Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 942 — State of New Jersey (January 27, 2020)

Summary

The Senate Commerce Committee of the State of New Jersey, in a statement dated January 27, 2020, reports favorably Senate Bill No. 942 on licensing boards in the Division of Consumer Affairs and applicants with prior convictions. The bill deletes the reference to crimes involving moral turpitude and bars disqualification unless the crime or offense has a direct or substantial relationship to the regulated activity or would be inconsistent with the public's safety. A board must give written notice of a possible disqualification and a hearing no later than 30 days after the person receives it. A prior conviction for murder or any sex offense that would qualify the person for registration under "Megan's Law" creates a rebuttable presumption of a substantial relationship.

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SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No.
942

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY
27, 2020

The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably Senate
Bill No. 942.

This bill requires professional and occupational
boards in the Division of Consumer Affairs, when determining whether a person
is disqualified from certification, registration or licensure because of a
prior conviction of a crime or offense, to consider whether the crime or
offense has a direct or substantial relationship to the activity regulated by
the board or is of a nature such that certification, registration or licensure
of the person would be inconsistent with the public’s safety.

Current law permits a board to suspend or revoke,
refuse to issue, or refuse to admit a person to an examination for any
certificate, registration or license issued by the board upon proof that the
applicant or holder of such certificate, registration or license has been convicted
of, or engaged in acts constituting, any crime or offense involving moral
turpitude or relating adversely to the activity regulated by the board. The
bill amends this standard of proof in current law to delete the reference to a
crime or offense involving moral turpitude, and requires that the crime or
offense have a direct or substantial relationship to the activity regulated by
the board, or to be of a nature such that certification, registration or
licensure of the person would be inconsistent with the public’s safety.

In addition, the bill supplements current law to
provide that no person will be disqualified from obtaining or holding any
certificate, registration or license issued by a board solely because of a
prior conviction of a crime or offense, unless the crime or offense has a
direct or substantial relationship to the activity regulated by the board, or
is of a nature such that certification, registration or licensure of the person
would be inconsistent with the public’s safety. In determining whether a crime
or offense directly or substantially relates to the activity regulated by the
board, a board must consider the following:

(1) the nature and seriousness of
the crime or offense and the passage of time since its commission;

(2) the relationship of the crime or offense to the
purposes of regulating the profession or occupation regulated by the board;

(3) any evidence of rehabilitation of the person in
the period of time following the prior conviction that may be made available to
the board; and

(4) the relationship of the crime or offense to the
ability, capacity, and fitness required to perform the duties and discharge the
responsibilities of the profession or occupation regulated by the board.

The bill provides that a board shall not disqualify a
person from obtaining or holding a certificate, registration or license issued
by the board because of a person’s prior conviction of a crime or offense
unless it provides the person with a written notice that the board has
determined that the conviction may disqualify the person and an explanation for
the preliminary determination that the crime or offense has a direct or
substantial relationship to the activity regulated by the board or is of a
nature such that certification, registration or licensure of the person would
be inconsistent with the public’s safety .

The board must also afford the person an opportunity
to be heard before the board prior to the board making a final decision on
whether to disqualify the person. The person shall be afforded an opportunity
to be heard before the board no later than 30 days after receiving the written
notice of potential disqualification. If the board’s final decision is to
disqualify the person, the board must notify the person, no later than 30 days
after the hearing, in writing as to the grounds and reasons for the
disqualification, the earliest date upon which the person may reapply, and that
additional evidence of rehabilitation may be considered upon reapplication.

The bill also provides that a person’s prior conviction
for murder, or an equivalent statute of another state or jurisdiction, or any
sex offense that would qualify the person for registration under “Megan’s Law,”
or under an equivalent statute of another state or jurisdiction, creates a
rebuttable presumption that a substantial relationship exists between the prior
conviction and the profession or occupation regulated by the board.

The bill requires the division to obtain data
concerning the number of, and reasons for, disqualification by any board pursuant
to the provisions of the bill, and annually submit a report to the Legislature
that provides the disqualification data for each board.

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