(BOSTON 7/6/2021) On Tuesday, July 6th, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs held a public hearing on legislation related to families of military members in Massachusetts. The committee is chaired by Representative Paul McMurtry (D-Dedham) and Senator John C. Velis ( D-Westfield).
One of the bills heard was SB2433, An Act relative to military spouse-licensure portability, education and enrollment of dependents. Otherwise known as the SPEED Act, the legislation was filed by Chairman Velis to help military families in their transition to Massachusetts.
The bill would speed up the state professional licensure process for spouses of military members by eliminating current cumbersome processes and requiring the Division of Professional Licensure to respond to an application within 30 days, the timeframe recommended by the Department of Defense. This would make it easier for spouses to find new jobs upon arriving in Massachusetts.
The legislation also supports children of service members as well. By allowing rolling and virtual enrollment for students of military families who are moving to the Commonwealth, the legislation ensures that children will not miss any school because of their transition. The legislation also ensures that military children in college in Massachusetts will continue to receive in-state tuition rates regardless of if their military parent is reassigned out of the Commonwealth.
Lastly the legislation creates a Purple Star School Program to designate Massachusetts schools that have demonstrated a major commitment to military students and families by meeting specific state designated requirements. The Purple Star School Program, which was started in Ohio, encourages school districts to increase their supports for military families and helps families identify the schools that are best prepared to meet their needs.
In September of 2019, the Secretary of Defense defined a fourth line of effort to the National Defense Strategy to support the wellbeing of military families. Military spouse licensure was designated as a key initiative in this effort. The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requires the Department of Defense and each of the military services to produce annual basing decision scorecards at the state and installation level considering military family readiness issues, with one of the top criteria being interstate portability of licensure credentials.
In his testimony to the committee, Chairman Velis noted that the Department of Defense looks closely at these issue when considering whether a state should be selected for a mission assignment.
“These changes will ensure that we are doing everything in our power to ease transitions for these families who are already sacrificing so much for us. These changes are also an important signal to the Department of Defense that our military installations are primed with support and that we are a viable state for future investments,” stated Chairman Velis. “Part of any evaluation on Massachusetts military installations, like the ongoing Airforce evaluation of Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, includes looking at how our Commonwealth supports military families. Projects like these bring enormous economic development and federal investments to our Commonwealth and this legislation will only improve our chances of being selected.”
Christopher Arnold, Northeast Region Liaison for the Department of Defense-State Liaison Office, testified in support of the legislation during the hearing. “Massachusetts is a state that has long been a home – permanent and temporary – to the worthiest men and women in the United States military who serve and sacrifice for our country,” stated Arnold. “This impressive legislation would make Massachusetts a nationwide leader in addressing quality-of-life issues for military families.”
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