Rep. Parker Moore, R-Hartselle, stands on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 25, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Moore sponsored to make it easier for people with criminal records to get an occupational license(Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved a bill that would make it easier for people convicted of a crime to obtain a license or job certification from an occupational licensing board.
HB 238, sponsored by Rep. Parker Moore, R-Hartselle, allows people to apply for a petition of limited relief to a court that, and if granted, presumes that the person has been rehabilitated and prohibits an occupational licensing board from automatically disqualifying the individual from receiving a license.
“Currently, we are the sixth fastest growing state in the country, and workforce development is one area we are working on addressing issues with,” Moore told the House Judiciary Committee during its Wednesday meeting. “HB 238 will help to assist with some of those issues.”
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The Alabama House is expected to take up the measure on Tuesday.
In many cases, a criminal conviction creates barriers for people entering society, from finding housing or a job to voting.
The order for limited relief would presume that the individual who was incarcerated has changed their behavior to the point that they should be eligible to receive an occupational license, even if current regulations prohibit it.
The bill excludes registered sex offenders from obtaining the order of limited relief. Granting the order is left to the discretion of a judge, based on factors including the nature of the offense and any parole and pardon records.
An applicant may appeal to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals if a judge denies a request for an order of limited relief.
Once the judge issues the order for limited relief, the applicant is presumed to have completed rehabilitation and may then apply to obtain an occupational license after meeting all the other requirements.
The legislation prohibits occupational licensing boards from disqualifying an applicant if, “a criminal conviction that is not directly related to the duties and responsibilities of the profession or occupation for which the license is required.”
The section also applies to people who have been pardoned or whose records are sealed, as well as barring people based on their lack of ‘“good moral character’ or failure to adhere to any similarly vague or generic standard.”
HB 238 also allows the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles to issue certificates of employability for people that board members believe qualify, which then limits the liability of employers who offer a job to people who have been paroled or served time in custody.
Cam Ward, director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, supports the legislation and was part of the effort to get the measure filed with the Legislature.
“My problem is that many of them have rules that say, ‘you can’t get a license for any reason if you have a conviction of any kind,’ it doesn’t matter what it was,” Ward said in an interview in January. “If you have a conviction as a child molester, you shouldn’t get a license to be a day care provider, I get that. And that is what you should do. But to say that you can’t be a plumber, carpenter or electrician solely because you stole something at one time, I think that should be up to the company and not a bureaucratic board.”
Ward considers occupational licensing a critical factor to apply for and obtain employment, which helps reduce recidivism. Ward has made reducing the state’s recidivism rate, currently at 30%, by half during the next several years as part of his Reentry 2030 plan.
Rep. Jerry Starnes, R-Prattville, was the only person on the committee to vote against the bill.
“The reason is that it is expanding the authority of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, and it is taking away the authority of the licensing boards that have professionals in each field,” he said. “I just think we are dictating to these boards what they have to do.”
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