As members of the military are ordered into deployments across the country and around the world, their spouses often have their employment disrupted, if they’re employed at all.
But a new Maryland law may offer some relief. Legislation titled MD SB418 takes effect on October 1, and allows military members, veterans and spouses who are transferred to Maryland permission to almost immediately work under a valid professional or occupational license from another state.
According to the text of the legislation, it authorizes “members of the Foreign Service and spouses of members of the Foreign Service, for the duration of the assignment or detail, to practice in the State under an occupational or professional license issued in another state under certain circumstances.”
“They have tremendous pressures on their family, and then if the spouse can’t work in a profession that they’re trained to, that puts more financial burden on their family,” State Sen. Bryan Simonaire (R-Md.), the bill’s sponsor, told Military.com. “This has been a national issue with military families.”
New Law Eliminates Long Waiting Period
Currently, professionals in Maryland must wait months to transfer their licenses from other states, leaving them unable to work during the transition period. The bill will allow military members and their spouses transferred to Maryland to work under their out-of-state professional or occupational licenses to the same extent as Maryland license holders.
If an active service member comes from California and into our state, they have to go through this long process of getting a license, the paperwork, the money. A lot of military members depend on two incomes, and so they don’t have time to wait for three or four months to get the other spouse working.
It’s an issue Blue Star Families Maryland has been working on for years, and has become a personal cause for Yolanda Rayford, executive director of the Maryland chapter of the organization. She’s a veteran spouse who has lived through the hardship.
“That constant challenge of having to prove yourself every three or four years of restarting your work life is hard,” Rayford said in an interview with Military.com. “You have to restart economically; you have to restart your career. So this bill, when I was a military spouse, would have been invaluable.”
A person allowed to work under this change would be subject to submitting an application, including proof of military moving orders and be in good standing with their out-of-state licensing board. They would also be subject to the same Maryland disciplinary rules as Maryland licensees.
Modernizing Maryland’s Professional Licensing Rules
Simonaire said the primary goal is to modernize Maryland’s licensing process, specifically occupational licensing.
“If you’re in good standing with your license, you can come to Maryland and you can practice immediately,” Simonaire said about the new law. “All you have to do is provide an application showing that you’re in good standing, and you’ll abide by our laws.”
The bill, signed by Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), builds upon national standards in the Service Members Civil Relief Act, passed during the Biden administration. The Maryland law expands the number of occupational licenses that are expedited for all veterans, active-duty members and their spouses.
Simonaire said once the bill takes effect, veterans and their families will be able to expedite their applications for about 95% of licenses, with applications taking about a week to 10 days to process.
A 2024 survey from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of People Analytics shows that nationwide, civilian military spouses have a 20% unemployment rate. That compares to the general unemployment rate of about 4.3% in May.
“I can’t stress enough the importance of the enactment of this piece of legislation,” Rayford said. “I’m not a crystal baller, so I don’t know how things will ultimately shake out. But I think the immediate impact of the legislation will reduce the burden of getting re-licensed here as well as the emotional burden of getting military members, veterans and spouses back to work.”
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