A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to enhance the effectiveness of the occupational licensing of military service members and veterans and to direct The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges to submit a plan that will ensure that college credits are uniformly granted to students with military training.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 93B‑15.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 93B‑15.1.  Licensure for individuals with military training and experience; licensure by endorsement for military spouses; temporary license.
(a)	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an occupational licensing board, as defined in G.S. 93B‑1, shall issue a license, certification, or registration to a military‑trained applicant to allow the applicant to lawfully practice the applicant's occupation in this State if, upon application to an occupational licensing board, the applicant satisfies the following conditions:
(1)	Has been awarded a military occupational specialty and has done all of the following at a level that is substantially equivalent to or exceeds the requirements for licensure, certification, or registration of the occupational licensing board from which the applicant is seeking licensure, certification, or registration in this State: completed a military program of training, completed testing or equivalent training and experience, and performed in the occupational specialty.
(2)	Has engaged in the active practice of the occupation for which the person is seeking a license, certification, or permit from the occupational licensing board in this State for at least two of the five years preceding the date of the application under this section.
(3)	Has not committed any act in any jurisdiction that would have constituted grounds for refusal, suspension, or revocation of a license to practice that occupation in this State at the time the act was committed.
(4)	Pays any fees required by the occupational licensing board for which the applicant is seeking licensure, certification, or registration in this State.
(a1)	No later than 30 days following receipt of an application, an occupational licensing board shall notify an applicant when the applicant's military training or experience does not satisfy the requirements for licensure, certification, or registration and shall specify the criteria or requirements that the board determined that the applicant failed to meet and the basis for that determination.
(b)	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an occupational licensing board, as defined in G.S. 93B‑1, shall issue a license, certification, or registration to a military spouse to allow the military spouse to lawfully practice the military spouse's occupation in this State if, upon application to an occupational licensing board, the military spouse satisfies the following conditions:
(1)	Holds a current license, certification, or registration from another jurisdiction, and that jurisdiction's requirements for licensure, certification, or registration are substantially equivalent to or exceed the requirements for licensure, certification, or registration of the occupational licensing board for which the applicant is seeking licensure, certification, or registration in this State.
(2)	Can demonstrate competency in the occupation through methods as determined by the Board, such as having completed continuing education units or having had recent experience for at least two of the five years preceding the date of the application under this section.
(3)	Has not committed any act in any jurisdiction that would have constituted grounds for refusal, suspension, or revocation of a license to practice that occupation in this State at the time the act was committed.
(4)	Is in good standing and has not been disciplined by the agency that had jurisdiction to issue the license, certification, or permit.
(5)	Pays any fees required by the occupational licensing board for which the applicant is seeking licensure, certification, or registration in this State.
(c)	All relevant experience of a military service member in the discharge of official duties or, for a military spouse, all relevant experience, including full‑time and part‑time experience, regardless of whether in a paid or volunteer capacity, shall be credited in the calculation of years of practice in an occupation as required under subsection (a) or (b) of this section.
(c1)	Each occupational licensing board shall publish a document that lists the specific criteria or requirements for licensure, registration, or certification by the board, with a description of the criteria or requirements that are satisfied by military training or experience as provided in this section, and any necessary documentation needed for obtaining the credit or satisfying the requirement. The information required by this subsection shall be published on the occupational licensing board's Web site and the Web site of the North Carolina Division of Veterans Affairs.
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SECTION 2.  Each occupational licensing board shall contact training offices at military installations or any other federal offices that provide information on military occupational specialties and training for the purpose of (i) acquiring information necessary for an adequate understanding of military training and job requirements and (ii) assisting in determining the applicability and correlation of military training and experience to the criteria and requirements for licensure, certification, or registration. No later than September 1, 2014, each occupational licensing board shall submit a report to the cochairs of the Legislative Research Commission Study Committee on Civilian Credit for Military Training and State Adjutant Selection Criteria with the status of the document required by Section 1 of this act and the results of their consultation with military training officials as required by this section.
SECTION 3.  The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall jointly develop a plan for implementing a uniform system of granting course credits to all students enrolled in constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina and all students enrolled in State community colleges based on the students' military training or experience. The plan shall include a description of the procedure to be utilized in evaluating military training or experience and its correlation to school course credits and the process for the transfer of course credits between constituent institutions and community colleges when course credit has been granted by any institution or community college based upon military training or experience. As part of the plan, the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, in consultation with the State Board of Community Colleges, shall consider a process for recognizing Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degrees granted by institutions that are participants in the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Consortium or the Community College of the Air Force.
No later than September 1, 2014, the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall provide a report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the cochairs of the House Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee, and the cochairs of the Legislative Research Commission Study Committee on Civilian Credit for Military Training on the progress toward developing the plan required by this section. No later than January 1, 2015, the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall submit the plan and any recommendations to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the cochairs of the House Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee, and the cochairs of the Legislative Research Commission Study Committee on Civilian Credit for Military Training and State Adjutant Selection Criteria.
SECTION 4.  The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges, through the North Carolina Community College System Office, shall consult with the North Carolina National Guard Education and Employment Center, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the North Carolina Department of Labor, and any other State or federal agencies as appropriate, to do the following: (i) study "Knowledge Gap Fulfillment," the continuation, development, and creation of programs that provide maximum credit for military training or experience that meet North Carolina licensing, certification, or credential standards; (ii) identify job development programs that require the same Military Occupational Skills (MOS) or share the same aptitude skills required to complete the program; (iii) identify existing Veterans Administration (VA) approved nondegree programs conducted in other states that have a high employment demand in North Carolina; (iv) determine the ability of State community colleges or other training centers to conduct these nondegree programs; and (v) identify and develop similar short‑term programs that meet the needs of North Carolina‑specific, high employment technical career fields. A consideration in all program studies in this section shall be VA‑approved for educational benefits with the North Carolina State Approval Agency. The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the cochairs of the House Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee, and the cochairs of the Legislative Research Commission Study Committee on Civilian Credit for Military Training and State Adjutant Selection Criteria with recommendations and any proposed legislation no later than December 15, 2014.
SECTION 5.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2015. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.