HB5575sam001 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Emil Jones, III

Filed: 3/22/2022

10200HB5575sam001 LRB102 23484 AMQ 37675 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5575

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5575 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize Barriers Task Force Act.

Section 5. Declaration of public policy.

(a) The State finds that persons from historically and economically disadvantaged groups have been directly and indirectly excluded from opportunity and shared prosperity and that it is in the public policy interest of the State to foster an environment where all people, particularly those equity-focused populations subjected to arbitrary barriers, have the freedom to create their own path to success and self-actualization.

(b) The State also finds that the freedom and access to opportunities needed to achieve one's highest potential through a lawful occupation is critically important to the well-being of people in the State, and that the right to pursue a lawful occupation is a fundamental right of all people.

(c) Therefore, it is in the public policy interest of the State to minimize and remove unnecessary, arbitrary, and ineffective barriers to employment and economic prosperity that disproportionately exclude persons from historically and economically disadvantaged groups.

(d) The General Assembly finds that occupational licensing procedures and programs can unintentionally erect costly barriers to employment for low-income persons, persons who identify as black, indigenous, and people of color, formerly convicted or incarcerated persons, women, and other historically and economically disadvantaged populations.

(e) It is in the public policy interest of the State to ensure that costly, unnecessary personal qualification requirements or procedures in current occupational licensing policies are minimized or removed in order to expand equitable access to employment opportunities for persons in historically and economically disadvantaged populations.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Department" means the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

"Low-income and middle-income licensed occupations" means any licensed occupation regulated by the Department where the average annual income of those employed in the occupation in this State is equal to or less than the median annual income for residents of this State as determined by the 2020 United States Census.

"Task Force" means the Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize Barriers Task Force.

Section 15. Task Force.

(a) The Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize Barriers Task Force is hereby created within the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

(b) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint the chairperson of the Task Force and the President of the Senate shall appoint the vice-chairperson.

(c) Within 90 days after the appointment of the chairperson and vice-chairperson, the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Task Force shall unanimously appoint the following members of the Task Force:

(1) one representative from a nonprofit organization that focuses on workforce development;

(2) one representative from a nonprofit organization that focuses on reintegrating citizens returning from a period of incarceration;

(3) one member of the public that works in a low-income or middle-income licensed occupation and holds an active license in good standing who has faced barriers to employment through licensure, who may be recommended by the member described in paragraph (1);

(4) one member of the public that works in a low-income or middle-income licensed occupation and holds an active license in good standing who has faced barriers to employment through licensure specifically due to a period of incarceration, who may be recommended by the member described in paragraph (2);

(5) one member who holds an advanced degree and is an expert in the field of licensing, workforce development, or labor economics and is currently either a member of the faculty at an accredited college or university in this State or conducting related research through a research institute affiliated with an accredited college or university in this State; and

(6) one member who holds an advanced degree and is an expert in the field of public health and safety regulation and is currently either a member of the faculty at an accredited college or university in this State or conducting related research through a research institute affiliated with an accredited college or university in this State.

(d) Within 90 days after the appointment of the chairperson and vice-chairperson, the following members shall be appointed to the Task Force:

(1) the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation, or the Secretary's appointed designee;

(2) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; and

(3) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

(e) Members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties from funds appropriated for that purpose.

(f) The Department shall provide administrative support to the Task Force.

(g) Within 60 days after the final selection and appointment of the members of the Task Force, the chairperson shall convene the first meeting of the Task Force.

(h) Meetings of the Task Force shall be held monthly, with at least 30 days between the previous meeting and the upcoming meeting. Meetings shall be posted publicly.

Section 20. Report.

(a) The Task Force shall conduct an analysis of occupational licensing, including, but not limited to, processes, procedures, and statutory requirements for licensure administered by the Department. The findings of this analysis shall be delivered to the General Assembly, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department, and the public in the form of a final report. For the purpose of ensuring that historically and economically disadvantaged populations are centered in this analysis, the Task Force shall identify low-income and middle-income licensed occupations in this State and aggregate the information from those occupations under the occupations' respective regulatory board overseen by the Department to form the basis of the report.

(b) The report shall contain, to the extent available, information collected from sources including, but not limited to, the Department, department licensure boards, other State boards, relevant departments, or other bodies of the State, and supplementary data including, but not limited to, census statistics, federal reporting, or published research as follows:

(1) the number of license applications submitted compared with the number of licenses issued;

(2) data concerning the reason why licenses were denied or revoked and a ranking of the most common reasons for denial or revocation;

(3) an analysis of the information required of license applicants by the Department compared with the information that the Department is required by statute to verify, to ascertain if applicants are required to submit superfluous information;

(4) demographic information for the last 5 years of (i) active license holders, (ii) license holders who were disciplined in that period, (iii) license holders whose licenses were revoked in that period, and (iv) license applicants who were not issued licenses;

(5) data aggregated from the last 5 years of monthly enforcement reports, including a ranking of the most common reasons for public discipline;

(6) the cost of licensure to the individual, including, but not limited to, the fees for initial licensure and renewal, the average cost of training and testing required for initial licensure, and the average cost of meeting continuing education requirements for license renewal;

(7) the locations within this State of each program or school that provides the required training and testing needed to obtain or renew a license, and whether the required training and testing can be fulfilled online;

(8) the languages in which the required training or testing is offered;

(9) the acceptance rates, graduation rates, and dropout rates of the training facilities that provide required training;

(10) the percentage of students at each school that offers required training who financed the required training through student loans; and

(11) the average annual salary of those in the occupation.

(c) The final report shall also contain a general description of the steps taken by the Task Force to fulfill the report criteria and shall include in an appendix of the report any results of the Task Force's analysis in the form of graphs, charts, or other data visualizations. The Task Force shall also exercise due care in the reporting of this information to protect sensitive information of personal or proprietary value or information that would risk the security of residents of this State.

(d) The Task Force shall publish the final report by December 1, 2023 with recommendations to the General Assembly, including recommendations for continued required reporting from the Department to better support the General Assembly in revoking, modifying, or creating new licensing Acts.

Section 90. Repeal. This Act is repealed December 1, 2024.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".