An Act To Facilitate Veterans' and Their Spouses' Access to Employment, Education and Training

Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §8010  is enacted to read:

§ 8010.  Veterans and military spouses

By January 1, 2014, each board, commission, office and agency within the department listed in section 8001 or affiliated with the department under section 8001-A shall adopt a process to facilitate qualified returning military veterans and qualified spouses of returning military veterans or of active duty service members to qualify for professional licenses granted by those boards, commissions, offices and agencies in an expeditious manner. Procedures adopted pursuant to this section supersede general licensing requirements of those boards, commissions, offices and agencies. For the purposes of this section, "returning military veteran" means a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States who has been honorably discharged from active duty. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Director of the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation and each licensing board within or affiliated with the department shall, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for professional or occupational licensure, accept education, training or service completed by the applicant as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or Reserves of the United States Armed Forces, the national guard of any state, the military reserves of any state or the naval militia of any state toward the qualifications to receive the license.

Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §10010,  as amended by PL 2009, c. 463, §1, is further amended to read:

§ 10010. Veterans

Regardless of the state of residence, a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States using the benefits under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 must receive a waiver from the tuition that remains after the application of all payments from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, including payments under the Yellow Ribbon G.I. Education Enhancement Program in the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, and the application of other nonrepayable resources for which the veteran may be eligible. The amount of the tuition waiver received by a veteran under this section may not exceed an amount that lowers the tuition to less than the in-state tuition charged by the institution. This section applies to all veterans enrolled at any campus of the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System or Maine Maritime Academy in an undergraduate program of education. A nonresident student entitled to a waiver under this section must be considered eligible for in-state tuition.