H-8272

   Amend  the amendment, H-8250, to House File 2627 as follows:
   1.  By striking page 1, line 4, through page 19, line 20, and inserting: 
   <Sec. ___.  Section 103.6, subsection 1, paragraph e, Code 2020, is amended by striking the paragraph.
   Sec. ___.  Section 103.9, subsection 3, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 103.10, subsection 6, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 103.12, subsection 6, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 103.12A, subsection 4, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 103.13, subsection 4, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 103.15, subsection 7, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 105.10, subsection 5, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 105.22, subsection 4, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 147.3, Code 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   147.3  Qualifications.
   An applicant for a license to practice a profession under this subtitle is not ineligible because of age, citizenship, sex, race, religion, marital status, or national origin, although the application form may require citizenship information. A board may consider the past criminal record of an applicant only if the conviction relates to the practice of the profession for which the applicant requests to be licensed.
   Sec. ___.  Section 147.55, subsection 5, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 147A.7, subsection 1, paragraph j, Code 2020, is amended by striking the paragraph.
   Sec. ___.  Section 148.6, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 2020, is amended by striking the paragraph.
   Sec. ___.  Section 148H.7, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2020, is amended by striking the paragraph.
   Sec. ___.  Section 151.9, subsection 5, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 152.10, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 2020, is amended by striking the paragraph.
   Sec. ___.  Section 153.34, subsection 9, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 154A.24, subsection 1, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 156.9, subsection 2, paragraph e, Code 2020, is amended by striking the paragraph.
   Sec. ___.  Section 272.1, Code 2020, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5A.  “Offense directly relates” refers to either of the following:
   a.  The actions taken in furtherance of an offense are actions customarily performed within the scope of practice of a licensed profession.
   b.  The circumstances under which an offense was committed are circumstances customary to a licensed profession.
   Sec. ___.  Section 272.2, subsection 14, paragraph a, Code 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  The board may deny a license to or revoke the license of a person upon the board’s finding by a preponderance of evidence that either the person has been convicted of a crime an offense and the offense directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession or that there has been a founded report of child abuse against the person. Rules adopted in accordance with this paragraph shall provide that in determining whether a person should be denied a license or that a practitioner’s license should be revoked, the board shall consider the nature and seriousness of the founded abuse or crime in relation to the position sought, the time elapsed since the crime was committed, the degree of rehabilitation which has taken place since the incidence of founded abuse or the commission of the crime, the likelihood that the person will commit the same abuse or crime again, and the number of founded abuses committed by or criminal convictions of the person involved.
   Sec. ___.  Section 272C.1, Code 2020, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  7A.  “Offense directly relates” refers to either of the following:
   a.  The actions taken in furtherance of an offense are actions customarily performed within the scope of practice of a licensed profession.
   b.  The circumstances under which an offense was committed are circumstances customary to a licensed profession.
   Sec. ___.  Section 272C.10, subsection 5, Code 2020, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   5.  Conviction of a felony offense, if the offense directly relates to the profession or occupation of the licensee, in the courts of this state or another state, territory, or country. Conviction as used in this subsection includes a conviction of an offense which if committed in this state would be a felony without regard to its designation elsewhere, and includes a finding or verdict of guilt made or returned in a criminal proceeding even if the adjudication of guilt is withheld or not entered. A certified copy of the final order or judgment of conviction or plea of guilty in this state or in another state constitutes conclusive evidence of the conviction.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  272C.12  Disqualifications for criminal convictions limited.
   1.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, except for chapter 272, a person’s conviction of a crime may be grounds for the denial, revocation, or suspension of a license only if an unreasonable risk to public safety exists because the offense directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession and the appropriate licensing board, agency, or department does not grant an exception pursuant to subsection 4.
   2.  A licensing board, agency, or department that may deny a license on the basis of an applicant’s conviction record shall provide a list of the specific convictions that may disqualify an applicant from receiving a license. Any such offense shall be an offense that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession. 
   3.  A licensing board, agency, or department shall not deny an application for a license on the basis of an arrest that was not followed by a conviction or based on a finding that an applicant lacks good character, suffers from moral turpitude, or on other similar basis.
