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An Act To Encourage the Hiring of Skilled Immigrants through Flexible Certification
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  10 MRSA §8012  is enacted to read:
§ 8012. Flexible certification
By January 1, 2018, each board, commission, office and agency within the department listed in section 8001 or affiliated with the department under section 8001-A shall adopt a process in accordance with this section to facilitate qualified work-authorized immigrants obtaining in an expeditious manner professional licenses granted by those boards, commissions, offices and agencies. For the purposes of this section, "work-authorized immigrant" means an alien who has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence as well as an alien whose employment is authorized by the United States Department of Homeland Security, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
 
1.  Endorsement.     The board, commission, office or agency may permit a work-authorized immigrant who holds a comparable license in another state or country to acquire a license by endorsement in this State for the remainder of the term of the license from the other state or country or until a license is obtained in this State, whichever occurs first.
 
2.  Temporary license.     The board, commission, office or agency may permit a work-authorized immigrant who holds a comparable license in another state or country to obtain a temporary license in this State for a period of time necessary to obtain a license in this State.
 
3.  Education.     The board, commission, office or agency may not issue a license by endorsement under subsection 1 or a temporary license under subsection 2 to a work-authorized immigrant unless the work-authorized immigrant is enrolled in and participating in an education program approved by the board, commission, office or agency. The board, commission, office or agency may not approve an education program under this subsection unless successful completion of the education program allows the work-authorized immigrant to qualify either for licensure in this State or to take the examination required for licensure in this State.
 
4.  Rules.     Each board, commission, office or agency affected by this section shall adopt rules establishing the criteria for work-authorized immigrants to obtain a license by endorsement or a temporary license under this section, including rules for determining whether a license issued in another country is comparable to a license issued by the board, commission, office or agency. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires each board, commission, office and agency under the oversight of or affiliated with the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation to adopt a process allowing a work-authorized immigrant who possesses a professional license in another state or country to obtain a time-limited license by endorsement or a temporary license while participating in an education program designed to meet the qualifications for professional licensure in this State.