| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to temporary certificates and licenses for |
| 3 | certain health care practitioners; amending s. 456.024, |
| 4 | F.S.; providing for issuance of a temporary license to |
| 5 | specified health care practitioners who are spouses of |
| 6 | active duty members of the Armed Forces under certain |
| 7 | circumstances; providing for criminal history checks; |
| 8 | providing fees; providing for expiration of a temporary |
| 9 | license; providing that temporary licensees are subject to |
| 10 | specified general licensing requirements; amending ss. |
| 11 | 458.315 and 459.0076, F.S.; naming temporary certificates |
| 12 | issued to physicians who practice in areas of critical |
| 13 | need as the "Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins, Jr., Temporary |
| 14 | Certificate for Practice in Areas of Critical Need"; |
| 15 | providing an effective date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section 456.024, |
| 20 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 21 | 456.024 Members of Armed Forces in good standing with |
| 22 | administrative boards or the department; spouses.- |
| 23 | (3)(a) The board, or the department when there is no |
| 24 | board, may issue a temporary professional license to the spouse |
| 25 | of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United |
| 26 | States who submits to the department: |
| 27 | 1. A completed application upon a form prepared and |
| 28 | furnished by the department in accordance with the board's |
| 29 | rules; |
| 30 | 2. The required application fee; |
| 31 | 3. Proof that the applicant is married to a member of the |
| 32 | Armed Forces of the United States who is on active duty; |
| 33 | 4. Proof that the applicant holds a valid license for the |
| 34 | profession issued by another state, the District of Columbia, or |
| 35 | a possession or territory of the United States, and is not the |
| 36 | subject of any disciplinary proceeding in any jurisdiction in |
| 37 | which the applicant holds a license to practice a profession |
| 38 | regulated by this chapter; |
| 39 | 5. Proof that the applicant has actively practiced the |
| 40 | profession for a period of no less than 3 years; |
| 41 | 6. Proof that the applicant's spouse is assigned to a duty |
| 42 | station in this state pursuant to the member's official active |
| 43 | duty military orders; and |
| 44 | 7. Proof that the applicant would otherwise be entitled to |
| 45 | full licensure under the appropriate practice act and is |
| 46 | eligible to take the respective licensure examination as |
| 47 | required in Florida. The applicant shall comply with any |
| 48 | criminal background check requirements contained in the |
| 49 | applicable practice act, except as otherwise provided in this |
| 50 | section. The board, or the department if there is no board, |
| 51 | shall review the results of any criminal background check and |
| 52 | shall deny or approve the application consistent with the |
| 53 | applicable practice act. The applicant shall pay the cost of |
| 54 | fingerprint processing. If the fingerprints are submitted |
| 55 | through an authorized agency or vendor, the agency or vendor |
| 56 | shall collect the required processing fees and remit the fees to |
| 57 | the Department of Law Enforcement. |
| 58 | (b) An applicant is ineligible for a temporary license |
| 59 | pursuant to this section if the applicant: |
| 60 | 1. Has been convicted of or pled nolo contendere to, |
| 61 | regardless of adjudication, any felony or misdemeanor related to |
| 62 | the practice of a health care profession; |
| 63 | 2. Has had a health care provider license revoked or |
| 64 | suspended from another state, the District of Columbia, or a |
| 65 | United States territory; |
| 66 | 3. Has been reported to the National Practitioner Data |
| 67 | Bank, unless the applicant successfully appealed to have his or |
| 68 | her name removed from the data bank; or |
| 69 | 4. Has previously failed a Florida-administered |
| 70 | examination that is required to receive a license pursuant to s. |
| 71 | 466.006. |
| 72 | (c) The board, or department when there is no board, may |
| 73 | revoke a temporary license upon a finding that the individual |
| 74 | violated the profession's governing practice act. |
| 75 | (d) The department shall set an application fee, which may |
| 76 | not exceed the cost of issuing the license. |
| 77 | (e) A temporary license expires 6 months after the date of |
| 78 | issuance and is not renewable. |
| 79 | (f) A person issued a temporary license under this |
| 80 | subsection is subject to the requirements of s. 456.013(3)(a) |
| 81 | and (c). |
| 82 | Section 2. Present subsections (1) through (4) of section |
| 83 | 458.315, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) |
| 84 | through (5), respectively, and a new subsection (1) is added to |
| 85 | that section, to read: |
| 86 | 458.315 Temporary certificate for practice in areas of |
| 87 | critical need.- |
| 88 | (1) A certificate issued pursuant to this section may be |
| 89 | cited as the "Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins, Jr., Temporary |
| 90 | Certificate for Practice in Areas of Critical Need." |
| 91 | Section 3. Present subsections (1) through (4) of section |
| 92 | 459.0076, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) |
| 93 | through (5), respectively, and a new subsection (1) is added to |
| 94 | that section, to read: |
| 95 | 459.0076 Temporary certificate for practice in areas of |
| 96 | critical need.- |
| 97 | (1) A certificate issued pursuant to this section may be |
| 98 | cited as the "Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins, Jr., Temporary |
| 99 | Certificate for Practice in Areas of Critical Need." |
| 100 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |