Amendment #821 to H4100

Qualifying Veterans Spouses for Licenses

Representatives D'Emilia of Bridgewater, Bastien of Gardner, Hunt of Sandwich, Jones of North Reading, Peterson of Grafton, Hill of Ipswich, Poirier of North Attleborough, deMacedo of Plymouth, Andrews of Orange, Creedon of Brockton, Diehl of Whitman, Dwyer of Woburn, Ferguson of Holden, Finn of West Springfield, Howitt of Seekonk, Kuros of Uxbridge, Lombardo of Billerica, McMurtry of Dedham, O'Connell of Taunton, Ross of Attleboro and Murphy of Weymouth move to amend the bill by inserting after section xx the following three sections:—

“SECTION XX. Section 10 of chapter 132 of the acts of 2009 is hereby repealed.

SECTION XX. Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after section 1A, the following new section:—

Section 1B. (a)The director and each of the boards of registration and examination under the director’s supervision, shall upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for certification or licensure, accept education, training, or service completed by an individual as a member of the armed forces, as defined in clause 43 of section 7 of chapter 4; or the United States military reserves toward the qualifications required to receive the license or certification in question.

(b) The commissioner of public health and each of the boards of registration and examination under the commissioner’s supervision, shall upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for certification or licensure, accept education, training, or service completed by an individual as a member of the armed forces, as defined in clause 43 of section 7 of chapter 4, or the United States military reserves toward the qualifications required to receive the license or certification in question.

(c) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, if a licensee or certificate holder, pursuant to chapter 112, is engaged in active service in the armed forces of the United States, as defined in clause 43 of section 7 of chapter 4, the license or certification held by a licensee or certificate holder shall remain valid until the licensee or certificate holder is released from active duty and for a period of not less than 90 days following said release.

(d) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of public health and each of the boards of registration and examination under the supervision of the commissioner, shall upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for certification or licensure, expedite the issuance of a license or certification to a person: (i) who is certified or licensed in a state other than Massachusetts, (ii) whose spouse is a member of the armed forces in the United States; (iii) whose spouse is a the subject of a military transfer to Massachusetts; and (iv) who left employment to accompany the person’s spouse to Massachusetts. The procedure shall include, but shall not be limited to: (v) issuing the person a license or certificate, if, in the opinion of the department, the requirements for licensure or certification of such other state are substantially equivalent to that required in Massachusetts; or (vi) issuing the person a temporary license or certificate to allow the person to perform services while completing any specific requirements that may be required in Massachusetts but were not required in the state in which the person was licensed or certified.

(e) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the director and each of the boards of registration and examination under the supervision of the director, shall upon the presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for certification or licensure, expedite the issuance of a license or certification for a person: (i) who is certified or licensed in a state other than Massachusetts; (ii) whose spouse is a member of the armed forces in the United States; (iii) whose spouse is the subject of a military transfer to Massachusetts; and (iv) who left employment to accompany their spouse to Massachusetts. The procedure shall include, but not be limited to: (i) issuing said person a license or certificate, if, in the opinion of the department, the requirements for licensure or certification of such other state are substantially equivalent to those  required in Massachusetts; or (ii) issuing said person a temporary license or certificate to allow said person to perform services while completing any specific requirements that may be required in Massachusetts but were not required in the state in which said person was licensed or certified.

(f) The director and each of the boards of registration and examination under the director’s supervision shall adopt all necessary rules, regulations, and procedures to implement the provisions of this section, effective beginning January 1, 2013.

(g) The commissioner and each of the boards of registration and examination under the commissioner’s supervision shall adopt all necessary rules, regulations, and procedures to implement the provisions of this section, effective beginning January 1, 2013.

SECTION XX. Chapter 147 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 61 the following new section:—

Section 62. (a)  The commissioner shall coordinate and adopt a uniform policy within the department to accept, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for certification or licensure under the authority of the department, education, training, or service completed by an individual as a member of the armed forces, as defined in clause 43 of section 7 of chapter 4, or the United States military reserves toward the qualifications required to receive the license or certification in question.

(b)  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, if a licensee or certificate holder, who received a license or certificate under the authority of the department, is engaged in active service in the armed forces of the United States, as defined in clause 43 of section 7 of chapter 4, the license or certification held by a licensee or certificate holder shall remain valid until the licensee or certificate holder is released from active duty and for a period of not less than ninety days following said release.

(c) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner shall establish a procedure within the department to, upon the presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for certification or licensure under the authority of the department, expedite the issuance of a license or certification for a person: (i) who is certified or licensed in a state other than Massachusetts; (ii) whose spouse is a member of the armed forces in the United States; (iii) whose spouse is the subject of a military transfer to Massachusetts; and (iv) who left employment to accompany their spouse to Massachusetts. The procedure shall include, but not be limited to: (i) issuing said person a license or certificate, if, in the opinion of the department, the requirements for licensure or certification of such other state are substantially equivalent to those required in Massachusetts; or (ii) issuing said person a temporary license or certificate to allow said person to perform services while completing any specific requirements that may be required in Massachusetts but were not required in the state in which said person was licensed or certified.

(d) The commissioner and the department shall adopt all necessary rules, regulations, and procedures to implement the provisions of this section, effective January 1, 2013.”.