Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H420 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 378 FILED ON: 1/8/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 420
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf and Steven Ultrino
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to increasing professional licensure opportunities.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf17th Worcester1/8/2025Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex2/11/2025 1 of 7
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 378 FILED ON: 1/8/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 420
18	18	By Representatives LeBoeuf of Worcester and Ultrino of Malden, a petition (accompanied by
19	19	bill, House, No. 420) of David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf and Steven Ultrino for legislation to
20	20	further regulate professional and occupational licensing. Consumer Protection and Professional
21	21	Licensure.
22	22	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
23	23	SEE HOUSE, NO. 4602 OF 2023-2024.]
24	24	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
25	25	_______________
26	26	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
27	27	(2025-2026)
28	28	_______________
29	29	An Act relative to increasing professional licensure opportunities.
30	30	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
31	31	of the same, as follows:
32	32	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is
33	33	2hereby amended by striking out section 172N, and inserting in place thereof the following 2
34	34	3sections:-
35	35	4 Section 172N. (a) For the purposes of this section and section 172N 1/2, “licensing
36	36	5authority” shall include any agency, examining board, credentialing board or other office or
37	37	6commission, including boards supervised by the commissioner of occupational licensure, with
38	38	7the authority to impose occupational fees or licensing requirements on a profession. 2 of 7
39	39	8 (b) A licensing authority shall provide individualized consideration of an applicant’s
40	40	9circumstances as described in subsections (d) and (e) to deny, diminish, suspend, revoke,
41	41	10withhold or otherwise limit a professional or occupational license.
42	42	11 (c) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a licensing authority shall
43	43	12not consider, nor require an applicant to disclose:
44	44	13 (1) a deferred adjudication, including but not limited to a continuance without a finding,
45	45	14participation in a diversion program or an arrest not followed by a conviction;
46	46	15 (2) a conviction for which no sentence of incarceration may be imposed;
47	47	16 (3) a conviction that has been sealed, annulled, dismissed, vacated, set aside, expunged or
48	48	17pardoned;
49	49	18 (4) a juvenile adjudication;
50	50	19 (5) a non-violent misdemeanor;
51	51	20 (6) a conviction that occurred more than 3 years prior to the date of the licensing
52	52	21authority’s consideration or where the applicant’s incarceration ended more than 3 years before
53	53	22the date of the licensing authority’s consideration, except for a conviction of:
54	54	23 (i) a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 2 and a half years, or any
55	55	24act of juvenile delinquency involving the use or possession of a deadly weapon that would be
56	56	25punishable by imprisonment for such term if committed by an adult, that (A) has as an element
57	57	26involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force or a deadly weapon against
58	58	27the person of another; (B) is burglary, extortion, arson or kidnapping; (C) involves the use of 3 of 7
59	59	28explosives; or (D) resulted in death, bodily injury, or serious bodily injury with malice
60	60	29aforethought;
61	61	30 (ii) a felony related to a sex offense, a sex offense involving a child or a sexually violent
62	62	31offense as defined in section 178C; or
63	63	32 (iii) a felony related to criminal fraud pursuant to section 1 of chapter 267 or
64	64	33embezzlement pursuant to chapter 266.
65	65	34 (d) A licensing authority may deny, diminish, suspend, revoke, withhold or otherwise
66	66	35limit a professional or occupational license only if the licensing authority determines, by clear
67	67	36and convincing evidence, that:
68	68	37 (1) First, an applicant’s non-excluded criminal record directly relates to the duties and
69	69	38responsibilities of the profession or occupation.
70	70	39 (2) Second, if an applicant’s non-excluded criminal record is directly related to the duties
71	71	40and responsibilities of the profession or occupation, the licensing authority must then determine
72	72	41if the interest of the licensing authority in protecting the public, an individual or property from
73	73	42harm outweighs the applicant’s right to hold the professional or occupational license.
74	74	43 (3) Third, if the licensing authority determines that the interest in protecting the public, an
75	75	44individual or property from harm outweighs the applicant’s right to hold the professional or
76	76	45occupational license, then the licensing authority shall determine if the applicant has failed to be
77	77	46rehabilitated.
78	78	47 (e) If the applicant’s criminal record is directly related to the performance, duties,
79	79	48responsibilities, practices or functions of the profession, the licensing authority shall consider the 4 of 7
80	80	49following factors, in a light most favorable to the applicant, to demonstrate evidence of
81	81	50rehabilitation:
82	82	51 (1) the age of the applicant at the time of the offense;
83	83	52 (2) the length of time since the offense;
84	84	53 (3) the completion of a criminal sentence, not including financial obligations;
85	85	54 (4) a certificate of rehabilitation, restoration of rights or good conduct;
86	86	55 (5) completion of, or active participation in, rehabilitative drug or alcohol treatment or
87	87	56similar programs;
88	88	57 (6) testimonials and recommendations, including, but not limited to, progress reports
89	89	58from the applicant’s probation or parole officer;
90	90	59 (7) education and training;
91	91	60 (8) employment history;
92	92	61 (9) the applicant’s responsibilities, including civic and community engagement or family
93	93	62contributions;
94	94	63 (10) whether the applicant will be bonded in the occupation; and
95	95	64 (11) other evidence of rehabilitation or information that the applicant submitted to the
96	96	65licensing authority, including mitigating circumstances.
