Latest news with #HB238
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama bill would make it easier for people with criminal records to get occupational licenses
Rep. Parker Moore, R-Hartselle, stands on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 25, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Moore sponsored to make it easier for people with criminal records to get an occupational license(Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved a bill that would make it easier for people convicted of a crime to obtain a license or job certification from an occupational licensing board. HB 238, sponsored by Rep. Parker Moore, R-Hartselle, allows people to apply for a petition of limited relief to a court that, and if granted, presumes that the person has been rehabilitated and prohibits an occupational licensing board from automatically disqualifying the individual from receiving a license. 'Currently, we are the sixth fastest growing state in the country, and workforce development is one area we are working on addressing issues with,' Moore told the House Judiciary Committee during its Wednesday meeting. 'HB 238 will help to assist with some of those issues.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Alabama House is expected to take up the measure on Tuesday. In many cases, a criminal conviction creates barriers for people entering society, from finding housing or a job to voting. The order for limited relief would presume that the individual who was incarcerated has changed their behavior to the point that they should be eligible to receive an occupational license, even if current regulations prohibit it. The bill excludes registered sex offenders from obtaining the order of limited relief. Granting the order is left to the discretion of a judge, based on factors including the nature of the offense and any parole and pardon records. An applicant may appeal to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals if a judge denies a request for an order of limited relief. Once the judge issues the order for limited relief, the applicant is presumed to have completed rehabilitation and may then apply to obtain an occupational license after meeting all the other requirements. The legislation prohibits occupational licensing boards from disqualifying an applicant if, 'a criminal conviction that is not directly related to the duties and responsibilities of the profession or occupation for which the license is required.' The section also applies to people who have been pardoned or whose records are sealed, as well as barring people based on their lack of ''good moral character' or failure to adhere to any similarly vague or generic standard.' HB 238 also allows the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles to issue certificates of employability for people that board members believe qualify, which then limits the liability of employers who offer a job to people who have been paroled or served time in custody. Cam Ward, director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, supports the legislation and was part of the effort to get the measure filed with the Legislature. 'My problem is that many of them have rules that say, 'you can't get a license for any reason if you have a conviction of any kind,' it doesn't matter what it was,' Ward said in an interview in January. 'If you have a conviction as a child molester, you shouldn't get a license to be a day care provider, I get that. And that is what you should do. But to say that you can't be a plumber, carpenter or electrician solely because you stole something at one time, I think that should be up to the company and not a bureaucratic board.' Ward considers occupational licensing a critical factor to apply for and obtain employment, which helps reduce recidivism. Ward has made reducing the state's recidivism rate, currently at 30%, by half during the next several years as part of his Reentry 2030 plan. Rep. Jerry Starnes, R-Prattville, was the only person on the committee to vote against the bill. 'The reason is that it is expanding the authority of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, and it is taking away the authority of the licensing boards that have professionals in each field,' he said. 'I just think we are dictating to these boards what they have to do.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Boston Globe
14-02-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Right-to-work bill killed by Republican-controlled New Hampshire House
Advertisement The legislation, which would have outlawed collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join or contribute to a labor union, was backed by Americans for Prosperity, a deep-pocketed conservative political advocacy group with ties to the billionaire Koch brothers. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up In response to Thursday's vote, Greg Moore, the regional director for AFP in New Hampshire, released a statement saying the group will deploy its resources and activists to ' This isn't the first time such legislation has met its demise in the New Hampshire House, but proponents were more optimistic about their chances this year after Republicans strengthened their trifecta last fall, with larger legislative majorities. But 25 Republicans joined a unified Democratic bloc in the House to reject HB 238 with a 200-180 vote — and it seems some of them did so at least partly because they support President Trump and his agenda. Republican Representative Stephen Pearson of Derry told colleagues the AFP is ' 'It is a failed concept of a bygone era pushed by an organization whose influence and relevance is rapidly disappearing,' Pearson said. 'It is time for New Hampshire to look forward, solve actual problems the voters care about, and end this pointless attack on working families.' Advertisement Had this bill passed, it would have been warmly received by Republican Governor Kelly A. Ayotte, who favors right-to-work legislation. Regardless of this bill's fate, Ayotte told The Boston Globe in an interview Thursday she believes the state is well-positioned for business. 'I'm still very bullish for New Hampshire's opportunity for employment here,' she said. This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Steven Porter can be reached at
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The week ahead: Lawmakers buried in own work but Ayotte grabs center stage
