CS/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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to occupational licensure of military 2
spouses; amending s. 456.024, F.S.; requiring the 3
Department of Health or the applicable board to issue 4
a professional license to spouses of active duty 5
members of the Armed Forces of the United States if 6
certain requirements are met; requiring the department 7
to waive the application fee for such license 8
applications; authorizing applicants issued such 9
licenses to renew their licenses if certain 10
requirements are met; providing construction; 11
requiring the department or applicable board to 12
expedite applications for such licenses; requiring the 13
department or applicable board to issue a temporary 14
professional license under certain circumstances; 15
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 16
providing an effective date. 17
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19
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Section 1. Paragraphs (a), (c), (e), (f), (g), (h), and 21
(i) of subsection (4) of section 456.024, Florida Statutes, are 22
amended, and paragraph (j) is added to that subsection, to read: 23
456.024 Members of Armed Forces in good standing with 24
administrative boards or the department; spouses; licensure. — 25
CS/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)(a) The board, or the dep artment if there is no board, 26
shall may issue a temporary professional license to the spouse 27
of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United 28
States who submits to the department: 29
1. A completed application upon a form prepared and 30
furnished by the department in accordance with the board's 31
rules; 32
2. The required application fee; 33
3. Proof that the applicant is married to a member of the 34
Armed Forces of the United States who is on active duty; 35
3.4. Proof that the applicant holds a valid lice nse for 36
the profession issued by another state, the District of 37
Columbia, or a possession or territory of the United States, and 38
is not the subject of any disciplinary proceeding in any 39
jurisdiction in which the applicant holds a license to practice 40
a profession regulated by this chapter; 41
4.5. Proof that the applicant's spouse is assigned to a 42
duty station in this state pursuant to the member's official 43
active duty military orders; and 44
5.6. Proof that the applicant would otherwise be entitled 45
to full licensure under the appropriate practice act, and is 46
eligible to take the respective licensure examination as 47
required in Florida. 48
(c) Each board, or the department if there is no board, 49
shall review the results of the state and federal criminal 50
CS/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
history checks according to the level 2 screening standards in 51
s. 435.04 when granting an exemption and when granting or 52
denying the temporary license. 53
(e) The department shall waive the applicant's licensure 54
set an application fee, which may not exceed the cost o f issuing 55
the license. 56
(f) An applicant issued a license under this subsection 57
may renew such license upon completion of the conditions for 58
renewal required of licenseholders under the applicable practice 59
act, including, without limitation, continuing ed ucation 60
requirements. This paragraph does not limit waiver of initial 61
licensure requirements under this subsection A temporary license 62
expires 12 months after the date of issuance and is not 63
renewable. 64
(g) An applicant for a temporary license under this 65
subsection is subject to the requirements under s. 456.013(3)(a) 66
and (c). 67
(h) An applicant shall be deemed ineligible for a 68
temporary license pursuant to this section if the applicant: 69
1. Has been convicted of or pled nolo contendere to, 70
regardless of adjudication, any felony or misdemeanor related to 71
the practice of a health care profession; 72
2. Has had a health care provider license revoked or 73
suspended from another of the United States, the District of 74
Columbia, or a United States territory; 75
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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
3. Has been reported to the National Practitioner Data 76
Bank, unless the applicant has successfully appealed to have his 77
or her name removed from the data bank; or 78
4. Has previously failed the Florida examination required 79
to receive a license to practice the p rofession for which the 80
applicant is seeking a license. 81
(i) The board, or the department if there is no board, may 82
revoke a temporary license upon finding that the individual 83
violated the profession's governing practice act. 84
(j) The board, or the depar tment if there is no board, 85
shall: 86
1. Expedite all applications submitted by a spouse of an 87
active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States 88
pursuant to this section; and 89
2. Issue a temporary professional license valid for the 90
duration of the application review process to such spouse once 91
the board or department verifies the information provided by the 92
spouse pursuant to paragraph (a) is accurate. 93
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 94