Bipartisan legislation introduced to allow more chances for employment

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Earlier today, House Bill 87 was introduced into the Florida House of Representatives. Sponsored by Kevin Chambliss, D-Homestead, and Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, this bipartisan bill would change the occupational licensing process in Florida to allow people more chances for employment when they are released from prison.  
 
It revises the amount of time that a conviction for a crime is grounds for denying license for someone to do a job while removing a provision requiring “good moral character” for licensure in some professions. It also requires that education programs offered to incarcerated people in prison count as training requirements for licensure in some professions. 
 
The following is a statement from Carrie Boyd, policy director for the SPLC Action Fund.  
 
“If someone works to rehabilitate themselves while incarcerated, it makes no sense to prohibit them from getting a good paying job by denying them the occupational license they need to get started on their new path forward. People can’t work in professions like construction and electrical trades due to the current restrictions, and if you deny someone the ability to work and earn a good wage, they’re more likely to return to crime and eventually end up back in prison.”