Feb. 9—The 2025 session of the New Hampshire Legislature rolls on this week, but Gov. Kelly Ayotte alone will grab center stage when she gives her state budget address to a joint meeting of the state Senate and House of Representatives. Once Ayotte presents that much-anticipated speech in Representatives Hall Thursday morning, both legislative bodies will get right back to business. They'll be holding for the first time in 2025 simultaneous sessions later that afternoon. The House is expected to have a passionate and perhaps close vote on whether New Hampshire should become the 27th state and the only one in the Northeast to pass right-to-work legislation (HB 238) that would prevent private employers from requiring any worker having to either pay union dues or fees to cover the cost of collective bargaining. The Senate returns to its debate over an anti-sanctuary city bill (SB 71) and will debate whether to end a ban on the public wearing political clothing while voting (SB 43). The latter bill from Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, would still prevent election officials from wearing anything of a political nature while working at the polls. Ayotte told reporters that while the state budget is expected to be the toughest one in at least a decade to complete, New Hampshire remains on sound economic footing. "One of the things that I have come out of this process with is my optimism that we are in a good position," Ayotte said. "We need to continue to execute and live within our means. We aren't seeing the growth in state revenues that we have seen for the past several years, so our expectations must be recalibrated." Ayotte, a new chief executive and a Nashua Republican, offered no details about her plan beyond the vow it will not lead to any increase in state taxes. Veteran state budget observers will not only be looking at the more-than-1,000 page spending plan itself, but also poring over its companion measure. This is the so-called budget trailer bill that must contain all state law changes needed to carry out the governor's budget goals. Budget trailer bill: Christmas tree is an understatement Calling this bill a Christmas tree is an understatement since it is expected to have at least a few hundred sections with impacts likely to affect all New Hampshire residents in some fashion. In 2021 after Republicans took back control of the Legislature, then-Gov. Chris Sununu and GOP legislative leaders used that trailer bill to carry out an abortion ban after 24 weeks, a prohibition on teaching discrimination in public schools and a voluntary paid and family leave program for all state workers and any private firm that wished to enroll in it. House and Senate committees will be holding public hearings on 158 bills, a big number but this is the first weekly decline in the pile of paperwork as legislative leaders race against the clock to finish up their own chamber's works by mid-April. Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, has Senate President Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, on board with her legislation (SB 162) to be heard Tuesday that would block a "foreign country of concern" of owning any property within 10 miles of a "protected facility." Government buildings coming under that protected class are the New Hampshire National Guard headquarters and the New Hampshire Army Aviation Support Facility, both in Concord; the Readiness Center of the 197th Artillery Brigade in Manchester, the New Boston Space Force Station and the Pease Air National Guard and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. The countries blocked from this ownership under the bill were Russia, China, Iran, Syria and North Korea. Rep. Bill Ohm, R-Nashua, is joining forces with Rep. Susan Almy, D-Lebanon and the former chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, on a bill (HB 247) looked at Monday that would allow any city or town to seek a referendum on whether to allow historic horse racing machines within their borders. These machines that allow patrons to bet on randomly selected horse races that have already occurred has led to an explosion in profits for both owners and nonprofits at 10 charity casinos across the state. On Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee takes testimony on a bill (SB 205) from new Sen. Pat Long, D-Manchester, to give universal access for all families to free school breakfast and lunch; currently only eligible, low-income families may receive the benefit. State officials estimate the expansion would cost the state $1.3 million a year. EFA bills going in opposite directions House and Senate panels will on Wednesday consider bills on education freedom accounts (EFAs) that go in opposite directions. New Sen. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, is championing one (SB 295) that would end eligibility limitations and allow any family, regardless of income, to receive a taxpayer-paid EFA to send their child to a private, religious, alternative public or home school program. Rep. David Luneau, D-Hopkinton and the ranking member on the House Education Funding Committee, is proposing to make EFA grants to parents taxable under the income tax code (HB 402). Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn has prominent House and Senate GOP leaders co-authoring his proposal (HB 482) to increase the fines and punishments for anyone convicted of driving more than 100 miles per hour on state roads. For anyone driving in triple digits, the bill would create an additional fine of $750 on the first offense and $1,000 for future ones and the loss of driving privileges of 60 days the first time and up to a year if it happens again. Sen. Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard, has leading Senate Democratic members on board with her bill (SB 276) Wednesday that would raise what spending that businesses can claim for research and development as a credit against what they would owe under the state's two business taxes. The measure would raise from $7 million to $10 million how much the state could award in credits during a single year and give individual businesses credits of up to $100,000, twice the cap under current law. Rep. Janet Wall, D-Durham and serving in her 20th term, gets this week's quirkiest bill (HB 387) that would outlaw the release of balloons that have "lighter-than-air" gases. Wall said these balloons always fall back to earth and become not only litter but a potential health hazard to both animals on land and sea. klandrigan@
