MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles has thrown its support behind a new effort to help formerly incarcerated Alabamians receive occupational licenses.
Cam Ward, director of the ABPP, said during a recent meeting of the Alabama Reentry Commission that legislation is being drafted by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, to prohibit occupational licensing boards from denying an applicant a license based solely on the fact that he or she had been convicted of a crime.
“One issue that we’re pushing at my agency this session is occupational licensure reform, (which) is, in my opinion, absolutely necessary,” Ward said, speaking on just one component of the commission’s goal of reducing recidivism among formerly incarcerated Alabamians. “…The occupational licensure board has the absolute discretion to deny you a license just because you went to prison for any reason.”…