SLS 18RS-3551 ORIGINAL
2018 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 184
BY SENATORS PERRY, BISHOP, FANNIN AND TARVER
MILITARY AFFAIRS. Requests state professional and occupational licensing boards
review and implement Louisiana law as it relates to the issuance of licenses to military
families in the state.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request that all state professional and occupational licensing boards review and
3 implement existing Louisiana law as it relates to the issuance of occupational or
4 professional licenses to military families in the state.
5 WHEREAS, military spending in Louisiana accounts for a total annual economic
6 impact of $7.7 billion that supports over 77,000 employees; and
7 WHEREAS, focusing on the mission is always the priority of our military service
8 members, and one of the factors that military families cite most frequently as a drawback to
9 military service is the ability of spouses to obtain jobs and sustain careers; and
10 WHEREAS, our military families relocate frequently and facilitating the ability of
11 military spouses to continue their work in a new place of residence without delay or
12 additional expense is important to the state's efforts to grow and maintain its military
13 communities; and
14 WHEREAS, spouses in professionally licensed fields such as medical, legal,
15 engineering, education, accounting, or the cosmetic arts face challenges due to delays or cost
16 of transferring licenses to a new state or jurisdiction, and eliminating or mitigating these
17 barriers will improve quality of life for our military families and ease the stress of
18 transferring duty stations with consideration for long-term career implications; and
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SLS 18RS-3551 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, R.S. 37:3651(C) requires a professional or occupational licensing board
2 to "issue a license, certification, or registration to a military spouse to allow a military
3 spouse to lawfully practice" his or her occupation in Louisiana if the military spouse meets
4 certain criteria; and
5 WHEREAS, R.S. 37:3651 also provides that when a military spouse is licensed in
6 another state and that state's licensure standards are "substantially equivalent" to Louisiana
7 standards, professional and occupational licensing boards are required to issue a temporary
8 practice permit to the military spouse while he or she is satisfying any remaining
9 requirements of Louisiana law; and
10 WHEREAS, Governor John Bel Edwards issued a letter on January 4, 2018, to over
11 fifty of the state's professional licensing boards urging them to review and implement these
12 existing provisions of Louisiana law as they relate to military spouses seeking a professional
13 license in Louisiana upon relocation.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
15 does hereby urge and request that all Louisiana state professional or occupational licensing
16 boards review and implement these existing provisions of R.S. 37:3651 and issue a license,
17 certification, or registration to a military-trained applicant or military spouse to allow the
18 applicant to lawfully practice the applicant's occupation in this state.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jerry J. Guillot.
DIGEST
SR 184 Original 2018 Regular Session Perry
Requests that all La. state professional or occupational licensing boards review and
implement existing law (R.S. 37:3651) regarding the issuance of professional or
occupational licenses, certificates, or registration to a military-trained applicant or military
spouse.
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