   4.  A licensing board, agency, or department shall grant an exception to an applicant who would otherwise be denied a license due to a criminal conviction if the following factors establish by clear and convincing evidence that the applicant is rehabilitated and an appropriate candidate for licensure:
   a.  The nature and seriousness of the crime for which the applicant was convicted.
   b.  The amount of time that has passed since the commission of the crime. There is a rebuttable presumption that an applicant is rehabilitated and an appropriate candidate for licensure five years after the date of the applicant’s release from incarceration, provided that the applicant was not convicted of sexual abuse in violation of section 709.4, a sexually violent offense as defined in section 229A.2, dependent adult abuse in violation of section 235B.20, a forcible felony as defined in section 702.11, or domestic abuse assault in violation of section 708.2A, and the applicant has not been convicted of another crime after release from incarceration.
   c.  The circumstances relative to the offense, including any aggravating and mitigating circumstances or social conditions surrounding the commission of the offense.
   d.  The age of the applicant at the time the offense was committed.
   e.  Any treatment undertaken by the applicant.
   f.  Whether a certification of employability has been issued to the applicant pursuant to section 906.19.
   g.  Any letters of reference submitted on behalf of the applicant.
   h.  All other relevant evidence of rehabilitation and present fitness of the applicant.
   5.  An applicant may petition the relevant licensing board, agency, or department, in a form prescribed by the board, agency, or department, for a determination as to whether the applicant’s criminal record will prevent the applicant from receiving a license. The board, agency, or department shall issue such a determination at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board, agency, or department or within thirty days of receiving the petition, whichever is later. The board, agency, or department shall hold a closed session while determining whether an applicant’s criminal record will prevent the applicant from receiving a license and while determining whether to deny an applicant’s application on the basis of an applicant’s criminal conviction. A board, agency, or department may charge a fee to recoup the costs of such a determination, provided that such fee shall not exceed twenty-five dollars. 
   6.  a.  A licensing board, agency, or department that denies an applicant a license solely or partly because of the applicant’s prior conviction of a crime shall notify the applicant in writing of all of the following:
   (1)  The grounds for the denial or disqualification.
   (2)  That the applicant has the right to a hearing to challenge the licensing authority’s decision.
   (3)  The earliest date the applicant may submit a new application.
   (4)  That evidence of rehabilitation of the applicant may be considered upon reapplication.
   b.  A determination by a licensing board, agency, or department that an applicant’s criminal conviction is specifically listed as a disqualifying conviction and the offense directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the applicant’s profession must be documented in written findings for each factor specified in subsection 4 sufficient for a review by a court.
   c.  In any administrative or civil hearing authorized by this section or chapter 17A, a licensing board, agency, or department shall carry the burden of proof on the question of whether the applicant’s criminal offense directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession for which the license is sought.
   7.  A board, agency, or department may require an applicant with a criminal record to submit the applicant’s complete criminal record detailing an applicant’s offenses with an application. A board, agency, or department may also require an applicant with a criminal record to submit a personal statement regarding whether each offense directly relates to the duties and performance of the applicant’s occupation. For the purposes of this subsection, “complete criminal record” includes the complaint and judgment of conviction for each offense of which the applicant has been convicted.
   Sec. ___.  RULEMAKING PROCEDURES AND APPLICABILITY.
   1.  The boards designated in section 147.13 other than the board of medicine, the board of nursing, the dental board, and the board of pharmacy, when carrying out rulemaking pursuant to chapter 17A to implement the provisions of this Act, shall each adopt the same rules, which shall be applicable to all such boards. The bureau of professional licensure of the department of public health shall assist the boards in carrying out such rulemaking.
   2.  The accountancy examining board, the architectural examining board, the engineering and land surveying examining board, the interior design examining board, the landscape architectural examining board, and the real estate commission, when carrying out rulemaking pursuant to chapter 17A to implement the provisions of this Act, shall each adopt the same rules, which shall be applicable to all such boards and the real estate commission. The professional licensing bureau of the department of commerce shall assist the boards and the real estate commission in carrying out such rulemaking.
   3.  This section shall not apply to any rulemaking pursuant to chapter 17A by a board or commission to implement the provisions of this Act that the board or commission determines is necessary to address circumstances or legal requirements uniquely applicable to the board or commission.
   Sec. ___.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2021.
   ___.  Title page, by striking lines 1 through 6 and inserting <An Act relating to disqualifications from holding a professional license in this state due to a criminal conviction, and including effective date provisions.>>

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WOLFE of Clinton