By: Paxton, Campbell  S.B. No. 422
         (In the Senate - Filed January 12, 2023; February 15, 2023,
  read first time and referred to Committee on Veteran Affairs;
  April 5, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 5, 2023,
  sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 422 By:  Parker
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the authority of certain military service members to
  engage in a business or occupation in this state.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 55.004(d), Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (d)  A state agency that issues a license that has a
  residency requirement for license eligibility shall adopt rules
  regarding documentation necessary for an applicant who is a
  military service member or military spouse [applicant] to establish
  residency for purposes of this subsection, including by providing
  to the agency a copy of the permanent change of station order for
  the applicant or the applicant's spouse [military service member to
  whom the spouse is married].
         SECTION 2.  Section 55.0041, Occupations Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 55.0041.  RECOGNITION OF OUT-OF-STATE LICENSE OF
  MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS AND MILITARY SPOUSES [SPOUSE]. (a)
  Notwithstanding any other law, a military service member or
  military spouse may engage in a business or occupation for which a
  license is required without obtaining the applicable license if the
  member or spouse is currently licensed in good standing by another
  jurisdiction that has licensing requirements that are
  substantially equivalent to the requirements for the license in
  this state.
         (b)  Before engaging in the practice of the business or
  occupation, the military service member or military spouse must:
               (1)  notify the applicable state agency of the member's
  or spouse's intent to practice in this state;
               (2)  submit to the agency proof of the member's or
  spouse's residency in this state in accordance with rules adopted
  under Section 55.004(d) and a copy of the member's or spouse's
  military identification card; and
               (3)  receive from the agency confirmation that:
                     (A)  the agency has verified the member's or
  spouse's license in the other jurisdiction; and
                     (B)  the member or spouse is authorized to engage
  in the business or occupation in accordance with this section.
         (c)  The military service member or military spouse shall
  comply with all other laws and regulations applicable to the
  business or occupation in this state.
         (d)  A military service member or military spouse may engage
  in the business or occupation under the authority of this section
  only for the period during which the military service member or,
  with respect to a military spouse, the military service member to
  whom the [military] spouse is married is stationed at a military
  installation in this state but not to exceed three years from the
  date the member or spouse receives the confirmation described by
  Subsection (b)(3).
         (d-1)  Notwithstanding Subsection (d), in the event of a
  divorce or similar event that affects a person's status as a
  military spouse, the spouse may continue to engage in the business
  or occupation under the authority of this section until the third
  anniversary of the date the spouse received the confirmation
  described by Subsection (b)(3).
         (e)  A state agency that issues a license shall adopt rules
  to implement this section. The rules must establish a process for
  the agency to:
               (1)  identify, with respect to each type of license
  issued by the agency, the jurisdictions that have licensing
  requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements
  for the license in this state; and
               (2)  not later than the 30th day after the date a
  military service member or military spouse submits the information
  described by Subsections (b)(1) and (2), verify that the member or
  [a military] spouse is licensed in good standing in a jurisdiction
  described by Subdivision (1).
         (f)  In addition to the rules adopted under Subsection (e), a
  state agency that issues a license may adopt rules to provide for
  the issuance of a license to a military service member or military
  spouse to whom the agency provides confirmation under Subsection
  (b)(3). A license issued under this subsection must expire not
  later than the third anniversary of the date the agency provided the
  confirmation and may not be renewed. A state agency may not charge
  a fee for the issuance of the license.
         SECTION 3.  Section 55.005(a), Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A state agency that issues a license shall, not later
  than the 30th day [as soon as practicable] after the date a military
  service member, military veteran, or military spouse files an
  application for a license:
               (1)  process the application; and
               (2)  issue the license to an applicant who qualifies
  for the license under Section 55.004.
         SECTION 4.  Section 55.005(a), Occupations Code, as amended
  by this Act, applies only to an application for a license submitted
  on or after the effective date of this Act. An application submitted
  before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
  effect on the date the application was submitted, and the former law
  is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  Not later than December 1, 2023, a state agency
  to which Section 55.0041, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act,
  applies shall adopt rules to implement that section.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
 
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