Career opportunities will soon come knocking for some in Butler County after the governor signed a bill Wednesday removing certain work barriers for people with criminal records.

Brandon Savochka, director of Butler County Human Services, said the new law Gov. Tom Wolf signed would be helpful to a number of people in the county. The law opens license board applications to skilled workers who have faced previous criminal cases.

Under the law, which was sponsored by state Sen. John DiSanto, R-15th, and Sen. Judy Schwank, D-11th, boards and commissions can no longer use a person’s criminal record to deny them a license, according to an announcement from Wolf.

“It could be beneficial just because a lot of people we work with have had previous involvement with the criminal justice system and have felonies that have restricted some of their career opportunities and that’s what this licensing bill will do,” Savochka said.

The bill was inspired by the concept that existing barriers often lead to people with criminal records repeating criminal offenses due to their lack of a job, according to the bill’s language. The Pennsylvania General Assembly unanimously passed versions of the bill last week.

Under the new law, the 29 state licensing boards — like the ones for chiropractors and dentistry — can consider an applicant’s criminal history, but it can’t be a justification in rejecting that applicant, according to the bill’s language. The law limits automatic bans only for sex crimes, serious crimes of violence and drug trafficking offenses.

The new law, Savochka said, will allow many people to move past an entry level job and provide them with a real career opportunity.

“For the people we work with, that’s a significant factor,” Savochka said. “These jobs have steadier and higher levels of incomes and they’ll be able to better meet their basic needs.”

Savochka pointed out that in state prisons, barbershop and cosmetology programs are popular classes that inmates often take before their release. But before the bill was passed, these same people would often be rejected from getting a barber or cosmetology license because of their past conviction.

The law will also fast track people in certain careers upon their release from incarceration. It does this by creating temporary licenses in barbering and cosmetology for re-entrants trained in a correctional facility who otherwise would be denied a license because of their criminal record. Licensees can work one to two years and demonstrate competency.

In his announcement, Wolf notes that criminal justice reform and occupational licensure reform are both priorities for him.