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Committee Substitute House Bill 4151 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

for

H. B. 4151

          (By Mr. Speaker, (Mr. Miley) and Delegate Armstead)

         [By Request of the Executive]

(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)

 

[February 12, 2014]

A BILL to repeal §30-1-6a and §30-1-6b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to further amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §30-1B-1, §30-1B-2, §30-1B-3, §30-1B-4, §30-1B-5, §30-1B-6, §30-1B-7, §30-1B-8 and §30-1B-9, all relating to professional licensing requirements for certain military members and their spouses; making legislative findings; requiring certain boards to consider military education, training and experience upon application for licensure, certification or registration; providing for licensure renewal during active duty and for six months thereafter for service members and their spouses without meeting requirements of continuing education in certain circumstances and without payment of fees; requiring licensees, certificate holders and registrants to submit waiver requests to the boards; providing for expedited temporary licenses for spouses of active duty service members in certain circumstances; providing for waiver of temporary license application fees in certain circumstances; providing boards with rule-making authority; requiring boards to collect certain data on applications for licensure; requiring boards to report data on waivers and temporary licenses in their annual reports; applicability; and providing for liberal construction of article.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §30-1-6a and §30-1-6b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; and that said code be further amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §30-1B-1, §30-1B-2, §30-1B-3, §30-1B-4, §30-1B-5, §30-1B-6, §30-1B-7, §30-1B-8 and §30-1B-9, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 1B. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO MILITARY MEMBERS AND THEIR SPOUSES.

§30-1B-1. Legislative findings and declarations.

    The Legislature finds that:

    (1) In recognition of the enormous sacrifices made by members of the Armed Forces of the United States of America and their families in voluntary service to this state and our nation, the citizens of West Virginia must endeavor to find new and innovative ways to improve the lives of military families and support their personal and professional growth;

    (2) Many current and former members of the United States Armed Forces have acquired extensive academic, professional and occupational training and experience in various professions and occupations while serving in the Armed Forces, comparable to or exceeding that required in this state to register for examination or qualify for licensure, certification or registration for similar or related occupations and professions;

    (3) Military families are ten times more likely to move from one state to another than their civilian counterparts, and 35% of military spouses work in professions that require state licenses, certifications or registrations;

    (4) Armed forces members who return to this state after being called to active duty service, and spouses accompanying armed forces members outside of this state or to this state for active duty, are frequently delayed in beginning employment as professionals because of issues with obtaining licenses, certifications or registrations upon arrival or return to West Virginia;

    (5) The boards in this chapter have the particular expertise necessary to evaluate and determine the adequacy of military education, training and experience for licensure, certification or registration and to adopt procedures that ease the burden of transition for military families through waivers, temporary licensing, or otherwise, while ensuring competency of professionals and protecting the citizens of the state from harm.

§30-1B-2. Consideration of military education, training and experience for licensure or registration, generally.

    (a) Except as provided in section eight, and notwithstanding any law to the contrary, all boards referred to in this chapter shall, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for licensure, certification or registration, consider the individual’s education, training or experience as a member of the Armed Forces or Reserves of the United States, the National Guard of any state, or the military reserves of any state, as part of the evaluation process toward the qualifications to receive, or take examination for, that respective professional license, certification or registration.

§30-1B-3. Licensure, certification or registration of persons on military active duty outside this state; extension of licenses or registration; waiver of certain license, certification or registration requirements.

    (a) During periods when the licensee, certificate holder or registrant is on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States and deployed outside of this state, and for six months after discharge from active duty, his or her license, certification or registration shall continue in good standing and shall be renewed, upon receipt of a waiver request pursuant to subsection (b):

    (1) Without meeting continuing education requirements for the license, certification or registration when:

    (A) Circumstances associated with the military duty prevent the obtaining of continuing education, or

    (B) The licensee, certificate holder or registrant performs the profession or occupation as part of his or her military duties, as may be evidenced by annotation on Defense Department Form 214 (DD214), National Guard Bureau Form 22 (NGB22) or other official record; and

    (2) Without payment of fees for the renewal of the license, certification or registration.

    (b) The licensee, certificate holder or registrant shall submit a waiver request to the appropriate board, informing the board of circumstances which include, but are not limited to, being deployed outside of this state.

§30-1B-4. Licensure, certification or registration of spouses of persons on military active duty outside this state; extension of licenses or registration; waiver of certain license, certification or registration requirements.

    (a) During periods when the licensee, certificate holder or registrant is accompanying his or her spouse who is on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States and deployed outside of this state, and for six months after his or her spouse is discharged from active duty, his or her license, certification or registration shall continue in good standing and shall be renewed, upon receipt of a waiver request pursuant to subsection (b):

    (1) Without meeting continuing education requirements for the license, certification or registration when:

    (A) Circumstances associated with accompanying his or her spouse who is on active duty prevent the obtaining of continuing education, or

    (B) The licensee, certificate holder or registrant presents evidence that he or she performs or performed the profession or occupation while accompanying his or her spouse on active duty; and

    (2) Without payment of fees for the maintenance or renewal of the license, certification or registration.

    (b) The licensee, certificate holder or registrant shall submit a waiver request to the appropriate board informing the board of circumstances which include, but are not limited to, accompanying a spouse who is deployed outside of this state.

§30-1B-5. Temporary licensure, certification or registration of spouses of persons on military active duty; waiver of certain license, certification or registration fees.

    (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the spouse of a person who is on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be issued a temporary license, certification or registration by a board referred to in this chapter within thirty days of submitting the following to the board:

    (1) A completed application for temporary license, certification or registration, as developed by the board;

    (2) The required application fee;

    (3) Proof that the applicant is married to a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is on active duty; and

    (4) Proof that the applicant holds a valid license, certification or registration for the profession issued by another state, the District of Columbia, or a possession or territory of the United States, and whose license, certification or registration is not and has not been the subject of disciplinary action in that jurisdiction.

    (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a board may require the applicant to submit to a criminal history records check, to be paid for by the applicant, and the board may deny a request for a temporary license, certification or registration if the criminal history records check provides reason to believe that the applicant does not meet the requirements of the board or presents a safety risk to the public.

    (c) A temporary license expires six months after the date of issuance and is not renewable.

    (d) An applicant under this section may submit an application for waiver of the temporary license application fee, and the board shall grant the waiver if the applicant has paid a fee for his or her previous license, certification, or registration in another state, the District of Columbia, or a possession or territory of the United States, within six months immediately prior to submitting an application for temporary license, certification or registration. The applicant shall provide proof of the date and amount of the previous payment.

§30-1B-6. Rule-making authority.

    The Boards referred to in this chapter may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this article. Proposed rules may:

    (1) Establish criteria or requirements for military education, training and experience that qualify the applicant to take an examination for licensure, certification or registration or for a waiver of any examination requirement to be licensed, certified or registered; and

    (2)Implement the provisions of this article while ensuring competency, protecting the citizens of this state from harm, and addressing issues specific to each profession.

§30-1B-7. Data collection.

    The Boards referred to in this chapter shall collect data about whether an applicant or his or her spouse is an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States on all application forms for licensure, certification or registration, and include data regarding the numbers of temporary licenses and waivers of fees and continuing education requirements in the annual reports required by the provisions of section seventeen, article one of this chapter.

§30-1B-8. Applicability.

    The provisions of this article do not apply to the boards referred to in this chapter whose license, certification, or registration requirements are subject to the provisions of article twenty-four of this chapter.

§30-1B-9. Liberality of construction.

    This article shall be liberally construed and applied to promote the public interest.


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