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Committee advances bill to issue digital occupational licenses for military spouses
Summary
House Bill 107 would require licensing boards to issue digital, verifiable occupational licenses to expedite licensure verification for military spouses; committee advanced the bill after hearing from real-estate officials who described cost and efficiency benefits.
The House Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee voted to advance House Bill 107, which would require Georgia licensing boards to issue digital, verifiable occupational licenses to expedite verification for military spouses.
Representative Ballard, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure is intended to build on last year's military-spouse licensure law and to provide a uniform digital verification process similar to the system used by real-estate licensees in Georgia. "This is the second piece to our military spouse occupational licensure legislation," Ballard said, and added that the change would allow military spouses to carry a verifiable license on their phones rather than waiting for paper documentation.
Committee members asked whether the Secretary of State's office has the capacity to implement such technology and whether the change should be extended to all licensees. Jeff Ledford, a former commissioner at the Georgia Real Estate Commission who spoke for the realtors, described the commission's move to digital licenses after the 2008 downturn. Ledford said the commission's system produced cost savings, sped renewals and made online verification possible in seconds. "When a firm renews, they had to have a license in hand to be able to operate. And this meant that when they renewed online, it was a click of a button," Ledford said. He described the change as also improving security and reducing phone verification calls.
Members discussed how the bill relates to last year's House Bill 880, which previously allowed military spouses to begin working under certain conditions while paperwork is processed. A committee member noted that HB 880 lets spouses begin work in some circumstances and that the digital license would be the next step to put a license directly in a worker's hand for rapid verification.
A motion to move House Bill 107 forward passed by voice vote; the committee did not record a roll-call tally. The bill was reported out for further consideration.
The committee scheduled additional briefings next week from the Georgia Department of Veterans Service and the Georgia Department of Defense, and noted that Thursday is National Guard Day at the Capitol.
