Strengths

• Enacted a petition process for applicants.
• Boards must evaluate multiple mitigating factors (including evidence of rehabilitation) when considering license applications.

Areas of Improvement

• Prevent agencies from using vague standards like “good moral character.”
• Require boards to use a directly related standard for all crimes.

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A 2018 reform allows applicants to see if their criminal record would be disqualifying before they start fulfilling a license’s requirements, which can be very costly and time-consuming. This raised Nebraska’s final grade to a C-.

Nebraska lacks a uniform, overarching license standard, meaning applicants face wildly different standards based on the licenses they seek. Licenses issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (which includes not only health-related licenses, but also those for athletic trainers, cosmetologists, and massage therapists) can only be denied to an ex-offender if there is a “rational connection with the fitness or capacity of the applicant.” However, licensing boards that regulate fields as diverse as education, real estate, and private investigation can disqualify applicants based on any felony.

Statute: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-947 (2019)