Hidden among the many bizarre attempts this session by state lawmakers to damage and control West Virginians 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.

“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 is whether state lawmakers can restrain themselves in the little time they’ve got left this session and avoid doing any more damage to reasonable people’s desire to want to move to (or stay in) West Virginia to live, work, play and raise their families.