The council of Trent certainly indicated that a license to study the scriptures was required. I will admit that I am not sure that it was still in effect until Vatican II. Since my high school friends told me they needed to have permission from the priest to study the Bible, I simply assumed that the license requirement was still in effect, as Vatican II occurred during that time period. It may have been lifted before that time.
Are you willing to admit that there was a time when the laity needed permission to read the bible on their own?
in a small way, yes. If it were a new translation of the Bible, the Church had to approve it first before the general public could read it. If it was a version of the Bible already approved, the laity was definitely encouraged and exhorted to read it, without having to ask permission.
I had one Catholic grandparent. She read the bible an hour a day at least, and that started long before Vatican 2.