A Senate committee today approved legislation authored by Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and Senator Joe Vitale that would reform the board and prohibit the licensing of any health care worker convicted of a sex offense.
The bill, S-3494, would ban anyone convicted of a felony sexual offense from being licensed as a health care professional.
“No sex offender should be allowed to work in a position of trust with patients in healthcare settings where they are most vulnerable, especially with children,” said Senator Vitale, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Health Committee. “Denying them licenses should be automatic. The oversight boards should be looking out for the safety of patients and the public, not the industry they are regulating.”
Under the bill, any entity that licenses or regulates a health care profession would be prohibited from issuing an initial license or renewal without checking the individual’s criminal history through a fingerprint background check or the National Practitioner Data Bank for sexual offense convictions, endangering the welfare of a child, or attempting to lure or entice a child.
The measure was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee with a vote of 5–0.
I have said this before and i try and stay out of politics but every time there is a bill against us in the senate or congress the majority of time it is sponsored by democrats.(in this case 3 of them) So what, if someone is licensed and working in hospice making a good living they have to quit? there are no children in hospice. I do not understand how they can stop people from making money that is just insanity. the RSO has to register their job with the registry so the employer will know they are on the list, why not let the employer decide
Politics is the manmade system by which people relate. Politics is all around us. As much as we may want to avoid it, we can’t. You might want to read my “Politics and the Church” at http://www.geezerpolitics.com.
And the next problem will be: People dying due to understaffed nursing facilities in New Jersey! Once the already licensed health care workers leave NJ and work as agency nurses in AZ or FL where there is typically a nursing shortage, then what will they do? I would laugh my ass off if FL passed similar legislation! All those old folks with a nursing shortage already and then they kick some to the curb to move to AZ where there is also a nursing shortage. Those nurses wont move back! On another note, there were 12 deaths due to pornography! As it turns out the engineer who was to fix this problem with the Medtronics heart assist device for folks awaiting a heart transplant was given a computer from his ex-wife with a single image of an underage teen. Although the image was never opened, 12 people died since the engineer assigned this task to fix this problem was awaiting trial. https://www.medtechdive.com/news/12-deaths-linked-to-class-i-recall-for-medtronic-heartware-hvad-system/598031/
I fail to see how another blanket ban solves anything. There is a shortage of healthcare worker, especially in elder care. If a qualified nurse or whatever had a prior conviction for traveling to meet a minor or CP, does it benefit anyone by banning them from working with senior citizens? Or does it just feel good to further ban PRR from having a fulfilling life?
This will be just the start of a whole new slew of legislation based on lies and untruths. But just remember it’s not punishment. What about those who have spent thousands on an education in one of these fields.
The Real Question to be Juxtaposed, is How Many Current Health Care Workers (all workers in Healthcare from Doctor to Dishwasher) have Misdemeanor and/or Felony Offenses, in the past or current, that are Currently Practicing Health Care?
That Would be a Question to Measure Against This Stranger Danger that they are Asserting….., Would It Not?
It never stops with their reasoning, next they will be after another form of employment.
Exactly. Just like that FAC article about the RSO working in the courtroom. Are there vulnerable children wandering alone in felony court rooms without bailiffs to keep things in check? How about Meqon WI where sex offenders can’t live within 2000 feet from a golf course, both public and private! In fact, RSO can’t live near a movie theater or even near police station! School is defined as “home school” where one parent tutors her own child. Look at this map! The lawyer who successfully sued the city of Pleasant Prairie, WI almost took on Mequon and Thiensville over these restrictions and this map! https://www.ci.mequon.wi.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/police/page/2581/sex_offender_residency_restrictions.pdf