Sen. Emil Jones, III

Filed: 3/22/2022

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5575

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5575 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize Barriers Task
6Force Act.
 
7    Section 5. Declaration of public policy.
8    (a) The State finds that persons from historically and
9economically disadvantaged groups have been directly and
10indirectly excluded from opportunity and shared prosperity and
11that it is in the public policy interest of the State to foster
12an environment where all people, particularly those
13equity-focused populations subjected to arbitrary barriers,
14have the freedom to create their own path to success and
15self-actualization.
16    (b) The State also finds that the freedom and access to

 

 

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1opportunities needed to achieve one's highest potential
2through a lawful occupation is critically important to the
3well-being of people in the State, and that the right to pursue
4a lawful occupation is a fundamental right of all people.
5    (c) Therefore, it is in the public policy interest of the
6State to minimize and remove unnecessary, arbitrary, and
7ineffective barriers to employment and economic prosperity
8that disproportionately exclude persons from historically and
9economically disadvantaged groups.
10    (d) The General Assembly finds that occupational licensing
11procedures and programs can unintentionally erect costly
12barriers to employment for low-income persons, persons who
13identify as black, indigenous, and people of color, formerly
14convicted or incarcerated persons, women, and other
15historically and economically disadvantaged populations.
16    (e) It is in the public policy interest of the State to
17ensure that costly, unnecessary personal qualification
18requirements or procedures in current occupational licensing
19policies are minimized or removed in order to expand equitable
20access to employment opportunities for persons in historically
21and economically disadvantaged populations.
 
22    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
23    "Department" means the Department of Financial and
24Professional Regulation.
25    "Low-income and middle-income licensed occupations" means

 

 

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1any licensed occupation regulated by the Department where the
2average annual income of those employed in the occupation in
3this State is equal to or less than the median annual income
4for residents of this State as determined by the 2020 United
5States Census.
6    "Task Force" means the Comprehensive Licensing Information
7to Minimize Barriers Task Force.
 
8    Section 15. Task Force.
9    (a) The Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize
10Barriers Task Force is hereby created within the Department of
11Financial and Professional Regulation.
12    (b) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act,
13the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint the
14chairperson of the Task Force and the President of the Senate
15shall appoint the vice-chairperson.
16    (c) Within 90 days after the appointment of the
17chairperson and vice-chairperson, the chairperson and
18vice-chairperson of the Task Force shall unanimously appoint
19the following members of the Task Force:
20        (1) one representative from a nonprofit organization
21    that focuses on workforce development;
22        (2) one representative from a nonprofit organization
23    that focuses on reintegrating citizens returning from a
24    period of incarceration;
25        (3) one member of the public that works in a

 

 

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1    low-income or middle-income licensed occupation and holds
2    an active license in good standing who has faced barriers
3    to employment through licensure, who may be recommended by
4    the member described in paragraph (1);
5        (4) one member of the public that works in a
6    low-income or middle-income licensed occupation and holds
7    an active license in good standing who has faced barriers
8    to employment through licensure specifically due to a
9    period of incarceration, who may be recommended by the
10    member described in paragraph (2);
11        (5) one member who holds an advanced degree and is an
12    expert in the field of licensing, workforce development,
13    or labor economics and is currently either a member of the
14    faculty at an accredited college or university in this
15    State or conducting related research through a research
16    institute affiliated with an accredited college or
17    university in this State; and
18        (6) one member who holds an advanced degree and is an
19    expert in the field of public health and safety regulation
20    and is currently either a member of the faculty at an
21    accredited college or university in this State or
22    conducting related research through a research institute
23    affiliated with an accredited college or university in
24    this State.
25    (d) Within 90 days after the appointment of the
26chairperson and vice-chairperson, the following members shall

 

 

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1be appointed to the Task Force:
2        (1) the Secretary of Financial and Professional
3    Regulation, or the Secretary's appointed designee;
4        (2) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
5    House of Representatives; and
6        (3) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
7    Senate.
8    (e) Members of the Task Force shall serve without
9compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses
10incurred in the performance of their duties from funds
11appropriated for that purpose.
12    (f) The Department shall provide administrative support to
13the Task Force.
14    (g) Within 60 days after the final selection and
15appointment of the members of the Task Force, the chairperson
16shall convene the first meeting of the Task Force.
17    (h) Meetings of the Task Force shall be held monthly, with
18at least 30 days between the previous meeting and the upcoming
19meeting. Meetings shall be posted publicly.
 
20    Section 20. Report.
21    (a) The Task Force shall conduct an analysis of
22occupational licensing, including, but not limited to,
23processes, procedures, and statutory requirements for
24licensure administered by the Department. The findings of this
25analysis shall be delivered to the General Assembly, the

 

 

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1Office of Management and Budget, the Department, and the
2public in the form of a final report. For the purpose of
3ensuring that historically and economically disadvantaged
4populations are centered in this analysis, the Task Force
5shall identify low-income and middle-income licensed
6occupations in this State and aggregate the information from
7those occupations under the occupations' respective regulatory
8board overseen by the Department to form the basis of the
9report.
10    (b) The report shall contain, to the extent available,
11information collected from sources including, but not limited
12to, the Department, department licensure boards, other State
13boards, relevant departments, or other bodies of the State,
14and supplementary data including, but not limited to, census
15statistics, federal reporting, or published research as
16follows:
17        (1) the number of license applications submitted
18    compared with the number of licenses issued;
19        (2) data concerning the reason why licenses were
20    denied or revoked and a ranking of the most common reasons
21    for denial or revocation;
22        (3) an analysis of the information required of license
23    applicants by the Department compared with the information
24    that the Department is required by statute to verify, to
25    ascertain if applicants are required to submit superfluous
26    information;

 

 

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1        (4) demographic information for the last 5 years of
2    (i) active license holders, (ii) license holders who were
3    disciplined in that period, (iii) license holders whose
4    licenses were revoked in that period, and (iv) license
5    applicants who were not issued licenses;
6        (5) data aggregated from the last 5 years of monthly
7    enforcement reports, including a ranking of the most
8    common reasons for public discipline;
9        (6) the cost of licensure to the individual,
10    including, but not limited to, the fees for initial
11    licensure and renewal, the average cost of training and
12    testing required for initial licensure, and the average
13    cost of meeting continuing education requirements for
14    license renewal;
15        (7) the locations within this State of each program or
16    school that provides the required training and testing
17    needed to obtain or renew a license, and whether the
18    required training and testing can be fulfilled online;
19        (8) the languages in which the required training or
20    testing is offered;
21        (9) the acceptance rates, graduation rates, and
22    dropout rates of the training facilities that provide
23    required training;
24        (10) the percentage of students at each school that
25    offers required training who financed the required
26    training through student loans; and

 

 

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1        (11) the average annual salary of those in the
2    occupation.
3    (c) The final report shall also contain a general
4description of the steps taken by the Task Force to fulfill the
5report criteria and shall include in an appendix of the report
6any results of the Task Force's analysis in the form of graphs,
7charts, or other data visualizations. The Task Force shall
8also exercise due care in the reporting of this information to
9protect sensitive information of personal or proprietary value
10or information that would risk the security of residents of
11this State.
12    (d) The Task Force shall publish the final report by
13December 1, 2023 with recommendations to the General Assembly,
14including recommendations for continued required reporting
15from the Department to better support the General Assembly in
16revoking, modifying, or creating new licensing Acts.
 
17    Section 90. Repeal. This Act is repealed December 1, 2024.
 
18    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19becoming law.".