The Senate gave final passage Wednesday night to a bill making it easier for people with criminal records to obtain professional licenses in their chosen careers.
鈥淢y opinion has always been that if you commit a crime in this state and you are sentenced and you serve your sentence to its completion, then I don鈥檛 believe you should be held to any higher account when it comes to occupational licensing,鈥� said Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott.
requires licensing agencies to consider three things when denying a person鈥檚 licensure based on a felony conviction: the nature of the conviction and its relationship to the individual鈥檚 ability to perform the associated duties of the job; information about the person鈥檚 rehabilitation; and the time passed since a person鈥檚 conviction or release from prison.
The bill passed 35-1 in the Senate, with Sen. Paul Cicarella, R-Wallingford, casting the only no vote. It was approved by the House on April 21 on a 138-9 vote. It now heads to Gov. Ned Lamont for signing.
The measure is a result of a to ease the burdens the formerly incarcerated face after they serve their sentences or complete their time in state supervision.
Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, co-chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee and co-chair of the council that has studied these issues since 2019, was the proponent of the bill. Kushner said the state has an obligation to address the challenges faced by people with criminal records when they try to re-enter the workforce.
鈥淚 learned that, in fact, there are over for persons who have been formerly incarcerated in our state laws and that many of those have expired,鈥� Kushner said. 鈥淚n the sense that they鈥檙e no longer relevant or valid, and they just make it harder for a person who鈥檚 been incarcerated to reenter and establish themselves.鈥�
Sampson said he understood why there would be concerns about the bill, but said people who serve their time should be able to 鈥渞eturn back into society鈥檚 good graces鈥�.
Cicarella said he couldn鈥檛 support the bill because he was worried people who committed dangerous, violent crimes would gain licensure in fields that would put them in a position to inflict further harm on vulnerable populations, like the elderly and children.
鈥淚 am a huge advocate for workforce development and second chances, and I was hoping to get some answers to the concerns that there was a way to protect the general public,鈥� Cicarella said.
Manuel Sandoval, a Smart Justice Leader with the ACLU of 黑料吃瓜网, said he respects Cicarella鈥檚 concerns but thinks it distracts from the overall benefits of the bill.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one hypothetical versus a million people that are gonna be able to get jobs now that wouldn鈥檛 have been able to get jobs otherwise,鈥� Sandoval said. 鈥淚f we can get employed, then we don鈥檛 have to be worrying about housing, we don鈥檛 have to worry about not getting good jobs.鈥�
Sandoval, who is hoping to become a licensed clinical social worker and is currently studying for the exam, said, thanks to this bill, those previously incarcerated, like he was, will be able to help people with similar life experiences.
鈥淚 will be able to help my community, which has been previously impacted, previously disenfranchised,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have a lived experience that people that have books don鈥檛. They can only read what I鈥檝e been through in books, where I can actually relate and lead with empathy and compassion鈥�.
