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.