HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 751 Use of Criminal History in Licensing
SPONSOR(S): Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee, Hunschofsky
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS:
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Regulatory Reform & Economic Development 13 Y, 0 N, As CS Wright Anstead
Subcommittee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
An occupational or professional license is a form of government regulation that requires individuals who want
to perform certain types of work to obtain governmental authorization to work in a specific field. Generally, a
person may be denied a professional license based on his or her prior conviction of a crime if the crime was a
felony or first-degree misdemeanor that is directly related to the practice of such profession.
Every four years each state agency is required to prepare a report outlining ex-offender application information
and statistics, which is known as the “Jim King Report”.
The bill:
Requires state agencies to produce a Jim King Report every year and requires the report to be publicly
posted on the agency’s website.
Changes the required ex-offender applicant information that must be in the report to the following:
o The total number of applications received by the state agency in the previous calendar year for
a license, permit, or certification where the applicant had a prior conviction, or any other
adjudication, for a crime.
o Out of the total number of applications, the number of times it denied, withheld, or refused to
grant an application because of the applicant's prior conviction, or any other adjudication, of a
crime.
o The report must also specify the crimes for which each decision to deny, withhold, or refuse to
grant an application for a license, permit, or certification was based.
o Out of the total number of applications, the number of times it granted an application where the
applicant had a prior conviction, or any other adjudication, of a crime.
o The report must also specify the crimes in such applications that were not used as a basis for
denial.
o Information provided by the agency in the report must be broken down by the specific type of
application submitted and the types of licenses, permits, or certifications sought, including
whether such applicant was a Florida resident or an out-of-state resident.
o Any other data the state agency deems relevant.
Allows each board at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), or DBPR when
there is no board, to make a finding that an applicant for a license has been rehabilitated and may thus
qualify for licensure.
o Based on such finding, the board, or DBPR when there is no board, may grant a license
regardless of an applicant’s prior conviction, or any other adjudication, for a crime.
The bill will have an indeterminate fiscal impact on state government and no impact on local governments.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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DATE: 1/24/2024
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Current Situation
Occupational Licensing
An occupational or professional license is a form of government regulation that requires individuals who
want to perform certain types of work, such as nurses, contractors, and cosmetologists, to obtain
governmental authorization to work in a specific field.1
An estimated 23.5 percent of the civilian labor force nationwide has an occupational license.2 Various
governmental entities and agencies in Florida license and regulate such individuals practicing in a wide
range of professions, including:3
Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR),
Department of Health (DOH),
Department of Financial Services (DFS),
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS),
Florida Supreme Court (FSC),
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP),
Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA),
Department of Children and Families (DCF),
Department of Elder Affairs (DEA),
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), and
Office of Financial Regulation (OFR).
Jim King Ex-Offender Report
Section 112.0111, F.S., requires each state agency, including the state agencies responsible for
professional and occupational regulatory boards to, every four years, submit to the Governor, the
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report that includes:
A list of all agency or board statutes or rules that disqualify from employment or licensure
persons who have been convicted of a crime and have completed any incarceration and
restitution to which they have been sentenced for such crime.
A determination of whether the disqualifying statutes or rules are readily available to prospective
employers and licensees.
The identification and evaluation of alternatives to the disqualifying statutes or rules which
protect the health, safety, and welfare of the general public without impeding the gainful
employment of ex-offenders.
Department of Business and Professional Regulation
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), through 11 divisions,
regulates and licenses businesses and professionals in Florida. 4
1
The White House, Occupational Licensing: A Framework for Policymakers, 6 (July 2015)
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/licensing_report_final_nonembargo.pdf (last visited on Jan.
20, 2024).
2
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, 2021, Certification and licensing
status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and over by employment status (bls.gov), (last visited on Jan. 20,
2024).
3
Chs. 20, 25, F.S.
