Today is the big day. The 2020 legislative session gets underway. No more pre-filing. Only filing. One last pre-file that is worth a look comes from Senator Bruce Thompson (R-14 White). Thompson has filed Senate Bill 285, Military Spouses and Veterans Licensure.
The bill would provide for military spouses licensed in other states to practice certain professions and occupations without being required to obtain a license to practice in this state. Professional licensing boards would be required to implement a process by which transitioning service members could qualify for temporary licenses, expedited licenses, or licenses by endorsement.
The R Street Institute, a free-market oriented policy research group, has advocated for similar legislation and is likely to support Thompson’s efforts. Director of State Government Affairs Marc Hyden and Director of Commercial Freedom Jarrett Dieterle released a report on the impact this kind of legislation could have.
According to RSI, Georgia has the nation’s 14th most burdensome professional licensing regime, “mandating—on average—the passage of two exams, over 460 days of costly education and experience, and $185 in fees.” Considering that nearly 30 percent of Americans have a job that required an occupational license in order to work, this has a big impact.
In Georgia, there are more than 60,000 active military members stationed in Georgia, making it among the largest populations of servicemen and women in the country. This is certainly good for the Georgia economy but does create difficulties in integrating their families into the community and for the spouses who may be new to Georgia and may be looking for work.
Hyden and Dieterle note the strain this can place on military families. “In fact, 44 percent of military spouses are living paycheck to paycheck or struggling financially, 35-40 percent are underemployed and 16 percent are unemployed,8 which dwarfs the national unemployment rate of 3.6 percent,” said the report.
Georgia has tried to deal with the problem before, proposing similar legislation in the past but that provided the licensing boards with a great deal of discretion, which meant that the law was inconsistently applied.
Thompson’s bill would likely follow off the lead of the state of Utah, which enacted the most expansive legislation to date. Their law ensures license reciprocity for military spouses under three simple conditions,
1) that they are, in fact, a spouse of active military personnel stationed within the state wherein they wish to work;
2) that they hold a valid professional license to work in said profession; and
3) that their license is in good standing in the state from which they are transferring.
This is what Thompson’s bill will attempt to get to in ensuring the ease of transition to a new area for military families.
One to watch in the upcoming session…
