Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1272
       
       
        
       By Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       
       24-01510A-17                                          20171272__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to professional regulation; providing
    3         a short title; amending s. 455.02, F.S.; revising the
    4         length of time that an active duty member of the Armed
    5         Forces of the United States may remain in good
    6         standing with an administrative board under certain
    7         circumstances; requiring that a spouse or surviving
    8         spouse be kept in good standing and be exempt from
    9         licensure renewal provisions under certain
   10         circumstances; requiring, rather than authorizing, the
   11         Department of Business and Professional Regulation to
   12         issue a professional license, rather than a temporary
   13         license, to specified applicants; revising application
   14         requirements; requiring the department to waive the
   15         applicant’s initial licensure application fee;
   16         authorizing licensure renewal; amending s. 455.219,
   17         F.S.; providing for a fee waiver for active duty
   18         members of the Armed Services, certain spouses or
   19         surviving spouses of an active duty member and low
   20         income individuals; requiring an application for a fee
   21         waiver to be processed within a specified time;
   22         providing rulemaking authority; providing an effective
   23         date.
   24          
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Occupational
   28  Opportunity Act.”
   29         Section 2. Section 455.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   30  read:
   31         455.02 Licensure of members of the Armed Forces in good
   32  standing and their spouses or surviving spouses with
   33  administrative boards.—
   34         (1) Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States now
   35  or hereafter on active duty who, at the time of becoming such a
   36  member, was in good standing with any of the boards listed in s.
   37  20.165 administrative board of the state and was entitled to
   38  practice or engage in his or her profession or vocation in the
   39  state shall be kept in good standing by the applicable such
   40  administrative board, without registering, paying dues or fees,
   41  or performing any other act on his or her part to be performed,
   42  as long as he or she is a member of the Armed Forces of the
   43  United States on active duty and for a period of 2 years 6
   44  months after discharge from active duty as a member of the Armed
   45  Forces of the United States, if he or she is not engaged in his
   46  or her licensed profession or vocation in the private sector for
   47  profit.
   48         (2) A spouse of a member of the Armed Services of the
   49  United States who is married to a member during a period of
   50  active duty, or a surviving spouse of a member who at the time
   51  of death was serving on active duty, The boards listed in s.
   52  20.165 shall adopt rules that exempt the spouse of a member of
   53  the Armed Forces of the United States who is in good standing
   54  with any of the boards listed in s. 20.165 shall be kept in good
   55  standing by the applicable board as described in subsection (1)
   56  and shall be exempt from licensure renewal provisions, but only
   57  in cases of his or her absence from the state because of his or
   58  her spouse’s duties with the Armed Forces.
   59         (3)(a) The department shall may issue a temporary
   60  professional license to an applicant who is or was the spouse of
   61  an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States,
   62  or who is a spouse or surviving spouse of such member, if the
   63  spouse upon application applies to the department in a the
   64  format prescribed by the department. An application must include
   65  proof that:
   66         1. The applicant is or was an active duty member of the
   67  Armed Forces of the United States or is married to a member of
   68  the Armed Forces of the United States and was married to the
   69  member during any period of who is on active duty or was married
   70  to such a member who at the time of the member’s death was
   71  serving on active duty.
   72         2. The applicant holds a valid license for the profession
   73  issued by another state, the District of Columbia, any
   74  possession or territory of the United States, or any foreign
   75  jurisdiction.
   76         3.The applicant’s spouse is assigned to a duty station in
   77  this state and that the applicant is also assigned to a duty
   78  station in this state pursuant to the member’s official active
   79  duty military orders.
   80         3.a.4.a. A complete set of the applicant’s fingerprints is
   81  submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement for a statewide
   82  criminal history check.
   83         b. The Department of Law Enforcement shall forward the
   84  fingerprints submitted pursuant to sub-subparagraph a. to the
   85  Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history
   86  check. The department shall, and the board may, review the
   87  results of the criminal history checks according to the level 2
   88  screening standards in s. 435.04 and determine whether the
   89  applicant meets the licensure requirements. The costs of
   90  fingerprint processing shall be borne by the applicant. If the
   91  applicant’s fingerprints are submitted through an authorized
   92  agency or vendor, the agency or vendor shall collect the
   93  required processing fees and remit the fees to the Department of
   94  Law Enforcement.
   95         (b) The department shall waive the applicant’s initial
   96  licensure application fee An application must be accompanied by
   97  an application fee prescribed by the department that is
   98  sufficient to cover the cost of issuance of the temporary
   99  license.
  100         (c) An applicant who is issued a license under this section
  101  may renew such license upon completion of the conditions for
  102  renewal required of licenseholders under the applicable practice
  103  act, including, without limitation, continuing education
  104  requirements. This paragraph does not limit waiver of initial
  105  licensure requirements under this subsection. A temporary
  106  license expires 6 months after the date of issuance and is not
  107  renewable.
  108         Section 3. Subsection (7) is added to section 455.219,
  109  Florida Statutes, to read:
  110         455.219 Fees; receipts; disposition; periodic management
  111  reports.—
  112         (7)(a)The department, or a board thereunder, shall waive
  113  the initial licensing fee for a member of the Armed Services of
  114  the United States that has served on active duty, the spouse of
  115  a member of the Armed Services of the United States who was
  116  married to the member during a period of active duty, the
  117  surviving spouse of a member of the Armed Services of the United
  118  States who at the time of death was serving on active duty, or a
  119  low-income individual upon application by the individual in a
  120  format prescribed by the department. The application format must
  121  include the applicant’s signature, under penalty of perjury, and
  122  supporting documentation as required by the department. For
  123  purposes of this subsection, the term “low-income individual”
  124  means a person whose household income, before taxes, is at or
  125  below 130 percent of the federal poverty guidelines prescribed
  126  for the family’s household size by the United States Department
  127  of Health and Human Services or a person who is enrolled in a
  128  state or federal public assistance program, including, but not
  129  limited to, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid,
  130  or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
  131         (b)The department, or a board thereunder, shall process an
  132  application for a fee waiver within 30 days of receiving it from
  133  the applicant.
  134         (c)The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement
  135  the provisions of this subsection.
  136         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.