Governor Orders Review Of Ex-offenders' Barriers To Work

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Gov. Larry Hogan has ordered a review of state rules that make it hard for ex-offenders to find employment.

The governor announced Wednesday his administration will conduct a one-year review of the legal barriers ex-offenders face in Maryland. The work group will study regulations that penalize people with criminal records and make it hard for them for get professional licenses or student loans.

The group will be led by Christopher Shank, a former state senator who now heads the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

Shank says some restrictions to former offenders make sense and the commission will likely keep many of them intact.

Hogan says the group will have to submit its findings by Dec. 1, 2016.