Committee releases bill directing Labor Dept. to post reentry-friendly job openings

A bill that would require the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to identify and post ongoing job opportunities with minimal barriers for people returning from incarceration was released by the Assembly Labor Committee on a motion to move it forward with committee amendments.

Supporters told the committee A‑1760 would expand transparency and reduce wasted time for applicants who are often screened out by blanket background-check policies. "If a conviction is an automatic disqualifier, say so upfront and avoid suboptimal use of labor hours," Ayesha Campbell, a representative of Beyond Prison Coalition and Habakkuk's Vision Charitable Ministries, told the panel. Campbell, who described herself as directly impacted by the justice system, said many returning citizens were routinely excluded from work despite having valuable skills learned in custody.

The bill would require the department to post identified positions on its website and would obligate state-funded prisoner reentry program organizations and related entities to report employment partnerships, opportunities and other employment-related data to the department on a quarterly basis, according to the clerk's reading of the measure.

"This bill matters," Campbell said, arguing that increased transparency would reduce repeated interviews that end with an automatic rejection. Alan Killebrew of Isles (also describing work with an "IELTS Youth Institute" program in his testimony) said the legislation would support youth and formerly incarcerated people trying to rebuild their lives; he cited a colleague's estimate that incarceration costs taxpayers between "$66,000 and $74,000 per year" as a reason to invest in reentry supports.

Ronald Pierce, deputy ombudsman for the correction ombudsman's office, said the bill would give applicants "a realistic expectation" about employers likely to hire people with records and would reduce pointless interview cycles. A returning citizen and 2024 clemency recipient who testified described education and reentry programming as crucial but said barriers after release—housing, employment and licensing—remain substantial.

During debate, Assemblyman Bergen argued the state may be duplicating nonprofit efforts and questioned whether government should perform work nonprofits already provide. "Why we always have to have the state do charitable organizations' work?" Bergen said, adding he would oppose the approach. The committee nevertheless voted to release the bill as amended on a motion (mover: Assemblywoman Flynn; second: Assemblyman Bergen). The clerk announced the bill was released as amended and will proceed according to committee process.

The committee did not adopt the record of individual floor votes in the transcript beyond the clerk's readback that the motion passed and the bill was released; committee members asked staff and sponsors to continue conversations to clarify implementation details and reporting requirements.