Bill
SB 3666
The bill lowers licensing barriers by emphasizing rehabilitation, expanding mitigating factors for convictions, and protecting incarcerated applicants from automatic delays.
Title: Reducing Barriers to Licensure
Purpose
- The bill, titled the Reducing Barriers to Licensure Act, seeks to ease eligibility and access to professional licensure across multiple regulated fields in Illinois. It makes targeted amendments to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) framework, adjusts how criminal history is considered in licensure decisions, enhances processes around disciplinary actions and health care worker oversight, and strengthens barriers against automatic denial or delays for incarcerated applicants. It also introduces changes to related acts and the corrections code to align loss/restoration of rights with licensure decisions.
Key Provisions and Changes
A. Department of Professional Regulation Law (Civil Administrative Code)
- Definitions updates (Section 2105-5):
- Clarifies terms such as “address of record,” “email address of record,” “applicant,” “license,” “licensee,” and “retiree.”
- Expands interpretation of “Department” to include both the Division of Professional Regulation and the Division of Real Estate.
- Oaths; Subpoenas; Penalties (Section 2105-105):
- Empowers the Department to administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and compel production of records in investigations/hearings, with procedural rules mirroring civil court practices.
- Establishes penalties for noncompliance (Class A misdemeanor) and authorizes court enforcement.
- Applicants with Criminal Convictions; Notice of Denial (Section 2105-131):
- Retains consideration of mitigating factors in licensing decisions, emphasizing rehabilitation, time since offense, relationship of offense to duties, and other factors listed (e.g., prior licensure, age at offense, evidence of rehabilitation).
- Requires written denial notices to include relationship of conviction to the position, lists of convictions that impair ability, and the appeal/reapplication timeline.
- Requires the Department to post on its website a list of state licensing restrictions.
- Qualification for Licensure; Good Moral Character; Applicant Conviction Records (Section 2105-135):
- Affirms public health/safety rationale for licensure regulation and continuing good moral character requirements, with a pathway to consider mitigating factors.
- Prohibits denial solely based on prior convictions unless required by the relevant professional Act; requires evaluation of rehabilitation factors.
- Excludes certain types of criminal history from consideration (juvenile adjudications, certain arrests that did not lead to charges/convictions, sealed/expunged records, and specific pre-dating offenses), with prescribed exceptions.
- Health Care Worker Licensure Actions; Sex Crimes (Section 2105-165):
- Automatic permanent license revocation for health care workers convicted of certain offenses (sex offender registration, involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, battery against a patient in the course of care, forcible felony).
- Provides a petition-for-restoration pathway for forcible felony convictions where the person is not required to register as a sex offender, including factors to consider (seriousness, rehabilitation, disciplinary history, impact on victims, etc.).
- Establishes mandatory post-charge protective measures: if charged with relevant offenses, the health care worker must practice with a chaperone during patient encounters pending outcome; patient notices must include a prominent reminder of presumption of innocence.
- Confidentiality protocols and limited disclosures to law enforcement or other licensing authorities as allowed by law.
- Health Care Workers; Automatic Suspension (Section 2105-170):
- Automatic, indefinite suspension for health care workers convicted of health care fraud or insurance fraud offenses involving intent (including Medicare/Medicaid fraud). Hearing requests limit to duration of suspension.
- Publication of Disciplinary Actions; Annual Report (Section 2105-205):
- Requires monthly online publication of final disciplinary actions.
- Annual reporting (by May 1) with statistics on new licensure applications, criminal convictions, approvals/denials, probationary licenses issued to applicants with convictions, and expungement/sealing data.
- Records of Department Actions; Sealing of Disciplinary Records (Section 2105-207):
- Creates a process to seal/confidentialize disciplinary records after certain conditions (time elapsed, no ongoing investigations, no further discipline, etc.), with a defined list of offenses that do not qualify (e.g., forcible felonies, sex offender registrations, certain health care offenses, violent/egregious crimes).
B. Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985
- Licensure processing for incarcerated applicants (Section 1-7):
- Reforms procedures so that incarceration status cannot automatically hold or delay an application for licensure or restoration. Departments shall process these applications without additional delays if the applicant otherwise qualifies.
- The 3-year time limitation for certain processing requirements is waived for incarcerated applicants.
C. Health Care Professional Credentials Data Collection Act
- Licensure records (Section 51):
- If licensure records are designated confidential/sealed for reporting purposes, they are not reportable under this Act.
D. Unified Code of Corrections
- Loss and Restoration of Rights (Section 5-5-5):
- Strengthens protections around restoration of rights for individuals following conviction, including specific provisions about eligibility for certain licenses and considerations to balance public safety with rehabilitation.
- Adds framework to assess restoration of civil rights as part of licensure decisions.
E. Related Corrections and Licensing Seals
- Repeals and miscellaneous amendments include: annual DFPR report requirements (Section 60b/60d) and related adjustments to expungement/sealing processes.
- Effective date: Immediate upon enactment.
Who Would Be Affected
- Prospective and current licensees and registrants across regulated professions under DFPR (including but not limited to barbering, cosmetology, esthetics, hair braiding, nail technology, and health care professionals).
- Applicants with criminal histories, incarcerated applicants, and those seeking license restoration or expungement/sealing of disciplinary records.
- Health care workers subject to discipline, criminal charges, or sex offender-related provisions.
Procedural and Timeline Aspects
- Monthly publication of final disciplinary actions and annual reporting requirements.
- Clear timelines for denials with notice content; mandatory posting of licensing restrictions.
- For incarcerated applicants, processing protections and time-limit waivers apply immediately upon enactment.
- Health care disciplinary actions include chaperone requirements pending outcomes of criminal proceedings.
- Sealing/ confidential classification process for disciplinary records allows a structured post-disposition review with defined waiting periods and conditions; Department has up to 3 years post-enactment to implement sealing processes.
Overall Impact
- The bill aims to reduce barriers to licensure by emphasizing rehabilitation, reducing automatic delays due to incarceration, expanding the consideration of mitigating factors in conviction histories, and increasing transparency via public reporting. It introduces stricter protections for public safety in certain health care-related offenses while offering pathways to restore licensure in less severe cases after long-term rehabilitation. It also modernizes data handling and public access related to disciplinary records.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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