The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Appropriations
BILL: SB 562
INTRODUCER: Senator Cruz
SUBJECT: Military Occupational Licensure
DATE: February 8, 2022 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Lloyd Caldwell MS Favorable
2. Kraemer Imhof RI Favorable
3. Davis/Howard Sadberry AP Favorable
I. Summary:
SB 562 requires the Departments of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and Health
(DOH) to expedite the processing of professional and occupational licenses for the spouse of an
active duty member of the Armed Forces. The DOH must waive application and renewal fees for
those same licenses under certain circumstances. The DBPR and the DOH must also issue a
temporary professional license which is valid while the applications are under review once
specified application information has been verified.
The bill will have an indeterminate negative fiscal impact on the DOH as fewer licensure
application fees will be collected. Additionally, while modifications will be required to the
licensing systems that currently process applications, according to the DBPR and the DOH,
systems modifications may be absorbed through existing technology resources. 1
The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2022.
II. Present Situation:
More than 1.5 million veterans reside in Florida, the third highest veteran population in the
nation behind California and Texas.2 To encourage more members of the military to make
Florida their place of permanent residency, Florida offers employment and career opportunities
through expedited professional licensing processes and initial and renewal fee waivers for active
duty, veterans, and spouses.
1
See Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), 2022 Agency Legislative Bill Analysis for SB 562, at p. 5
(Oct. 19, 2021) (on file with the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries) and Department of Health (DOH), 2022 Agency
Legislative Bill Analysis for SB 562, at p. 5 (Dec. 14, 2021) (on file with the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries).
2
Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, Florida Veteran Population 2020 (citing United States Department of Veterans
Affairs, September 30, 2020), available at https://floridavets.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Florida-Veteran-Population.pdf
(last visited Feb. 3, 2022).
BILL: SB 562 Page 2
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation
The DBPR through several divisions, regulates and licenses various businesses and professions
in Florida.3 The Division of Professions is responsible for the licensing of over 490,000
professionals 4 and has authority over the following boards and programs:
Board of Architecture and Design;
Board of Auctioneers;
Barbers’ Board;
Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board;
Board of Cosmetology;
Electrical Contractors’ Licensing Board;
Board of Employees Leasing Companies;
Board of Landscape Architecture;
Board of Pilot Commissioners;
Board of Professional Geologists;
Board of Veterinary Medicine;
Home Inspection Services Licensing programs;
Mold related services licensing programs;
Florida Board of Professional Engineers;
Board of Accountancy;
Florida Real Estate Commission; and
Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board.5
The DBPR regulates each of these professions in accordance with their respective practice acts,
and each of the professionals must generally hold an appropriate license to act as or hold
themselves out as a professional in the respective field. Applicants for licensure for each
profession must meet specified statutory requirements, including minimum education or
experience requirements, and must pay all applicable licensing fees. Licensees who wish to
renew their licensees must pay a license renewal fee6 and may also be subject to continuing
education requirements7 and other conditions of the various practice acts.
Any member of the United States Armed Forces who is in good standing with any of the
professional boards listed in s. 20.165, F.S., and was entitled to practice his or her profession in
the state, remains in good standing while on active duty without registering, paying dues or fees,
or performing any other action while on active duty and for two years after discharge from active
duty.8 However, if that active member is engaged in his or her profession while on active duty in
the private sector for profit and for up to two years following discharge from active duty, the
3
Section 20.165, F.S.
4
DBPR, Division of Professions, http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/division-of-professions/#1500650855771-
cf8874e2-e2d1 (last visited Feb. 3, 2022).
5
Section 20.165, F.S.
6
Section 455.203, F.S.
7
Section 455.2123, F.S.
8
Section 455.02(1), F.S.
