Newsroom Borelli Urges Assembly Colleagues to Pass Legislation for Military Families

Assemblyman Joe Borelli (R,C,I-South Shore) is urging his Assembly colleagues to pass legislation that will recognize out-of-state occupational licenses for military spouses so they can start working as soon as they arrive at their new station in New York. Military spouses who require licenses to practice their profession often lose years of income waiting for the state to process their paperwork. On top of that, they usually have to pay for coursework they already completed in another state.“We should be making things easier for our military families that serve and work at Fort Wadsworth and all the region’s bases, not harder,” said Borelli. “It’s outrageous that military spouses are made to endure years without income, and pay thousands of dollars for coursework they have already completed. Our military and their families already sacrifice so much; this is unacceptable. Many military families reside on Staten Island, and it is our duty as a community to ensure their time here is spent productively and without any additional hardships.”

 

Borelli supports legislation that allows the licensure of military spouses with out-of-state licenses in equivalent occupations (Assembly Bills A.4394, A.2590, and A.3637). According to a 2014 Military Officers Association of America survey, occupational licensure constraints are one of the biggest financial problems for military families.

 

“Legislation was passed in the Senate last year that addresses this very issue. It’s high time for the Assembly Majority to step up and get this right for our military families. This legislation must be passed in the Assembly now. New York is one of only three states left with such an outdated process; this is not how we should be treating our military families,” Borelli concluded.