{"id":221023,"date":"2025-05-03T14:59:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T14:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/alabama\/alabama-legislature-approves-bill-to-remove-barriers-for-qualified-reentering-citizens\/"},"modified":"2025-05-03T14:59:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T14:59:20","slug":"alabama-legislature-approves-bill-to-remove-barriers-for-qualified-reentering-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023","title":{"rendered":"Alabama Legislature approves bill to remove barriers for qualified reentering citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">On Tuesday, the Alabama Legislature passed Senate Bill 138, co-sponsored by Representative Parker Moore and Senator Rodger Smitherman, without opposition.<\/span><b\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\">It aims to allow parolees and probationers the opportunity to obtain licenses without automatic disqualification by a licensing board for those whose crimes have no relevance to the positions. These workers would receive a Certificate of Employability from the Bureau \u2013 a document that also protects employers from legal liability for hiring former felons. The bill excludes individuals convicted of violent offenses or sexual misconduct.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\">\u201cSenator Smitherman and Representative Parker Moore deserve recognition for leading the charge on this bipartisan, common-sense public safety legislation that reduces bureaucratic red tape and empowers job creators,\u201d said Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles Director Cam Ward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\">In Alabama, one in five jobs requires a license, but many individuals with criminal records face unnecessary barriers to obtaining these licenses, which limits their access to stable employment. Licensing reform is proven to enhance community safety, as having a job is one of the most significant factors in reducing recidivism \u2013 and lowering crime by repeat offenders. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cAs the Bureau continues its core mission of protecting communities across the state through enhanced supervision and law enforcement operations, SB138 complements this work by addressing one of the key drivers of recidivism: lack of employment,\u201d Ward said. \u201cBy helping qualified individuals gain access to stable, in-demand, good-paying jobs, Rep. Moore and Sen. Smitherman are supporting the Bureau\u2019s efforts to reduce repeat offenses and enhance community safety. This is one of several bills before the Legislature this session that recognize and commend the agency\u2019s vital contributions to both reentry and public safety across Alabama. We deeply appreciate the support and expertise of our private sector partners, including Alabama Power, the Business Council of Alabama, Manufacture Alabama, NFIB-Alabama, the Alabama Community College System, Ingram State Technical College, and many others who helped move this important legislation forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">A broad coalition of businesses and industries supports SB138 and sees it as a boon for economic development as much as for public safety. Alabama currently faces a critical workforce shortage, with only 50 active workers available for every 100 job openings. SB138 addresses this gap by eliminating unnecessary barriers that prevent qualified individuals with criminal records from reentering the workforce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\">SB138 empowers Alabama\u2019s businesses to make decisions that are in the best interest of their operations and communities, while also ensuring that individuals with criminal histories have the opportunity to rebuild their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-6\" style=\"margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;\">\n<div class=\"zox-post-ad-wrap\"><span class=\"zox-ad-label\">Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Tuesday, the Alabama Legislature passed Senate Bill 138, co-sponsored by Representative Parker Moore and Senator Rodger Smitherman, without opposition. It aims to allow parolees and probationers the opportunity to obtain licenses without automatic disqualification by a licensing board for those whose crimes have no relevance to the positions. These workers would receive a Certificate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":221024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11763],"tags":[33526,12750,18212,13496,6795,12941,35219,25777,39915,82961,8927,39153],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-221023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alabama","tag-2025-legislative-session","tag-alabama","tag-approves","tag-barriers","tag-bill","tag-citizens","tag-legislature","tag-licenses","tag-qualified","tag-reentering","tag-remove","tag-workforce-development"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alabama Legislature approves bill to remove barriers for qualified reentering citizens - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alabama Legislature approves bill to remove barriers for qualified reentering citizens - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Tuesday, the Alabama Legislature passed Senate Bill 138, co-sponsored by Representative Parker Moore and Senator Rodger Smitherman, without opposition. It aims to allow parolees and probationers the opportunity to obtain licenses without automatic disqualification by a licensing board for those whose crimes have no relevance to the positions. These workers would receive a Certificate [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-03T14:59:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AdobeStock_80334788-e1736947242275.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2002\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1124\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Alabama Legislature approves bill to remove barriers for qualified reentering citizens\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-03T14:59:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023\"},\"wordCount\":427,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AdobeStock_80334788-e1736947242275.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"2025 Legislative Session\",\"Alabama\",\"Approves\",\"barriers\",\"Bill\",\"Citizens\",\"Legislature\",\"licenses\",\"Qualified\",\"reentering\",\"Remove\",\"Workforce Development\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Alabama\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=221023\",\"name\":\"Alabama Legislature approves bill to remove barriers for qualified reentering citizens - 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