disability, or other federally protected category; (c) the impacts of burdensome or unevenly applied licensing regulations on workers, consumers, and small businesses; and (d) relevant recommendations and areas for improvement.

As part of this study, the Committee will hold a series of virtual public briefings, each with specific focus areas, to hear testimony from subject matter experts, community leaders, and impacted individuals.

Agendas and other public records for each briefing will be uploaded as they become available at the link below:

Written testimony relevant to these briefings may be submitted at the link below:

If you are interested in providing public comment during a briefing, you can sign-up at the link below until Noon the day before each briefing:

Briefing I

Thursday, July 30, 2026

12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Zoom Registration: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_TH8tPmMeRtKEd_nrt2iVgA

To join by phone: 1-833-435-1820, Meeting ID: 165 355 0223#

Panel Presentations:

Timothy Sandefur, Vice President for Legal Affairs, Goldwater Institute

Daniel Greenberg, Senior Legal Fellow, Cato Institute

Dr. Erica Von Nessen, Research Economist, South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW)

Briefing II

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Zoom Registration: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_gMU_DDVVRcOJV0x5KdO9rg

To join by phone: 1-833-435-1820, Meeting ID: 165 143 6764#

Panel Presentations:

Meagan Forbes, Director of Legislation & Senior Legislative Counsel, Institute for Justice

Morris Kleiner, Ph.D., Professor of Social Policy, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

Kihwan Bae, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics and Research Fellow at the Knee Regulatory Research Center, West Virginia University

Conor Norris, Teaching Assistant Professor at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics and Research Analyst at the Knee Regulatory Research Center, West Virginia University

Briefing III

Friday, August 14, 2026

12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Zoom Registration: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_P9S6EP4kS1SBOnASnHEK5Q

To join by phone: 1-833-435-1820, Meeting ID: 165 849 0914#

Panel Presentations:

Debbra Alvarado, Director of Programs and Network Engagement and Andrew Skinner, Director of Public Relations and Development at Hispanic Alliance

Closed captioning is available through Zoom by selecting "CC" in the meeting platform. Individuals requiring accommodations should contact Corrine Sanders at csanders@usccr.gov at least 10 business days prior to the meeting.

A public comment period is held near the end of each briefing, allowing members of the public to provide oral comments for up to two minutes on the topic. Written testimony will also be accepted — members of the public may submit written testimony through the online form linked above to be considered by the Committee.

Please note that the Committee is advisory in nature and does not have enforcement authority. As such, the Committee is unable to investigate or resolve individual civil rights complaints.

For questions, please contact:

Victoria Moreno, Designated Federal Officer

vmoreno@usccr.gov

For those interested in following the Commission's work, please click on the "Stay Connected" button below.