By 1992, when an undercover McAllen police officer busted her during a prostitution sting, Linda Ferriulo had been living on the street for nearly four years. Hitting bottom meant she could start climbing back up. She pleaded guilty and a few months later moved to a halfway house.
It wasn’t. Twenty-five years after the state paid for and granted her permission to work as a massage therapist, Texas informed Ferriulo it was now taking away her license because of the 1992 crime. “Respondent's clients include members of President George W. Bush's cabinet, President Obama's cabinet, current members of President Biden's cabinet, players with the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars as well as elite members and executives in the business community in the Dallas Fort Worth area,” a legal filing stated.
A handful of automatic bans nevertheless remain in pockets of state law. The Secretary of State’s office summarily rejects notary public applicants for a variety of crimes, no matter how old. A recent legal change has resulted in the agency even taking back licenses from notaries who have worked without incident for years because of past offenses.
After being contacted by several therapists threatened with de-licensing, last year Johnson introduced athat would have given massage regulators the same discretion as other professions to forgive an applicant’s past crimes. It was on the cusp of passing until it died in the 2021 session’s final hours as legislators wrangled over controversial changes to state election law.
Abbott and the Board of Pardons and Paroles could fix this with some paperwork.