| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to military spouses; amending s. 456.024, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing for issuance of a temporary license to |
| 4 | specified health care practitioners who are spouses of |
| 5 | active duty members of the Armed Forces under certain |
| 6 | circumstances; providing for criminal history checks; |
| 7 | providing fees; providing for expiration of a temporary |
| 8 | license; providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section 456.024, |
| 13 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 14 | 456.024 Members of Armed Forces in good standing with |
| 15 | administrative boards or the department; spouses.- |
| 16 | (3)(a) The department may issue a temporary professional |
| 17 | license to the spouse of an active duty member of the Armed |
| 18 | Forces of the United States who submits to the department: |
| 19 | 1. A completed application; |
| 20 | 2. The required application fee; |
| 21 | 3. Proof that the applicant is married to a member of the |
| 22 | Armed Forces of the United States who is on active duty; |
| 23 | 4. Proof that the applicant holds a valid license for the |
| 24 | profession issued by another state, the District of Columbia, a |
| 25 | possession or territory of the United States, or a foreign |
| 26 | jurisdiction; and |
| 27 | 5. Proof that the applicant's spouse is assigned to a duty |
| 28 | station in this state and that the applicant is also assigned to |
| 29 | a duty station in this state pursuant to the member's official |
| 30 | active duty military orders. |
| 31 | (b) The applicant must also submit to the Department of |
| 32 | Law Enforcement a complete set of fingerprints. The Department |
| 33 | of Law Enforcement shall conduct a statewide criminal history |
| 34 | check and forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of |
| 35 | Investigation for a national criminal history check. |
| 36 | (c) The department shall, and the board may, review the |
| 37 | results of the state and federal criminal history checks |
| 38 | according to the level 2 screening standards in s. 435.04 and |
| 39 | shall determine whether the applicant meets the licensure |
| 40 | requirements. |
| 41 | (d) The applicant shall pay the cost of fingerprint |
| 42 | processing. If the fingerprints are submitted through an |
| 43 | authorized agency or vendor, the agency or vendor shall collect |
| 44 | the required processing fees and remit the fees to the |
| 45 | Department of Law Enforcement. |
| 46 | (e) The department shall set an application fee, which may |
| 47 | not exceed the cost of issuing the license. |
| 48 | (f) A temporary license expires 6 months after the date of |
| 49 | issuance and is not renewable. |
| 50 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |