The State House is the next stop for a bill seeking to ask that employers only consider an applicant’s criminal record once a candidate has passed the initial screening of applicants.  The measure, Senate Bill 583, passed the Senate last week. Albuquerque Democrat Bill O’Neill is the bill’s Senate sponsor. *****020915-O’Neill-2 :20*****O’Neill stresses the bill does not seek to prevent employers from doing their due diligence when it comes to hiring. *****020915-O’Neill-3 :37***** The effort to get the bill approved is a bi-partisan one—the measure is sponsored in the House by Republican Alonzo Baldonado of Los Lunas. It’s been called the “ban the box” bill because it would do away with checking an application’s yes or no box to answer the question: “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?”