SB 562                                           First Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       2022562e1
       
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to military occupational licensure;
    3         amending s. 455.02, F.S.; requiring the Department of
    4         Business and Professional Regulation to expedite
    5         professional license applications submitted by spouses
    6         of active duty members of the Armed Forces of the
    7         United States; requiring the department to issue
    8         certain licenses within a specified timeframe;
    9         amending s. 456.024, F.S.; requiring the Department of
   10         Health and certain boards to issue a professional
   11         license to spouses of active duty members of the Armed
   12         Forces of the United States if certain requirements
   13         are met; requiring the department to waive the
   14         application fee for such license applications;
   15         requiring the department and certain boards to
   16         expedite applications for such licenses and to issue
   17         such licenses within a specified timeframe; conforming
   18         provisions to changes made by the act; providing an
   19         effective date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (3) of
   24  section 455.02, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (a) of that
   25  subsection is republished, to read:
   26         455.02 Licensure of members of the Armed Forces in good
   27  standing and their spouses or surviving spouses with
   28  administrative boards or programs.—
   29         (3)(a) The department shall issue a professional license to
   30  an applicant who is or was an active duty member of the Armed
   31  Forces of the United States, or who is a spouse or surviving
   32  spouse of such member, upon application to the department in a
   33  format prescribed by the department. An application must include
   34  proof that:
   35         1. The applicant is or was an active duty member of the
   36  Armed Forces of the United States or is married to a member of
   37  the Armed Forces of the United States and was married to the
   38  member during any period of active duty or was married to such a
   39  member who at the time of the member’s death was serving on
   40  active duty. An applicant who was an active duty member of the
   41  Armed Forces of the United States must have received an
   42  honorable discharge upon separation or discharge from the Armed
   43  Forces of the United States.
   44         2. The applicant holds a valid license for the profession
   45  issued by another state, the District of Columbia, any
   46  possession or territory of the United States, or any foreign
   47  jurisdiction.
   48         3. The applicant, where required by the specific practice
   49  act, has complied with insurance or bonding requirements.
   50         4.a. A complete set of the applicant’s fingerprints is
   51  submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement for a statewide
   52  criminal history check.
   53         b. The Department of Law Enforcement shall forward the
   54  fingerprints submitted pursuant to sub-subparagraph a. to the
   55  Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history
   56  check. The department shall, and the board may, review the
   57  results of the criminal history checks according to the level 2
   58  screening standards in s. 435.04 and determine whether the
   59  applicant meets the licensure requirements. The costs of
   60  fingerprint processing shall be borne by the applicant. If the
   61  applicant’s fingerprints are submitted through an authorized
   62  agency or vendor, the agency or vendor shall collect the
   63  required processing fees and remit the fees to the Department of
   64  Law Enforcement.
   65         (d)The department shall expedite all applications
   66  submitted by a spouse of an active duty member of the Armed
   67  Forces of the United States pursuant to this subsection and
   68  shall issue a license within 7 days after receipt of a complete
   69  application that includes all required documentation under
   70  subparagraphs (a)1.-4.
   71         Section 2. Present paragraphs (a), (c), and (e) through (i)
   72  of subsection (4) of section 456.024, Florida Statutes, are
   73  amended, and a new paragraph (i) is added to that subsection, to
   74  read:
   75         456.024 Members of Armed Forces in good standing with
   76  administrative boards or the department; spouses; licensure.—
   77         (4)(a) The board, or the department if there is no board,
   78  shall may issue a temporary professional license to the spouse
   79  of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United
   80  States who submits to the department:
   81         1. A completed application upon a form prepared and
   82  furnished by the department in accordance with the board’s
   83  rules;
   84         2. The required application fee;
   85         3. Proof that the applicant is married to a member of the
   86  Armed Forces of the United States who is on active duty;
   87         3.4. Proof that the applicant holds a valid license for the
   88  profession issued by another state, the District of Columbia, or
   89  a possession or territory of the United States, and is not the
   90  subject of any disciplinary proceeding in any jurisdiction in
   91  which the applicant holds a license to practice a profession
   92  regulated by this chapter;
   93         4.5. Proof that the applicant’s spouse is assigned to a
   94  duty station in this state pursuant to the member’s official
   95  active duty military orders; and
   96         5.6. Proof that the applicant would otherwise be entitled
   97  to full licensure under the appropriate practice act, and is
   98  eligible to take the respective licensure examination as
   99  required in Florida.
  100         (c) Each board, or the department if there is no board,
  101  shall review the results of the state and federal criminal
  102  history checks according to the level 2 screening standards in
  103  s. 435.04 when granting an exemption and when granting or
  104  denying the temporary license.
  105         (e) The department shall waive the applicant’s licensure
  106  set an application fee, which may not exceed the cost of issuing
  107  the license.
  108         (f) A temporary license expires 12 months after the date of
  109  issuance and is not renewable.
  110         (g) An applicant for a temporary license under this
  111  subsection is subject to the requirements under s. 456.013(3)(a)
  112  and (c).
  113         (g)(h) An applicant shall be deemed ineligible for a
  114  temporary license pursuant to this section if the applicant:
  115         1. Has been convicted of or pled nolo contendere to,
  116  regardless of adjudication, any felony or misdemeanor related to
  117  the practice of a health care profession;
  118         2. Has had a health care provider license revoked or
  119  suspended from another of the United States, the District of
  120  Columbia, or a United States territory;
  121         3. Has been reported to the National Practitioner Data
  122  Bank, unless the applicant has successfully appealed to have his
  123  or her name removed from the data bank; or
  124         4. Has previously failed the Florida examination required
  125  to receive a license to practice the profession for which the
  126  applicant is seeking a license.
  127         (h)(i) The board, or the department if there is no board,
  128  may revoke a temporary license upon finding that the individual
  129  violated the profession’s governing practice act.
  130         (i)The board, or the department if there is no board,
  131  shall expedite all applications submitted by a spouse of an
  132  active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States
  133  pursuant to this subsection and shall issue a license within 7
  134  days after receipt of all required documentation for such
  135  application.
  136         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.