SB 806 expands criminal history records check requirements across a broad set of health occupation licensing and certification programs in Maryland. The bill adds new provisions requiring applicants for initial licensure or certification in several boards to submit to state and national criminal history records checks through the Central Repository, with fingerprinting, fees, confidentiality rules, and procedures for contesting record information. It also requires many existing licensees and certificate holders who were originally licensed without such a check to complete one at their first renewal after specified dates, and it applies similar requirements to reinstatements, inactive-status reactivations, and certain renewal applicants selected by regulation.
The bill amends the Health Occupations Article in numerous titles covering acupuncture, dentistry, dietetics, mortuary science, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, podiatry, psychology, environmental health, residential child care program professionals, and related certification programs. In several sections, the bill also directs boards to consider the age of any offense, the circumstances, time elapsed, work history, references, and other evidence when evaluating criminal history information, and it prohibits issuance, renewal, or reinstatement when required criminal history information has not been received. The effective date is June 1, 2026, while many of the new check requirements phase in beginning July 1 or October 1, 2027, depending on the profession.
SB 806 makes statewide licensing law more uniform by inserting criminal background check requirements into multiple health occupation licensing and certification statutes. It creates new sections governing how applicants submit fingerprints and fees, how the Central Repository forwards criminal history information, and how boards may use that information only for licensing purposes. The bill also adds or revises disciplinary and renewal provisions so that failure to complete a required criminal history records check can bar initial licensure, renewal, reinstatement, or reactivation in the affected professions.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported. It passed the Senate 45-0 and the House 129-0, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. The available record shows no committee transcript debate, and the committee report was favorable with amendments, suggesting general agreement on the policy direction with some technical or implementation adjustments.
No major opposition is reflected in the available materials. The main policy issue embedded in the bill is the expansion of criminal background checks to more health occupations and to some existing licensees at renewal, which can raise concerns about administrative burden, cost, timing, and how boards weigh older criminal history. The bill addresses some of those concerns by requiring boards to consider factors such as the age of the offense, rehabilitation-related evidence, and public safety risk when reviewing criminal history records.