BILL: SB 562 Page 3
member is required to complete all of the license renewal requirements except for the payment of
the license renewal fee which is waived.9
Current law also provides for a two-year waiver of the licensure renewal fee and maintenance of
a licensee’s good standing with his or her professional board by the DBPR when the spouse is
married to a member on active duty and because of that status, the spouse has been away from
the state. This two-year waiver licensure renewal fee option and the ability to continue the
license in good standing is also available to the surviving spouse of a member who, at the time of
the service member’s death, was on active duty.10 To trigger the surviving spouse provision, the
spouse’s death must have occurred within the past two years.11
Current law requires the DBPR to issue a professional license to an applicant who meets and
provides proof of the following requirements:
Is an active member of the Armed Forces of the United States currently or is or was married
to someone while he or she was an active member and that member was honorably
discharged;
Holds a valid professional license issued from another state, a United States territory or
possession, the District of Columbia, or a foreign jurisdiction;
Is in compliance with insurance and bonding requirements for the license; and
Has submitted a complete set of fingerprints for a statewide criminal background check to the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a
national criminal background check for a Level 2 background check.12
The applicant is responsible for the costs associated with the fingerprint screening.13 Chapter
2017-135, L.O.F., requires the DBPR, or the appropriate board, to waive the initial licensure fee
for applicants who are active duty members of the Armed Forces, certain spouses and surviving
spouses of active duty members, and low-income individuals.
Florida Veterans Application for Licensure Online Response System (VALOR)
Veterans or the spouse of an active duty military veteran who seek to work as a health care
professional may currently be eligible for expedited licensure processing through the Division of
Medical Quality Assurance (DMQA) which has general regulatory authority over health care
9
Section 455.02(1), F.S.
10
Section 455.02(2), F.S.
11
Id.
12
Section 455.02(3)(a)-(c), F.S.
13
Section 455.02(3)(a)4.b., F.S.
BILL: SB 562 Page 4
practitioners in Florida.14 The average time to issue a license to a health care professional in
Florida in 2020 was 50 days.15
The DMQA within Florida’s DOH works with 22 regulatory boards and four councils to license
and regulate 10 types of health care facilities and more than 400 licenses in over 40 health care
professions.16 Each profession is regulated by an individual practice act and by ch. 456, F.S.,
which provides general regulatory and licensure authority for the DMQA.
Honorably discharged veterans and their spouses seeking licensure through one of these health
care professions are offered the opportunity to apply through an expedited online process and
currently receive a waiver of most licensing fees. Known as the Florida Veterans Application for
Licensure Online Response (VALOR) process, a veteran or his or her spouse must apply for one
of the healthcare practitioner licenses within six months before or after his or her or his or her
spouse’s honorable discharge from the United States Armed Forces to qualify for this expedited
process.17
During Fiscal Year 2020-2021, 352 new military veterans and spouses were licensed through
VALOR, a 7.65 percent increase over the prior fiscal year.18 These additional licensees joined a
total of 2,392 licensed military health care practitioners in the state for the 2020-2021 fiscal year
with the majority of those licensees issued in nursing (607 licensees), followed by massage
therapists (168 licensees), and emergency medical technicians and licensed practical nurses (160
licensees each).19
Temporary Certificate for Active Duty Military Health Care Practitioners
For active duty military who are also health care practitioners, Florida offers a temporary
certificate for those who practice pursuant to a military platform20 and who hold an active,
unencumbered, medical license in a United States jurisdiction or serve as a military health care
14
Pursuant to s. 456.001(4), F.S., health care practitioners are defined to include acupuncturists, physicians, physician
assistants, chiropractors, podiatrists, naturopaths, dentists, dental hygienists, optometrists, nurses, nursing assistants,
pharmacists, midwives, speech language pathologists, nursing home administrators, occupational therapists, respiratory
therapists, dieticians, athletic trainers, midwives, orthotics, prosthetics, electrologists, massage therapists, clinical laboratory
personnel, medical physicists, dispensers of optical devices or hearing aids, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers,
counselors, and psychotherapists, among others.
15
Florida Department of Health, Division of Medical Quality Assurance Strategic Plan (2016-2021 Extension)
http://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-and-regulation/reports-and-publications/_documents/DMQA-2016-2021-Strategic-
Plan.pdf, p. 4, (last visited Feb. 3, 2022).
16
Florida DOH, Annual Report and Long Range Plan, p. 6, http://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-and-regulation/reports-
and-publications/index.html (last visited Feb. 3, 2022).
17
Florida DOH, Licensing for Military Members and Spouses, available at https://flhealthsource.gov/valor/#Home (last
visited Feb. 3, 2022).
18
Florida DOH, Florida Veteran Health Heroes (November 2021), p. 11, available at
https://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-and-regulation/reports-and-publications/index.html (last visited Feb. 3, 2022).
