HB 559 2022
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hb0559-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to occupational licensure of military 2
spouses; amending s. 455.02, F.S.; requiring the 3
Department of Business and Professional Regulation or 4
the applicable board or program 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
temporary professional licenses under certain 9
circumstances; amending s. 456.024, F.S.; requiring 10
the Department of Health or the applicable board to 11
issue a professional license to spouses of active duty 12
members of the Armed Forces of the United States if 13
certain requirements are met; requiring the department 14
to waive the application fee for such license 15
applications; authorizing applicants issued such 16
licenses to renew their licenses if certain 17
requirements are met; providing construction; 18
requiring the department or applicable board to 19
expedite applications for suc h licenses; requiring the 20
department or applicable board to issue a temporary 21
professional license under certain circumstances; 22
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 23
providing an effective date. 24
25
HB 559 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the Stat e of Florida: 26
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Section 1. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (3) of 28
section 455.02, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (a) of that 29
subsection is republished, to read: 30
455.02 Licensure of members of the Armed Forces in good 31
standing and their spouses o r surviving spouses with 32
administrative boards or programs. — 33
(3)(a) The department shall issue a professional license 34
to an applicant who is or was an active duty member of the Armed 35
Forces of the United States, or who is a spouse or surviving 36
spouse of such member, upon application to the department in a 37
format prescribed by the department. An application must include 38
proof that: 39
1. The applicant is or was an active duty member of the 40
Armed Forces of the United States or is married to a member of 41
the Armed Forces of the United States and was married to the 42
member during any period of active duty or was married to such a 43
member who at the time of the member's death was serving on 44
active duty. An applicant who was an active duty member of the 45
Armed Forces of the United States must have received an 46
honorable discharge upon separation or discharge from the Armed 47
Forces of the United States. 48
2. The applicant holds a valid license for the profession 49
issued by another state, the District of Columbia, any 50
HB 559 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
possession or territory of the United States, or any foreign 51
jurisdiction. 52
3. The applicant, where required by the specific practice 53
act, has complied with insurance or bonding requirements. 54
4.a. A complete set of the applicant's fingerprints is 55
submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement for a statewide 56
criminal history check. 57
b. The Department of Law Enforcement shall forward the 58
fingerprints submitted pursuant to sub -subparagraph a. to the 59
Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal hist ory 60
check. The department shall, and the board may, review the 61
results of the criminal history checks according to the level 2 62
screening standards in s. 435.04 and determine whether the 63
applicant meets the licensure requirements. The costs of 64
fingerprint processing shall be borne by the applicant. If the 65
applicant's fingerprints are submitted through an authorized 66
agency or vendor, the agency or vendor shall collect the 67
required processing fees and remit the fees to the Department of 68
Law Enforcement. 69
(d) The department or the applicable board or program 70
shall: 71
1. Expedite all applications submitted by a spouse of an 72
active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States 73
pursuant to this subsection; and 74
2. Issue a temporary professional license val id for the 75
HB 559 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
duration of the application review process to such spouse once 76
the department, board, or program verifies the information 77
provided by the spouse pursuant to subparagraphs (a)1., 2., and 78
3. is accurate. 79
Section 2. Paragraphs (a), (c), (e), (f ), (g), (h), and 80
(i) of subsection (4) of section 456.024, Florida Statutes, are 81
amended, and paragraph (j) is added to that subsection, to read: 82
456.024 Members of Armed Forces in good standing with 83
administrative boards or the department; spouses; licensure. — 84
(4)(a) The board, or the department if there is no board, 85
shall may issue a temporary professional license to the spouse 86
of an active duty membe r of the Armed Forces of the United 87
States who submits to the department: 88
1. A completed application upon a form prepared and 89
furnished by the department in accordance with the board's 90
rules; 91
2. The required application fee; 92
3. Proof that the applica nt is married to a member of the 93
Armed Forces of the United States who is on active duty; 94
3.4. Proof that the applicant holds a valid license for 95
the profession issued by another state, the District of 96
Columbia, or a possession or territory of the United States, and 97
is not the subject of any disciplinary proceeding in any 98
jurisdiction in which the applicant holds a license to practice 99
a profession regulated by this chapter; 100
HB 559 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
4.5. Proof that the applicant's spouse is assigned to a 101
duty station in this sta te pursuant to the member's official 102
active duty military orders; and 103
5.6. Proof that the applicant would otherwise be entitled 104
to full licensure under the appropriate practice act, and is 105
eligible to take the respective licensure examination as 106
required in Florida. 107
(c) Each board, or the department if there is no board, 108
shall review the results of the state and federal criminal 109
history checks according to the level 2 screening standards in 110
s. 435.04 when granting an exemption and when granting or 111
denying the temporary license. 112
(e) The department shall waive the applicant's licensure 113
set an application fee, which may not exceed the cost of issuing 114
the license. 115
(f) An applicant issued a license under this subsection 116
may renew such license upon complet ion of the conditions for 117
renewal required of licenseholders under the applicable practice 118
act, including, without limitation, continuing education 119
requirements. This paragraph does not limit waiver of initial 120
licensure requirements under this subsection A temporary license 121
expires 12 months after the date of issuance and is not 122
renewable. 123
(g) An applicant for a temporary license under this 124
subsection is subject to the requirements under s. 456.013(3)(a) 125
HB 559 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
and (c). 126
(h) An applicant shall be deemed ineligi ble for a 127
temporary license pursuant to this section if the applicant: 128
1. Has been convicted of or pled nolo contendere to, 129
regardless of adjudication, any felony or misdemeanor related to 130
the practice of a health care profession; 131
2. Has had a health c are provider license revoked or 132
suspended from another of the United States, the District of 133
Columbia, or a United States territory; 134
3. Has been reported to the National Practitioner Data 135
Bank, unless the applicant has successfully appealed to have his 136
or her name removed from the data bank; or 137
4. Has previously failed the Florida examination required 138
to receive a license to practice the profession for which the 139
applicant is seeking a license. 140
(i) The board, or the department if there is no board, may 141
revoke a temporary license upon finding that the individual 142
violated the profession's governing practice act. 143
(j) The board, or the department if there is no board, 144
shall: 145
1. Expedite all applications submitted by a spouse of an 146
active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States 147
pursuant to this section; and 148
2. Issue a temporary professional license valid for the 149
duration of the application review process to such spouse once 150
HB 559 2022
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hb0559-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the board or department verifies the information provided by the 151
spouse pursuant to paragraph (a) is accurate. 152
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 153