A state senator said he plans to introduce a bill providing “modest” reforms for those convicted of misdemeanors or felonies to obtain occupational licenses.

State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Bucks, said he will present a bill to the Pennsylvania Senate that eliminates the automatic bar to obtaining a work license for those convicted of certain offenses and abolish the 10-year felony ban for those that apply for a license to operate a crane or practice massage therapy.

Licensure boards would only be able to consider a felony or misdemeanor if the offense relates to the profession or trade, according to Greenleaf's memo.

Greenleaf cited Section 9124 of Title 18 as state law that already recognizes that criminal offenses should relate to the profession in order to be considered, and he said his bill will make that statute “internally consistent.”

“Although certain occupational licensure rules protect the public from dangerous or incompetent practitioners, others offer little or no protection for consumers and simply create an artificial shortage of competition in the marketplace,” according to Greenleaf's memo announcing his intention to introduce the measure.

— Victoria Hudgins, of the Law Weekly •