STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER
District 28 (Essex and Union)
Assemblywoman MICHELE MATSIKOUDIS
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Webber, Calabrese and Conaway
SYNOPSIS
Requires professional boards to issue licenses for veterans with good standing license or certification in another jurisdiction under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning professional and occupational licenses and supplementing P.L.1978, c.73 (C.45:1-14 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a professional or occupational board designated in section 2 of P.L.1978, c.73 (C.45:1-15) that issues a professional or occupational license, certificate of registration, or certification for which professional training, education, or experience is required shall issue the license, certificate of registration, or certification to an applicant with a license and equivalent training, education, and experience received while serving or after serving as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, regardless of whether the license, training, education, or experience was obtained during or outside the applicant's service with the Armed Forces.
b. A professional or occupational board shall issue a license, certificate, or certification to an applicant who presents evidence to the board that:
(1) the applicant has been honorably discharged from active military service; and
(2) the applicant's license, certificate, or certification is in good standing in another jurisdiction; and
(3) the applicant complies with all other requirements for licensure, including, without limitation, any requirement for examination.
c. A professional or occupational board may require an applicant to provide any documentation of the applicant's training, education, or experience as it deems necessary by the board to determine eligibility.
d. A professional or occupational board shall provide methods of evaluating equivalent training, education, or experience obtained towards meeting the requirements for the issuance of a license, certificate, or certification pursuant to this section; provided however that no method of evaluating experience from another jurisdiction shall operate in such a manner as to require the same number of hours of experience by the applicant.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of enactment, except that a board may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance of that date as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires professional and occupational boards to issue a license, certificate, or certification to any applicant who received a license and equivalent training, education, or experience while serving or after serving as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. The person applying for the license, certificate, or certification could have obtained a license and training, education, or experience during or outside of the person's military service.
The bill requires a professional and occupational board to issue a license, certificate, or certification to an applicant who presents evidence to the board that: (1) the applicant was honorably discharged from active military service; (2) the applicant's license, certificate, or certification is in good standing in another jurisdiction; and (3) the applicant complies with all other requirements for licensure, including a requirement for examination.
The bill also requires each board to provide methods of evaluating equivalent training, education, or experience obtained towards meeting the requirements for the issuance of a license, certificate, or certification. However, no method of evaluation shall operate in such a manner as to require the same number of hours of experience by the applicant.
This bill provides reciprocity for veterans with a license, certificate, or certification issued by another jurisdiction. Veterans with these credentials face barriers to entering the job market since occupational licenses are not necessarily portable due to different standards required by individual states; however, often times, a veteran's training, education, and experience as a licensed professional in another state is valuable and transferable. This bill would help veterans licensed in another jurisdiction to obtain their license in New Jersey and more easily find or keep employment in this State.