House Bill 1373 is among the slate of bills set to go into effect on November 1, 2019. It’s known as the Fresh Start program which allows for people with non-violent, non-sexual felonies on their record to apply for certain occupational licenses. The legislation was meant to compliment some of the criminal justice reform measures put into place.
Rep. Zack Taylor is the House author of HB 1373.
“This will give people that have made mistakes in their past a second chance at professional licensing,” Taylor said. “This doesn’t hide a person’s criminal record or require a business to hire them, but it does remove the barrier of restrictive licensing in many cases.”
HB 1373 requires licensing state agencies to explicitly list the specific criminal records which disqualify candidates from receiving a license. It also sets a five year limit on how long a non-violent offender can be disqualified from a license.
The hope is to reduce Oklahoma’s incarceration rate by opening more job opportunities.
