Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine January 2022

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36 Different Convictions May Disqualify from Holding a License

The HVACR License Board heard testimony from an Arkansas registrant whose licensed employer passed away and the registrant wanted to continue in the trade. His history in the industry is exemplary but he was prohibited from automatically being permitted to take the licensing test. In 2016 & 2017, he was sentenced to community correction for violations of Arkansas code 5-64-20 and 5-64-422, drug related offences. He completed drug rehab and is presently on parole. Arkansas Code 17-3-102 prevents a person from automatically being able to sit for a licensing test. The board is required to hear a request and make a decision to deny or allow the individual to test. After extensive presentation and questioning, the applicant was allowed to sit for the exam but the Board wanted further assurances before a license would be granted. This is a result of newly passed Arkansas laws designed to help a previously incarcerated person merge back into society. This was the first time the HVACR Board heard this sort of request. The Board was very careful to make a precedent that was fair, defensible, and protective to consumers. Organizations have considered the

HVACR industry as being an excellent option for those in this situation. While the HVACR industry might be a good place for a previously incarcerated person to get a job, the law also prohibits persons convicted of at least 36 crimes from being licensed without a hearing. Those include: • Capital murder • Murder in the first degree • Manslaughter • Negligent homicide • Kidnapping • False imprisonment in the first degree • Permanent detention or restraint • Robbery • Aggravated robbery • Battery in the first degree • Aggravated assault • Introduction of controlled substance into to the body of another • Terroristic threatening in the first degree • Rape • Sexual indecency with a child • Sexual extortion • Sexual assault in the first degree, second degree, third degree and fourth degree • Incest • Offenses against the family