March 17, 2021 Speaker Ron Ryckman, Jr. Majority Leader Dan Hawkins Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch Minority Leader Tom Sawyer Senate President Ty Masterson Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop Vice President Rick Wilborn Minority Leader Dinah Sykes Kansas Legislative Leadership: The 117th Congress is well underway, and the Kansas Congressional Delegation, like you, is working hard for the people of our great state. We applaud your support of military families and your commitment to improving our state’s ability to strengthen military bases through expanded licensing reciprocity. Kansas has a storied history of strong military missions and unwavering support from the community. Future basing decisions of military installations — specifically McConnell Air Force Base, Fort Riley, and Fort Leavenworth — will be decided, in part, on Kansas policies. Specifically, policies related to the ease of obtaining and transferring occupational licenses across state lines. Our role is to ensure Kansas military installations continue their strong tradition of mission, and receive community support, for generations to come. Improved professional licensure reciprocity will allow Kansas to honor professional licenses in good standing earned in other states when licensees relocate to Kansas. This practice would allow Kansas to follow suit with many other states where servicemembers, and their families, can easily join the community where they are stationed. As you are aware, strong state licensure laws are a priority of the Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Space Force. In 2018, the Service Secretaries of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force emphasized the importance of professional licensure reciprocity in a letter to governorsi and the importance of high-quality schools near military bases. The letter states military leadership should and will consider these factors when “evaluating future basing or mission alternatives.” On February 24, 2020, the Department of the Air Force issued a media releaseii re-emphasizing it would consider military family support measures in future basing decisions, including new criteria assessing “states’ policies for accepting professional, career licenses.” The U.S. Army also “continues to work, through the Defense State Liaison Office, with state leaders to improve license reciprocity.”iii Kansas currently has several practices in place to assist servicemembers and spouses with recognition of professional licenses they have earned in other states. However, conversations with military and veteran leaders, including conversations with the Governor’s Military Council, revealed current practices are not as effective as they could be in helping military families gain employment in their field of expertise. Kansas may be falling behind other states in licensing reciprocity. In response to DoD’s emphasis on reciprocity, in 2019, Arizona became the first state to recognize licenses from other states military and civilians, and more states have since followed suit—including neighboring states such as Missouri and Iowa. A report produced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and DoD, stated reciprocity statutes based upon a “substantially equivalent” standard are particularly problematic for military families and will not be viewed as favorably. “To effectively evaluate whether an applicant’s license is ‘substantially equivalent’ a board generally evaluates the coursework, test scores, and applicable practicum hours of the applicant, along with previously held licenses and work experience. This perpetuates the delays experienced by military spouses.”iv In addition to helping military families, licensing reciprocity is a job creation tool that attracts future Kansans and incentivizes relocation.v Additionally, the Kauffman Foundation stated, “occupational licensing requirements can be a hurdle to upward economic mobility. Research shows lower rates of entrepreneurship in states that license more low-income occupations.” Moreover, “differences in state licensing requirements can make it difficult for entrepreneurs and workers to find opportunities and jobs, creating stale labor markets and underemployment.”vi We are pleased to learn the Kansas Legislature is considering an expedited licensure billvii during the 2021 Legislative Session. This legislation would grow the economy by attracting new talent to our state, benefit military spouses, and proactively prepare for strategic basing decisions and mission alternatives from the United States Armed Services. We are particularly encouraged you have chosen to include a “scope of practice” standard rather than a “substantially equivalent” standard that created the issues highlighted in the DoD and DHS report. In closing, we support your continued efforts to improve licensing reciprocity. During these extraordinary times, we are grateful for the partnership with the State of Kansas as we work together to improve the lives of military families, boost our economy, and ensure our communities are in the best position to support and grow our critical military installations. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our offices if we can further assist in this endeavor. Sincerely, Tracey Mann United States Representative, 1st Congressional District of Kansas Jerry Moran United States Senator Dr. Roger Marshall United States Senator Ron Estes United States Representative, 4th Congressional District of Kansas Jake LaTurner United States Representative, 2nd Congressional District of Kansas i https://media.defense.gov/2018/Feb/23/2001881660/-1/-1/1/Military-Family-School-Consideration-and- Professional-Licensure-Reciprocity.PDF ii https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2092427/department-of-the-air-force-to-consider-military- family-support-measures-in-fut/ iii https://www.army.mil/qualityoflife/#spouse-employment iv https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/barriers-to-portability-of-occupational-licenses- between-states.pdf v https://www.kansas.com/opinion/guest-commentary/article249428395.html vi https://www.kauffman.org/resources/entrepreneurship-policy-digest/occupational-licensing-a-barrier-to- entrepreneurship/ vii http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/hb2066/ .