Two Southern states enact impressive occupational licensing reforms
The 2019 legislative session saw two Southern states enact impressive new laws limiting the ability of occupational licensing boards to exclude qualified applicants based on their criminal record. North Carolina and Mississippi each passed strong new substantive and procedural licensing rules, and both of the new laws show the influence of the Model Law developed by the Institute for Justice. Both states have now eliminated vague “good moral character” criteria, and extended procedural protections that should make it substantially harder for boards to deny licenses based on criminal history.
As a result of these bills, both states now prohibit disqualification from licensure unless a crime is “directly related” to the license involved, both require written reasons in the event of denial, and both provide for a preliminary determination as to whether an individual will be favorably considered. In North Carolina’s case, this “predetermination” is binding on the board when the applicant later applies. North Carolina’s new law also requires licensing boards to report annually to the legislature on their consideration of applications from people with a criminal record.
In 2019, the following additional states have enacted new restrictions on the occupational licensing process: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. All told, in the past eight months 14 states have enacted 18 laws regulating occupational licensing in one form or another, with Texas accounting for five of the 18. These new laws are described in the relevant state profiles of the RRP, and they will be discussed in greater detail in our year-end report. They will also be incorporated into the updating of our general survey of U.S. relief and restoration mechanisms (“Forgiving and Forgetting in American Justice”), which is now underway.