The race is on in 2018 to see which State can enact the most progressive new laws on restoration of rights. As in the past, Indiana is at the forefront of reform. On March 21, Governor Eric Holcomb signed into law HB 1245, which appears to be the most progressive and comprehensive scheme for regulation of occupational and professional licensure in the country. It applies not only to state licensing agencies, but also to units of county and municipal government that issue licenses, and requires that state agencies work with them to eliminate redundant and overlapping rules. Agencies must report to the legislature respecting their implementation of the new law by November 1, 2018.
Read moreCategory: New legislation
First crop of restoration laws enacted in 2018
In 2017, state legislatures produced a bumper crop of laws restoring rights and opportunities, with 24 separate states enacting new legal mechanisms to facilitate reentry and reintegration. Based on pending bills and laws already enacted this year, 2018 promises to be similarly productive. In March, the governors of Florida, Utah and Washington all signed into law new measures expanding their existing restoration schemes. Washington enacted a ban-the-box law applicable to both public and private employment, and both Florida and Utah expanded their laws authorizing expungement of non-conviction records. These new authorities are described in the post that follows, and can be seen in the context of related laws in the state profiles in the Restoration of Rights Project.
While none of these first enactments of 2018 is particularly remarkable standing alone, they deserve mention as harbingers of things to come. More than thirty additional states have restoration bills pending, and half a dozen of these are well along in the enactment process. We will be tracking restoration bills through the year, and will report periodically in this space – particularly when a significant new law is enacted. We also hope to produce in 2018 another annual report on Second Chance Laws enacted during the year, as resources permit.
Read moreCalifornia enacts sweeping fair employment law
On October 14, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 1008, the California Fair Chance Act, a bill we covered upon its passage in the legislature last month. The Act extends a new “ban-the-box” requirement to private as well as public employers, and makes failure to comply an “unlawful employment practice” subject to enforcement under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The new law also broadens FEHA enforcement to cover an employer’s consideration of certain criminal records in the hiring process. When the new law takes effect on January 1, 2018, California will become only the fourth state in the Nation to provide the full protections of its fair employment law to individuals with a criminal record. (New York, Wisconsin and Hawaii are the others.)
California poised for major change in fair employment law
The California legislature has approved, and sent to the governor’s desk for signature, a bill that would dramatically expand protections for people with a criminal record under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Currently FEHA bars only discrimination that has a racially disparate effect. If signed by the governor as expected, the new law will independently prohibit discrimination based on criminal record by most public and private employers, subject to FEHA’s administrative enforcement scheme. California will become only the fourth state in the country to extend the full protections of its fair employment law to individuals with a criminal record. (The others are New York, Wisconsin, and Hawaii). (more…)
Read moreNevada’s good sealing law gets better
In just over a month, an amendment to Nevada’s adult conviction sealing law will take effect, drastically reducing the waiting periods for all conviction types, and reducing procedural burdens on applicants. Nevada’s law is already one of the broadest in the country, permitting sealing of all adult conviction records except for those related to particularly serious offenses (including sex offenses and DUI homicides), and treating sealed convictions as if they never occurred for most purposes. When the new changes go into effect, Nevadans will not only be able to obtain relief much earlier, they will also enjoy a new presumption in favor of sealing if they meet all the statutory eligibility requirements.
In the same legislative session, Nevada also enacted a broad law governing nondiscrimination in public employment that includes both standards for decision and an enforcement mechanism. That law, which will take effect early next year, is described in greater detail in the Nevada profile from the Restoration of Rights Project.
Read moreRestoration of Firearm Rights After Conviction: A National Survey and Recommendations for Reform (Dec. 2025)
Positive Credentials That Limit Risk: A Report on Certificates of Relief (June 2024)
Advancing Second Chances: Clean Slate and Other Record Reforms in 2023 (Jan. 2024)
Accessing SNAP and TANF Benefits after a Drug Conviction: A Survey of State Laws (Dec. 2023)
The Many Roads from Reentry to Reintegration (March 2022)