19
Florida DOH, Annual Report and Long Range Plan, Table 1-Summary of Licensed Practitioners, pp. 16-22,
http://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-and-regulation/reports-and-publications/index.html (last visited Feb 3, 2022).
20
A military platform, defined in s. 456.0241(1)(b), F.S., is a military training agreement with a non-military health care
provider that allows active-duty health care practitioners the opportunity to treat patients admitted to non-military facilities
while also allowing them to develop and maintain the technical skills necessary to meet present and future health care needs
of the United States Armed Forces.
BILL: SB 562 Page 5
practitioner in a profession for which licensure is not required to practice in the United States
Armed Forces.21 To qualify for a temporary certificate, an active duty member must:
Hold a valid license as a health care professional in another state, the District of Columbia, or
any possession or territory of the United States; and
Hold a license that is valid for six months, but is renewable with proof of continuing military
orders for active duty assignment and evidence of continuation as a military platform
participant.22
Military Veteran and Spouse Fee Waivers
Applying through the VALOR licensing system can also provide veterans and their spouses a 60
month window of opportunity to apply for the additional waiver of renewal licensing application
fees, unlicensed activity fees, and renewal fees after an honorable discharge from active duty.23
Any examination fees related to the license or practice act and background screening fees
through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) are not waived.24
As the spouse of an active duty military member25 or a military veteran, the spouse could be
eligible for a waiver of the initial application fees and licensure fees.26 To qualify currently for
the fee waivers, the veteran or the veteran’s spouse’s application must be submitted within a 60
month submission window meaning the application must be submitted within 60 months after his
or her spouse’s honorable discharge from any branch of the United States Armed Forces. The
current fee waiver provision includes waiver of the initial application fee, the initial licensure
fee, and the initial unlicensed activity fee.
The spouse must pay the examination fee and any background screening fees that may be
required. Examination fees vary by practice type27 and the current fee from FDLE varies from
$24 (state fee only) to $37.25 (state and federal).28
21
Florida DOH, Licensing for Military Members and Spouses, available at https://flhealthsource.gov/valor/#ActiveDuty (last
visited Jan. 20, 2022).
22
See https://flhealthsource.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FDOH-temp-cert-active-duty-mil.pdf (last visited
Jan. 20, 2022).
23
See s. 456.024(3)(b), F.S. and Florida DOH, Licensing for Military Members and Spouses, available at
https://flhealthsource.gov/valor/#MilitarySpouses (last visited Jan. 20, 2022).
24
Id.
25
Active duty, full time member of the United States military is defined at 10 U.S.C. § 101 (d)(1), and includes the United
States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard.
26
Section 456.024(4), F.S.
27
For example, the initial application fee for licensure as a medical doctor by examination is $200.00 for residents and
$350.00 for non-residents; however, the application includes fees for unlicensed activities ($5.00), NICA Participating Fees
($5,000) or non-Participating NICA fees ($250.00) and an optional dispensing fee ($100.00), for a potential total maximum
application fee of $5,075 for a physician. See Florida Board of Medicine, Medical Doctor Application for Licensure,
https://flboardofmedicine.gov/apps/medical-doctor-app.pdf (last visited Jan. 20, 2022).
28
Florida Department of Law Enforcement, http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Criminal-History-Records/Documents/Criminal-
History-Fee-Chart_January2019.aspx (last visited Jan. 20, 2022).
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Other Opportunities for Military Spouses
Temporary Licensure for Military Spouses
The active duty member’s spouse may be eligible to receive a temporary license. A temporary
license allows the spouse to work as a health care professional while the spouse is assigned to a
duty station in Florida.29 A temporary license is valid only for one year30 and is subject to both a
state and national background check at the applicant’s expense.31
A temporary license may be awarded if the spouse submits:
A completed application;
The required application fee;
Proof of marriage to a member of the United States Armed Forces who is on active duty;
Proof that the applicant holds a valid license for the profession issued by another state, the
District of Columbia, or a possession or territory of the United States, and is not the subject
of any disciplinary proceeding in any jurisdiction in which the applicant holds a license to
practice a profession regulated by ch. 456, F.S.;
Proof that the applicant’s spouse is assigned to a duty station in this state pursuant to a
member’s official active duty military orders; and
Proof that the applicant would be otherwise entitled to full licensure under the appropriate
practice act, and is eligible to take the respective licensure examination as required in
F