Senate Bill 1302 (2022) — Criminal history information
SB 1302
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1302 By Senator Burgess 20-00625A-22 20221302__ Page 1 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to criminal history information; 2 amending s. 455.213, F.S.; prohibiting an applicable 3 board from inquiring into, or considering the 4 conviction history of, an applicant for licensure 5 until it is determined that the applicant is otherwise 6 qualified; revising professions for licensure 7 eligibility; removing a provision relating to 8 licensure of other professions offered to certain 9 inmates under certain circumstances; prohibiting the 10 use of a conviction, or other adjudication, for a 11 crime before the date an application is received as 12 being grounds for denial of a license; authorizing an 13 applicable board to consider an applicant’s criminal 14 history that includes certain crimes only if such 15 criminal history directly relates to the practice of 16 the applicable profession; prohibiting the use, 17 distribution, and dissemination of specified criminal 18 records; removing a provision authorizing an 19 applicable board to consider an applicant’s criminal 20 history if the history has been found to relate to 21 good moral character; prohibiting the applicable board 22 from denying an application for license of a person 23 based solely or in part on a prior felony conviction; 24 providing an exception; providing requirements for 25 determining if such felony conviction directly relates 26 to the practice of the applicable profession; 27 providing requirements if the applicable board intends 28 to deny an application for license based solely or in 29
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1302 20-00625A-22 20221302__ Page 2 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. part on the applicant’s prior felony conviction; 30 amending s. 943.059, F.S.; providing requirements for 31 court-ordered sealing of certain records that were 32 automatically sealed by the Department of Law 33 Enforcement under specified provisions; providing an 34 effective date. 35 36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37 38
Section 1. Present paragraphs (
b) through (
e) of subsection 39 (3) of
section 455.213, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 40 paragraphs (
c) through (f), respectively, a new paragraph (b) 41 and paragraph (
g) are added to that subsection, and paragraph 42 (
a) and present paragraph (
b) of that subsection are amended, to 43 read: 44 455.213 General licensing provisions.— 45 (3)(
a) Notwithstanding any other law, the applicable board 46 shall use the process in this subsection for review of an 47 applicant’s criminal record to determine his or her eligibil ity 48 for licensure. as: 49 (
b) The applicable board may not inquire into, or consider 50 the conviction history of, an applicant for licensure until the 51 applicant is determined to be otherwise qualified for licensure. 52 1. A barber under
chapter 476; 53 2. A cosmetologist or cosmetology specialist under
chapter 54 477; 55 3. Any of the following construction professions under 56
chapter 489: 57 a. Air-conditioning contractor; 58
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1302 20-00625A-22 20221302__ Page 3 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. b. Electrical contractor; 59 c. Mechanical contractor; 60 d. Plumbing contractor; 61 e. Pollutant storage systems contractor; 62 f. Roofing contractor; 63 g. Sheet metal contractor; 64 h. Solar contractor; 65 i. Swimming pool and spa contractor; 66 j. Underground utility and excavation contractor; or 67 k. Other specialty contractors; or 68 4.
Any other profession for which the department issues a 69 license, provided the profession is offered to inmates in any 70 correctional institution or correctional facility as vocational 71 training or through an industry certification program . 72 (c)(b)1. A conviction, or any other adjudication, for a 73 crime more than 5 years before the date the application is 74 received by the applicable board may not be grounds for denial 75 of a license specified in paragraph (a).
For purposes of this 76 paragraph, the term “conviction” means a determination of guilt 77 that is the result of a plea or trial, regardless of whether 78 adjudication is withheld. This subparagraph paragraph does not 79 limit the applicable board from considering an applicant’s 80 criminal history that includes a crime listed in s. 81 775.21(4)(a)1. or s. 776.08 at any time, but only if such 82 criminal history has been found to directly relate to the 83 practice of the applicable profession. 84 2.
Notwithstanding subparagraph 1., the following criminal 85 history may not be used, distributed, or disseminated by the 86 state, its agents, or political subdivisions in connection with 87
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1302 20-00625A-22 20221302__ Page 4 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. an application for licensure: 88 a. An arrest without a valid conviction. 89 b. Convictions that have been sealed, dismissed, or 90 expunged. 91 c. Misdemeanor convictions without incarceration. 92 d. Noncriminal infractions. 93 2. The applicable board may consider the criminal history 94 of an applicant for licensure under subparagraph (a)3. if such 95 criminal history has been found to relate to good moral 96 character. 97 (
g) The applicable board may not deny an application for a 98 license solely or in part on the basis of an applicant’s prior 99 felony conviction unless the conviction directly relates to the 100 practice of the applicable profession for which the license is 101 sought or held. 102 1. In determining if a felony conviction directly relates 103 to the practice of the applicable profession for which the 104 license is sought or held, the applicable board shall consider: 105 a. The nature and seriousness of the conviction. 106 b.
Whether the conviction directly relates to the practice 107 of the applicable profession for which the license is sought or 108 held. 109 c. Whether the duties and responsibilities of the 110 profession provide the opportunity for the same or a similar 111 offense to occur. 112 d. Whether circumstances leading to the offense for which 113 the person was convicted will recur in the profession. 114 e. The age of the person at the time the felony was 115 committed. 116
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1302 20-00625A-22 20221302__ Page 5 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. f. The length of time since the conviction. 117 g. All circumstances relative to the felony, including 118 mitigating circumstances or social conditions surrounding the 119 commission of the felony. 120 h. Evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation and the 121 applicant’s current ability to practice the profession 122 competently in accordance with the actual practice of the 123 profession. 124 2.
If the applicable board intends to deny an applica tion 125 for a license solely or in part on the basis of the applicant’s 126 prior felony conviction, the board must notify the applicant in 127 writing of all of the following before making a final decision: 128 a. Identify the reasons for the potential denial. 129 b. Provide a copy of any criminal history record. 130 c. Provide examples of evidence of mitigation or 131 rehabilitation and the current ability to practice the 132 profession competently in accordance with the actual practice of 133 the profession which the applicant may voluntarily provide. 134 (
I) An applicant who has been convicted of an offense that 135 directly relates to the practice of the applicable profession 136 for which a license is sought may not be denied the license if 137 he or she can show evidence of mitigation or rehabilitatio n and 138 the current ability to practice the profession competently in 139 accordance with the actual practice of the profession. 140 (II) The applicant shall have 10 business days after 141 issuance of the notice to respond with any information, 142 including challenging the accuracy of the information and 143 submitting evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation and his or 144 her current ability to practice the profession competently in 145
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1302 20-00625A-22 20221302__ Page 6 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. accordance with the actual practice of the profession. 146 (III) Evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation and the 147 applicant’s current ability to practice the profession 148 competently in accordance with the actual practice of the 149 profession may be established by: 150 (
A) Proof of compliance with the terms and conditions of 151 probation or parole; or 152 (
B) Other evidence, including, but not limited to, letters 153 of reference or program or education certificates. 154 (IV) If an applicable board denies an application for a 155 license solely or in part on the basis of the applicant’s prior 156 felony conviction, the applicable board must notify the 157 applicant in writing of all of the following: 158 (
A) Final denial. 159 (
B) Appeal process. 160 (
C) Eligibility for other licenses or professions. 161 (
D) Earliest date the applicant may reapply for a license. 162
Section 2. Present paragraph (
b) of subsection (2) of 163
section 943.059, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph 164 (c), and paragraph (
f) is added to subsection (1) and a new 165 paragraph (
b) is added to subsection (2) of that section, to 166 read: 167 943.059 Court-ordered sealing of criminal history records.— 168
(1) ELIGIBILITY.—A person is eligible to petition a court 169 to seal a criminal history record when: 170 (
f) Notwithstanding paragraphs (
b) and (e), if a criminal 171 history record has been automatically sealed pursuant to s. 172 943.0595 and the subject of the sealed record presents a record 173 of the sealing by the department described in paragraph (2)(b) 174
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1302 20-00625A-22 20221302__ Page 7 of 7 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. to the court, the court shall grant the sealing of the criminal 175 history record. 176
(2) CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY.—Before petitioning the 177 court to seal a criminal history record, a person seeking to 178 seal a criminal history record must apply to the department for 179 a certificate of eligibility for sealing. The department shall 180 adopt rules relating to the application for and issuance of 181 certificates of eligibility for sealing. 182 (
b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the department shall 183 also issue a certificate of eligibility for sealing to a person 184 who is the subject of a criminal history record that has been 185 sealed by the department pursuant to s. 943.0595. This 186 certificate must indicate that the record has been sealed by the 187 department and is only valid for court-ordered sealing under 188 paragraph (1)(
f) of a record already sealed pursuant to s. 189 943.0595. 190