4
S. 20.165, F.S.
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The Division of Professions (Professions) licenses and regulates more than 434,000 professionals
through the following professional boards and programs:
• Board of Architecture and Interior Design,
• Asbestos Licensing Unit,
• Athlete Agents,
• Board of Auctioneers,
• Barbers’ Board,
• Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board,
• Regulatory Council of Community Association Managers,
• Construction Industry Licensing Board,
• Board of Cosmetology,
• Electrical Contractors’ Licensing Board,
• Board of Employee Leasing Companies,
• Home Inspectors,
• Board of Landscape Architecture,
• Mold-Related Services,
• Board of Pilot Commissioners,
• Board of Professional Geologists,
• Talent Agencies,
• Board of Veterinary Medicine, and
• Florida Board of Professional Engineers.5
The Division of Regulation is the enforcement authority for the Florida Athletic Commission, Farm Labor
Program, Child Labor Program, and any professional boards and programs housed within Professions. 6
To ensure compliance with applicable laws and rules by those professions and related businesses, the
division investigates complaints, utilizes compliance mechanisms, and performs inspections. 7
The Division of Certified Public Accounting is responsible for the regulation of certified public
accountants and accounting firms in the state.8
The Division of Real Estate is responsible for the regulation of real estate sales associates, brokers,
and appraisers, in conjunction with the Florida Real Estate Commission and the Florida Real Estate
Appraisal Board.9
Each profession is governed by an individual practice act and by ch. 455, F.S., which provides the
general powers of DBPR and sets forth the procedural and administrative framework for all of the
professional boards housed under DBPR.10 Chapter 455, F.S., applies to the regulation of professions
constituting “any activity, occupation, profession, or vocation regulated by DBPR in the Divisions of
Certified Public Accounting, Professions, Real Estate, and Regulation.” 11
DBPR may regulate professions “only for the preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of the
public under the police powers of the state.” 12 Regulation is required when:
The potential for harming or endangering public health, safety, and welfare is recognizable and
outweighs any anticompetitive impact that may result;
5
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Professions,
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/division-of-professions/ (last visited Jan. 21, 2024).
6
Except the Board of Architecture and Interior Design, and the Florida Board of Professional Engineers.
7
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Regulation,
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/division-of-regulation/ (last visited Jan. 21, 2024).
8
S. 473.3035, F.S.; Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Certified Public Accounting, Certified
Public Accounting – MyFloridaLicense.com (last visited Jan. 21, 2024).
9
S. 475.021, F.S.
10
S. 455.203, F.S.
11
S. 455.01(6), F.S.
12
S. 455.201(2), F.S.
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The public is not effectively protected by other state statutes, local ordinances, federal
legislation, or other means; and
Less restrictive means of regulation are not available. 13
However, “neither the department nor any board may create a regulation that has an unreasonable
effect on job creation or job retention,” or a regulation that unreasonably restricts the ability of those
who desire to engage in a profession or occupation to find employment. 14
In Fiscal Year 2022-2023, there were 950,380 active licensees regulated by the DBPR or a board
within the department, including 39,336 active licensees in the Division of Certified Public Accounting,
486,336 active licensees in the Division of Professions, and 67,827 active licensees under the Board of
Professional Engineers.15
License Denials Based on Criminal History Related to the Profession
Section 455.227(1)(c), F.S., authorizes a board, or the DBPR if there is no board, to take disciplinary
action against a licensee if the person is convicted or found guilty of, or entering a plea of guilty or nolo
contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a crime in any jurisdiction which relates to the practice of, or
the ability to practice, a licensee's profession. This grounds for discipline includes a criminal history that
occurred prior to obtaining a license.16 Disciplinary action includes refusal to certify, or to certify with
restrictions, an application for a license and suspension or permanent revocation of a license. 17
Many professional practice acts also specifically permit a license application to be denied if the
applicant has a specified criminal history or the applicant’s criminal history directly relates to, the
practice of the profession, including a license to practice the following professions:
Architecture issued by the Board of Architecture and Interior Design; 18
Asbestos contracting and consulting issued by the DBPR; 19
Auctioneering issued by the Florida Board of Auctioneers; 20
Barbering issued by the Barbers’ Board;21
Community association management issued by the Regulatory Council of Community
Association Managers;22
Professional geology issued by the Board of Professional Geologists; 23
Home inspection issued by the DBPR;24
Landscape architecture issued by the Board of Landscape Architecture;25
Real estate brokers and agents issued by the Florida Real Estate Commission; 26 and
Veterinary medicine issued by the Board of Veterinary Medicine. 27
13
S. 455.201(2), F.S.
14
S. 455.201(4)(b), F.S.
15
See Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Professions, Division of Certified Public
Accounting, Division of Real Estate, and Division of Regulation, Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2022-2023, p. 18, available
at http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/os/documents/Division%20Annual%20Report%20FY%2022-23.pdf (last
visited Jan. 21, 2024).
