By: Buckley H.B. No. 4413
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state occupational licensing of certain military
veterans and military spouses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.052, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a-1), (b-1), and (f) and adding Subsection
(i) to read as follows:
(a-1) The commissioner may adopt rules establishing
exceptions to the examination requirements prescribed by
Subsection (a)(3) for an educator who is a military veteran or
military spouse or is from outside the state to obtain a certificate
in this state.
(b-1) The board shall propose rules in accordance with
Sections 55.005 and 55.006, Occupations Code, to establish
procedures to expedite the processing of an application for a
certificate under this section submitted by an educator who is a
military veteran or military [the] spouse [of a person who is
serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United
States], including rules for providing a permanent change of
station or military identification card [the appropriate
documentation to establish the educator's status as a spouse of a
person who is serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces
of the United States].
(f) The board shall post on the board's Internet website the
procedures for obtaining a certificate under Subsection (a) and the
notice required under Section 55.010, Occupations Code.
(i) In this section:
(1) "Active duty" means current full-time military
service in the armed forces of the United States or active duty
military service as a member of the Texas military forces, as
defined by Section 437.001, Government Code, or similar military
service of another state.
(2) "Armed forces of the United States" means the
army, navy, air force, coast guard, or marine corps of the United
States or a reserve unit of one of those branches of the armed
forces.
(3) "Military service member" means a person who is on
active duty.
(4) "Military spouse" means a person who is married to
a military service member.
(5) "Military veteran" means a person who has served
on active duty and who was discharged or released from active duty.
SECTION 2. Section 55.004, Occupations Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (a-1) and (d) to read as follows:
(a-1) In adopting rules under Subsection (a), the state
agency shall ensure that a military veteran or military spouse
receives appropriate credit for the individual's experience,
including clinical and professional experience, in a licensed
profession.
(d) A state agency that issues a license that has a
residency requirement for license eligibility shall adopt rules to
allow a military spouse applicant to establish residency for
purposes of this subsection by providing to the agency a copy of the
permanent change of station order for the military service member
to whom the spouse is married or the spouse's military
identification card.
SECTION 3. Section 55.010, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 55.010. NOTICE OF CHAPTER PROVISIONS. (a) In this
section, "commission" means the Texas Workforce Commission.
(b) A state agency that issues a license shall prominently
post a notice on the home page of the agency's Internet website
describing the provisions of this chapter that are available to
military service members, military veterans, and military spouses.
(c) A state agency that issues a license under rules adopted
under Section 55.004 shall notify the commission immediately on
determining that the requirements of a license of this state are
substantially equivalent to those of another jurisdiction.
(d) The commission shall establish and maintain an Internet
website to serve as a single location for military veterans and
military spouses to access information regarding the issuance of a
license by a state agency to a military veteran or military spouse
who is licensed in another jurisdiction, including a list of each
license of this state and license of another jurisdiction that is
determined by a state agency to be substantially equivalent.
SECTION 4. Section 2, Chapter 1048 (H.B. 1934), Acts of the
85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is repealed.
SECTION 5. Not later than January 1, 2020, the Texas
Workforce Commission shall establish the Internet website required
by Section 55.010, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an initial application for or an application for renewal of an
occupational license filed on or after the effective date of this
Act. An application for a license filed before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that
date, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.