HB 2735: Professions and occupations; license denial; exception; effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to move from the House version to the Senate version, with substantive changes to how criminal convictions affect professional licensing. The Senate version adds clearer definitions for when a conviction matters, establishes specific exceptions where convictions cannot be used to deny licenses, and creates new procedural protections for applicants including written notice requirements and appeal rights.

Scope change

The bill now applies more narrowly to criminal convictions that substantially relate to occupational duties and pose a reasonable threat to public safety, health, or welfare, rather than any conviction.

DEFINITION

Added specific definitions for 'substantially relate' (criminal conduct directly affects ability to perform job duties) and 'pose a reasonable threat' (involves harm to others and affects ability to work with public).

ELIGIBILITY

Added exceptions where licenses cannot be denied: arrests without valid pleas, sealed/expunged convictions, and convictions older than 5 years (unless for serious crimes like domestic assault or sex offenses).

REQUIREMENT

Requires licensing authorities to provide written notice explaining why a conviction disqualifies an applicant, including specific reasons and factors considered.

Added 30-day window for applicants to submit additional evidence before final denial decisions are made.

Added right to appeal denials through the Administrative Procedures Act and notice of earliest reapplication date.

Allows people with criminal records to request pre-emptive determinations about whether their history will disqualify them from licensing.

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was formatted for the House Floor version, adding the House of Representatives header and removing the 'Committee Substitute' label. The substantive text of the act remains unchanged, with no policy modifications to the licensing denial criteria or procedures.

TECHNICAL

Header text changed from 'Committee Substitute' to 'House of Representatives - Floor Version' to reflect the bill's current legislative stage.

Removed the 'Committee Substitute' label and added co-sponsor 'Alvord of the Senate' to the bill header.

Page numbering and footer text were updated to reflect the House Floor version format.

Engrossed → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was completely rewritten from scratch by the House Oversight Committee, replacing the original Engrossed version with a new Proposed Committee Substitute. The substantive policy content appears to remain largely the same, focusing on how criminal convictions affect professional licensing decisions in Oklahoma. The changes are primarily formatting and structural rather than substantive policy shifts.

TECHNICAL

The entire bill text was replaced with a new committee substitute version, changing the document structure and page numbering but keeping the core legislative language intact.

Header information was updated to reflect committee amendment status, including new sponsor attribution and date stamps, while the actual bill content remained consistent with the original version.

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Mar 11, 2025

MODERATE

This bill modifies Oklahoma's professional licensing denial standards by clarifying when criminal convictions can disqualify applicants and adding protections for certain past offenses. The changes aim to balance public safety with fairness by requiring licensing authorities to consider specific factors and limiting denials based on arrests without convictions, sealed records, or older convictions (with exceptions for serious crimes).

Scope change

The bill expands protections for applicants by adding specific criteria that licensing authorities must consider when evaluating criminal history and by prohibiting denials based on arrests without convictions, sealed/expunged records, and convictions older than five years (with exceptions for serious offenses).

DEFINITION

Added clear definitions for 'substantially relate' and 'pose a reasonable threat' to clarify when criminal conduct affects fitness for a profession.

REQUIREMENT

Requires licensing authorities to consider six specific factors including offense seriousness, time elapsed, age at offense, circumstances, job duties, and evidence of rehabilitation.

ELIGIBILITY

Prohibits denial of licenses based on arrests without valid guilty pleas, sealed/expunged convictions, or convictions older than five years (with exceptions for serious crimes).

Explicitly prohibits denial based on vague standards like 'lack of good character' when criminal convictions are involved.

Maintains denial authority for serious offenses including sex crimes, domestic violence, and crimes requiring sex offender registration regardless of time elapsed.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 → House Committee Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill was substantially rewritten from its original committee version to a new House Committee Substitute. The core purpose remains the same - preventing denial of professional licenses based on certain criminal convictions - but the language has been reorganized and refined. The new version clarifies definitions, maintains exemptions for sealed convictions and arrests without convictions, and adds procedural requirements for how licensing authorities must handle criminal history requests.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on professions and occupations licensing in Oklahoma, but the procedural requirements for handling criminal history records have been expanded with clearer timelines and documentation requirements.

DEFINITION

Definitions for 'substantially relate' and 'pose a reasonable threat' were reorganized and clarified to better explain when criminal conduct affects professional fitness.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements added for licensing authorities to provide specific documentation when denying licenses based on criminal convictions, including detailed explanations of each conviction and the right to submit additional evidence.

New subsection requiring criminal history records to include specific details like conviction dates, court jurisdiction, and sentences imposed when provided to applicants.

TIMELINE

Added a 60-day timeline for licensing authorities to issue determinations on criminal history record requests.

TECHNICAL

Page numbering and request number references were updated from 13008 to 13147, indicating this is a revised version of the bill.

Professions and occupations; license denial; exception; effective date.

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