New legislation and a veto in Florida
The Mobile Opportunity by Interstate Licensure Endorsement (MOBILE) Act has been signed into law in Florida to simplify the licensure by endorsement process. To obtain licensure by endorsement, professionals must have a valid, current license in another state for five years and been practicing three of the past four years, having passed any mandated national licensing exam and any Florida-specific training as required for the profession. If an applicant meets all other requirements, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or the Department of Health must issues a license within seven days.
The governor vetoed a bill that would have required licensing boards to only consider the past three years (instead of five) when looking at a barber or cosmetologist applicant's criminal convictions. The veto indicated concern about narrowly applying the bill to only barbers and cosmetologists and concern about the potential need to review information older than three years when making a licensure decision.