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.