✅ Alliance Support

Click here to read The Alliance’s testimony on the bill.

This bill limits the circumstances under which various agencies, boards, and commissions that issue occupational licenses (including certificates and permits) may deny, revoke or suspend the license of a practitioner because the practitioner was found guilty or convicted of a felony. It only allows them to do so if the decision is based on (1) the nature of the conviction and its relationship to the practitioner’s ability to perform the occupation’s duties or responsibilities safely or competently, (2) information about the practitioner’s degree of rehabilitation, and (3) the time passed since the conviction or release.

The bill also creates a process for individuals who were convicted of a crime to find out whether their conviction would disqualify them from practicing these occupations. To do so, they generally must provide information about the conviction to the relevant licensing entity, which must respond within 30 days.

For certain occupations, the bill also prohibits the relevant licensing entities from taking certain disciplinary actions summarily (immediately) upon learning that a practitioner was found guilty or convicted of a felony. The law generally authorizes the Department of Health (DPH) to deny an occupational permit or license for an applicant who has been found guilty or convicted of a felony (in Connecticut, under federal law, or in any other jurisdiction if it would have been a felony in Connecticut). Under current law, however, DPH cannot do this for barbers, hairdressers, or cosmeticians. The bill broadens this exception to also cover licenses for embalmers and funeral directors.