97	97	66 (f)(1) The licensing authority shall issue and send a decision to the applicant on the
98	98	67petition not later than 60 days after the licensing authority receives the petition or, if a hearing is 5 of 7
99	99	68held, not later than 90 days after the licensing authority receives the petition. The decision shall
100	100	69be made in writing and include a copy of any criminal record report that the licensing authority
101	101	70reviewed. If the licensing authority determines that an occupational or professional license
102	102	71should not be granted because of the criminal conviction of an applicant, the decision shall set
103	103	72forth the reasons for the determination which shall address each of the factors in subsection (e)
104	104	73that the licensing authority deemed relevant to the determination.
105	105	74 (2) If the licensing authority decides that the professional or occupational license should
106	106	75not be granted, the licensing authority may provide an alternative advisory opinion, in which the
107	107	76licensing authority may advise the applicant of actions the applicant may take to remedy the
108	108	77disqualification.
109	109	78 (3) If advised by the licensing authority of remedial actions, the applicant may submit a
110	110	79revised petition reflecting completion of the remedial actions before a deadline set by the
111	111	80licensing authority in the alternative advisory decision.
112	112	81 (g) The applicant may appeal the licensing authority’s decision as provided in section
113	113	82176.
114	114	83 (h) An ambiguity in a professional or occupational regulation relating to a licensing
115	115	84authority’s use of an applicant’s criminal record shall be resolved in the favor of the applicant.
116	116	85 (i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to change a licensing authority’s ability to
117	117	86enforce other conditions of professional and occupational licenses, including the personal
118	118	87qualifications required to obtain recognition or compliance with other regulations. 6 of 7
119	119	88 Section 172N ½. (a) At least once every three years, a licensing authority shall review
120	120	89and issue a report on their license application review and approval processes to ensure that those
121	121	90decisions promote economic opportunities while fostering public safety in a manner consistent
122	122	91with the stated objectives of applicable statutes.
123	123	92 In so reviewing, each licensing authority shall report to the division of occupational
124	124	93licensure, or the department under which the licensing authority sits:
125	125	94 (1) the number of times that each licensing authority acted to deny, diminish, suspend,
126	126	95revoke, withhold or otherwise limit state recognition for a license because of an individual’s
127	127	96criminal record;
128	128	97 (2) the criminal convictions that were the subject of each licensing authority action;
129	129	98 (3) the number of applicants petitioning each licensing authority;
130	130	99 (4) the criminal convictions that were the subject of each approval or denial of a petition;
131	131	100and
132	132	101 (5) other relevant data as determined by the division of occupational licensure or the
133	133	102department under which the licensing authority sits.
134	134	103 (b) The division of occupational licensure or department governing the licensing
135	135	104authority shall compile and publish a report on a searchable public website summarizing data
136	136	105reported.
137	137	106 SECTION 2. There shall be a special commission on background record requirements
138	138	107and good moral character for occupational licensure consisting of 11 members: the commissioner
139	139	108of occupational licensure or a designee, who shall serve as chair; the commissioner of public 7 of 7
140	140	109health, or a designee; the executive director of the Massachusetts office of victim assistance, or a
141	141	110designee; and 8 members to be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a representative of
142	142	111the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Council, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the
143	143	112Massachusetts Building Trades Council, 1 of whom shall be a representative of a local chamber
144	144	113of commerce, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the NAACP New England Area
145	145	114Conference, 1 of whom shall be a representative of a registered Massachusetts affiliate of the
146	146	115National Urban League, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the YWCA’s of
147	147	116Massachusetts, Inc., and 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Greater Boston Legal
148	148	117Services, Inc..
149	149	118 The commission shall: (a) advise the division of occupational licensure and licensing
150	150	119authorities, as defined in section 172N of chapter 6 of the General Laws, to provide
151	151	120recommendations for background record requirements for each professional and occupational
152	152	121license granted within the commonwealth; and (b) report on the use and any necessity of, or the
153	153	122elimination or modification of vague terms contained in the General Laws, including but not
154	154	123limited to chapters 112 and 151B, relative to licensing or employment decision making,
155	155	124including: (i) “good moral character”; (ii) “moral turpitude”; or (iii) “character and fitness”.
156	156	125 Background record requirements developed by the commission shall not be designed to
157	157	126eliminate certain licenses, nor to develop or recommend that the division of occupational
158	158	127licensure or other licensing authority create new licenses or additional professional requirements
159	159	128for licensure. The commission shall report its findings, including any recommended further
160	160	129legislative action, to the offices of the House and Senate Clerks and to the Joint Committee on
161	161	130Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure not later than 6 months.