16
S. 455.227(2), F.S.
17
Id.
18
S. 481.225(1)(d), F.S.
19
S. 469.009(1)(g), F.S.
20
S. 468.389(1)(l), F.S.
21
S. 476.144(6)(a)2.b., F.S., provides that the qualifications for a barber license include having no disciplinary history
related to barbering for five years.
22
S. 468.436(2)(b), F.S.
23
S. 492.113(1)(d), F.S.
24
S. 468.832(1)(d), F.S.
25
S. 481.325(1)(d), F.S.
26
S. 475.25(1)(f), F.S.
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Additionally, several professions licensed by the DBPR or a regulatory board require the applicant to be
of good moral character, including applicants for a license to practice the following professions:
Boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts issued by the Florida Athletic Commission; 28
Construction contracting issued by the Construction Industry Licensing Board;29
Electrical contracting issued by the Electrical Contractors’ Board; 30
Athlete agents issued by the DBPR;31
Building code administrators and inspectors issued by the Florida Building Code Administrators
and Inspectors Board;32
Certified public Accountants issued by the Board of Accountancy; 33
Engineer issued by the Board of Professional Engineers; 34 and
Mold-related services issued by the DBPR.35
Several professions regulated by the DBPR, or a board within the DBPR, rely on the grounds for
disciplinary action in s. 455.227(1)(c), F.S., as a basis for denial or grant of a license.
Also, DBPR or a board may refuse to issue an initial license to any applicant who is under investigation
or prosecution in any jurisdiction for an action that would constitute a violation of ch. 455, F.S., or the
professional practice acts administered by the department and the boards, until such time as the
investigation or prosecution is complete.36
27
Ss. 474.214(1)(c), (p) and (2), F.S., authorize the Board of Veterinary Medicine to deny a license application based on
criminal history, including conviction on a charge of cruelty to animals.
28
Section 548.071(3), F.S., provides a basis for the Florida Athletic Commission to disqualify for a license any person
who has been convicted of, has pleaded guilty to, has entered a plea of nolo contendere to, or has been found guilty of a
crime involving moral turpitude in any jurisdiction within 10 years preceding the suspension or revocation.
29
Section 489.111(2)(b) and (3), F.S., provides that the Construction Industry Licensing Board may refuse to certify an
applicant for failure to satisfy the requirement of good moral character if there is a substantial connection between the lack
of good moral character and the professional responsibility of the certified contractor; and the lack of good moral
character is supported by clear and convincing evidence. The board may deny a license application if the applicant’s
criminal history directly relates to the practice of the profession.
30
S. 489.511(1)(b), F.S. Section 489. 511(3)(a), F.S., defines good moral character as a history of honesty, fairness, and
respect for the rights of others and for the laws of this state and nation and specifies that the Electrical Contractors’
Licensing Board may refuse to certify an applicant for failure to satisfy the requirement of good moral character if certain
requirements are met. The board may deny a license application if the applicant’s criminal history directly relates to the
practice of the profession.
31
S. 468.453(2)(b), F.S.
32
S. 468.609(3)(b), F.S., also permits a license application to be denied if the applicant’s criminal history directly relates
to the practice of the profession.
33
S. 473.308(5) and (6), F.S., also permits a license application to be denied if the applicant’s criminal history directly
relates to the practice of the profession.
34
S. 471.013(2)(a), F.S.
35
S. 468.8414(3), F.S.
36
S. 455.213(4), F.S.
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Reporting of Disqualifying Crimes
DBPR and the boards under it are required to compile on their we