Viewpoint: Eliminating licensing barriers opens new pathways to economic opportunities
Amid growing labor shortages, once overlooked barriers to entry are finally getting their due. Today, one of the biggest obstacles to economic opportunity in Oklahoma is occupational licensing, which affects almost one-fifth of the state’s workforce. Worse, many licenses come with hefty requirements. On average, a license for lower- and middle-income occupations forces Oklahomans to complete nearly 400 days of training and experience, pay $234 in fees, and pass two exams.
Licensing laws are particularly daunting for people with criminal records, who face a dramatically higher unemployment rate. And without a steady paycheck from earning an honest living, the risk of recidivism soars. The growth in licensing, coupled with the fact that roughly one in three Americans has a criminal record of some sort, means that licensing boards have become a major gatekeeper to people with criminal records seeking a fresh start.
Fortunately, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a major reform bill (Senate Bill 1691) on Monday. According to a report by the Institute for Justice, Barred from Working, Oklahoma’s laws now rank as some of the nation’s best, and saw its grade jump from a C to an A-.
The new law bans boards from denying licenses based on an arrest that didn’t result in a conviction, protecting the rights of people who are functionally innocent. SB 1619 also prevents licensing agencies from using old crimes to disqualify applicants, setting a time limit of five years from the date of conviction or release from prison, whichever is later. However, boards will still be able to consider violent felonies or crimes that trigger sex offender registration, no matter how long ago those offenses occurred.
The new law further reins in licensing agencies by banning them from using vague and arbitrary criteria like “good character” or “moral turpitude,” terms that have long granted boards enormous discretion to disqualify applicants with criminal records. Moreover, SB 1619 will safeguard due process during the license application process by requiring boards to provide written notice and guarantee an appeal for denied licenses.
Critically, Oklahoma’s new law will require boards to report how many licenses they issue and deny to people with criminal records, which should provide valuable data in the years ahead. Consider Illinois and North Carolina, which both overhauled their licensing laws and enacted comprehensive reporting requirements. Since those reforms took effect, nearly 8,000 people with criminal records have been granted licenses that were previously off-limits. That figure includes hundreds of nurses who are now on the front-lines fighting the pandemic.
By eliminating licensing barriers, Oklahoma has opened up new pathways for economic opportunity.
Nick Sibilla is a legislative analyst at the Institute for Justice.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: New Oklahoma law expands opportunity for people with criminal records
