ENROLLED
Page 1 of 2
Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 97
BY REPRESENTATIVE SMITH
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON1
To commend the Louisiana Department of State Civil Service, under the leadership of the2
State Civil Service Commission and the director of state civil service, Shannon3
Templet, for performing extensive research and examination of the needs of state4
agencies relative to consideration of criminal history information in the context of5
hiring procedures and for beginning the process of removing questions about6
criminal history from its initial application form for certain positions.7
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana incarcerates a large number of people, most of8
whom will eventually return to their communities; and9
WHEREAS, according to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and10
Corrections, division of corrections services, approximately fifteen thousand state offenders11
are released each year from Louisiana prisons; and12
WHEREAS, these people are expected to return to their communities and be law-13
abiding, productive citizens; and14
WHEREAS, unfortunately, nearly half of the persons released from prison in15
Louisiana will return to prison within five years; and16
WHEREAS, getting and keeping a job is crucial to reducing the risk of recidivism;17
and18
WHEREAS, while Louisiana has developed and implemented programs and services19
to better prepare offenders to return to their communities, including job skills training and20
educational programs about how to find a job, more needs to be done; and21
WHEREAS, ten states and more than fifty cities and counties have taken initiatives,22
widely known as "ban the box", that typically involve removing questions about criminal23
history from the initial job application and delaying the criminal background check until24
later in the hiring process; and25 ENROLLEDHCR NO. 97
Page 2 of 2
WHEREAS, moving the consideration of criminal history until later in the hiring1
process does not prohibit the employer from considering this information in deciding2
whether to actually hire a person, it simply allows the prospective employee an opportunity3
to discuss the information, which could be incorrect or incomplete, in the context of the4
position; and5
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Department of State Civil Service has performed6
extensive research and examination of the needs of state agencies relative to the7
consideration of criminal history information in the context of hiring procedures and has8
begun the process of removing questions about criminal history from its initial application9
form for certain positions.10
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby11
commend the Louisiana Department of State Civil Service, under the leadership of the State12
Civil Service Commission and the director of state civil service, Shannon Templet, for13
performing extensive research and examination of the needs of state agencies relative to14
consideration of criminal history information in the context of hiring procedures and for15
beginning the process of removing questions about criminal history from its initial16
application form for certain positions.17
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE