New AB-2138 Licensing Reform Helps 8 million Californians Starting July 1, 2020
· · ·
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., June 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — California is enacting major licensing reform July 1, 2020 that will make it easier for 8 million residents with criminal records to obtain professional licenses from any of 37 licensing agencies within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
It is estimated that 30 percent of all California jobs require licensure, certification, or clearance from a DCA oversight board or agency. DCA boards have licensing authority over approximately 1,773 different occupations, ranging from medical doctors, nurses and pharmacists to accountants, architects, contractors, engineers, auto mechanics and hair stylists.
“Assembly Bill 2138 was passed to reduce barriers to obtaining occupational licenses, reduce recidivism to support criminal justice reform and to provide more economic opportunity for the almost 1 in 3 adults in California with a criminal record,” says Tsion Chudnovsky, the founder of Chudnovsky Law, a California criminal defense and professional license law firm.
Chudnovsky Law has published a guide explaining AB-2138 and it’s effect on licensure and the general public at: /professional-license-criminal-conviction/.
“It is important to spread awareness of the new AB-2138 reforms as they are expected to have substantial positive effects for society and contribute to solving the criminal justice crisis facing the nation is right now. The United States incarcerates its citizens more than any other nation in the world. With only 5% of the world’s population, the United States has around 25% of its incarcerated population,” says Chudnovsky.
Some of the Assembly Bill 2138 reforms effective July 1, 2020 include:
- Restricts the discretion of DCA boards in using prior criminal history as grounds for denying a license.
- Most criminal convictions older than seven years may not be the basis for licensure denial.
- A criminal conviction must be “substantially related” to the qualifications or duties required by the license or profession in order to be a basis to deny, revoke, or suspend a license.
- Licensing boards may no longer deny licensure due to a conviction if it was expunged, dismissed, pardoned or if the applicant made a showing of rehabilitation for a felony conviction.
- Licensing boards may no longer require that applicants self-disclose prior convictions unless the license type does not require fingerprint background checks.
- Licensing boards must now track and publicly report licensure denial and appeal data.
About Chudnovsky Law
Chudnovsky Law is an award-winning California criminal defense and professional license defense law firm. The firm’s three senior attorneys, Tsion Chudnovsky, Robert K. Weinberg and Suzanne Crouts have a combined 65+ years experience practicing law. Chudnovsky Law is an authority in the complex intersection of criminal and professional licensing law. The firm represents all types of professional licensees, including: medical, nursing, dental and pharmacy licensees and health care corporations.
You can find Chudnovsky Law on Google at: https://g.page/Chudnovsky-Law-Orange-County
Contact:
Tsion Chudnovsky
Chudnovsky Law – Criminal & DUI Lawyers
23 Corporate Plaza Dr Suite 150
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 750-2500
SOURCE Chudnovsky Law