NC H1053

Expedites occupational licensure for military spouses by requiring boards to issue licenses within 15 days of application if applicants hold current licenses from other jurisdictions with substantially equivalent requirements and demonstrate competency through continuing education or recent experience.

Reduces decision timeline for military-trained applicants from 30 to 15 days and allows proficiency examinations as an alternative to meeting standard requirements.

Waives initial application fees for military-trained applicants and military spouses seeking licenses, certifications, registrations, or temporary practice permits.

Requires occupational licensing boards to publish licensure criteria on their websites and report annually on the number of military-trained and military spouse applicants, approvals, and denials.

Establishes the Interstate Compact for Audiology and Speech Pathology to allow licensed audiologists and speech-language pathologists to practice across member states under a "compact privilege" and creates an oversight commission with rule-making authority.