Social workers; prohibit licensing board from requiring certain exam for applicants for a license by reciprocity.

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To: Business and Commerce;
Public Health and Human
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Currie

HOUSE BILL NO. 1031

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-53-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO PROHIBIT THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR SOCIAL WORKERS AND MARRIAGE 2
AND FAMILY THERAPISTS FROM REQUIRING A WRITTEN JURISPRUDENCE 3
EXAMINATION SPECIFIC TO THE STATE LAWS THAT REGULATE SOCIAL 4
WORKERS FOR APPLICANTS FOR A LICENSE BY RECIPROCITY WHO ESTABLISH 5
RESIDENCE IN THIS STATE; TO AMEND SECTION 73-50-2, MISSISSIPPI 6
CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISION; AND FOR 7
RELATED PURPOSES. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9
SECTION 1. Section 73-53-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 10
amended as follows: 11
73-53-13. (1) The board shall issue the appropriate license 12
to applicants who meet the qualifications of this section. 13
(a) A license as a "licensed social worker" shall be 14
issued to an applicant who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 15
board that he or she meets the following qualifications: 16
(i) Has a baccalaureate degree in social work from 17
a college or university accredited by the Council on Social Work 18
Education or Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and has 19
satisfactorily completed the Association for Social Work Boards 20
(ASWB) examination for this license; or 21
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(ii) Has a comparable license or registration from 22
another state or territory of the United States of America that 23
imposes qualifications substantially similar to those of this 24
article. 25
(b) A license as a "licensed master's social worker" 26
shall be issued to an applicant who demonstrates to the 27
satisfaction of the board that he or she meets the following 28
qualifications: 29
(i) Has a doctorate or master's degree from a 30
school of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work 31
Education; and 32
(ii) Has satisfactorily completed the ASWB 33
examination for this license; or 34
(iii) Has a comparable license or registration 35
from another state or territory of the United States of America 36
that imposes qualifications substantially similar to those of this 37
article. 38
(c) A license as a "licensed certified social worker" 39
shall be issued to an applicant who demonstrates to the 40
satisfaction of the board that he or she meets the following 41
qualifications: 42
(i) Is licensed under this section as a "master's 43
social worker"; and 44
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(ii) Has twenty-four (24) months of professional 45
supervision and clinical or macro social work practice experience 46
acceptable to the board, under appropriate supervision; and 47
(iii) Has satisfactorily completed the ASWB 48
examination for this license; or 49
(iv) Has a comparable license or registration from 50
another state or territory of the United States of America that 51
imposes qualifications substantially similar to those of this 52
article. 53
(d) In addition to the above qualifications, an 54
applicant for any of the above licenses must prove to the board's 55
satisfaction: 56
(i) Age of at least twenty-one (21) years, and 57
(ii) Good moral character, which is a continuing 58
requirement for licensure, and 59
(iii) United States of America citizenship or 60
status as a legal resident alien, and 61
(iv) Absence of conviction of a felony related to 62
the practice of social work for the last ten (10) years. 63
Conviction, as used in this subparagraph, includes a deferred 64
conviction, deferred prosecution, deferred sentence, finding or 65
verdict of guilt, an admission of guilty, or a plea of nolo 66
contendere, and 67
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(v) That the applicant has not been declared 68
mentally incompetent by any court, and if any such decree has ever 69
been rendered, that the decree has since been changed, and 70
(vi) Freedom from dependency on alcohol or drugs, 71
and 72
(vii) Complete criminal history records check, 73
including a fingerprint and an acceptable sex offender check, by 74
appropriate governmental authorities as prescribed by the board. 75
(e) Only individuals licensed as "certified social 76
workers" shall be permitted to call themselves "clinical social 77
workers." 78
(2) The issuance of a license by reciprocity to a 79
military-trained applicant, military spouse or person who 80
establishes residence in this state shall be subject to the 81
provisions of Section 73-50-1 or 73-50-2, as applicable. However, 82
the board shall not require a written jurisprudence examination 83
specific to the state laws that regulate social workers for 84
applicants for a license by reciprocity who establish residence in 85
this state. 86
(3) Each application or filing made under this section shall 87
include the social security number(s) of the applicant in 88
accordance with Section 93-11-64. 89
SECTION 2. Section 73-50-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 90
amended as follows: 91
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73-50-2. (1) This section shall be known as the "Universal 92
Recognition of Occupational Licenses Act." 93
(2) As used in this section, the term: 94
(a) "License" means any license (other than a privilege 95
license), certificate, registration, permit or other evidence of 96
qualification that an individual is required by the state to 97
obtain before he or she may engage in or represent himself or 98
herself to be a member of a particular profession or occupation. 99
(b) "Occupational licensing board" means any state 100
board, commission, department or other agency in Mississippi that 101
is established for the primary purpose of regulating the entry of 102
persons into, and/or the conduct of persons within, a particular 103
profession or occupation, and which is authorized to issue 104
licenses. For the purposes of this section, the State Department 105
of Education shall be considered an occupational licensing board 106
when issuing teacher licenses under Section 37-3-2. 107
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 108
occupational licensing board shall issue a license or government 109
certification in the discipline applied for and at the same 110
practice level to a person who establishes residence in this state 111
if, upon application to an occupational licensing board, the 112
applicant satisfies the following conditions: 113
(a) The applicant holds a current and valid license in 114
good standing in another state in an occupation with a similar 115
scope of practice, as determined by the occupational licensing 116
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board in Mississippi, and has held this license from the 117
occupational licensing board in the other state for at least one 118
(1) year; and 119
(b) There were minimum education requirements and, if 120
applicable, work experience, examination and clinical supervision 121
requirements in effect, and the other state verifies that the 122
applicant met those requirements in order to be licensed in that 123
state; and 124
(c) The applicant has not committed any act in the 125
other state that would have constituted grounds for refusal, 126
suspension or revocation of a license to practice that occupation 127
in Mississippi at the time the act was committed, and the 128
applicant does not have a disqualifying criminal record as 129
determined by the occupational licensing board in Mississippi 130
under Mississippi law; and 131
(d) The applicant did not surrender a license because 132
of negligence or intentional misconduct related to the applicant's 133
work in the occupation in another state; and 134
(e) The applicant does not have a complaint, allegation 135
or investigation pending before an occupational licensing board or 136
other board in another state that relates to unprofessional 137
conduct or an alleged crime. If the applicant has a complaint, 138
allegation or investigation pending, the occupational licensing 139
board in Mississippi shall not issue or deny a license to the 140
applicant until the complaint, allegation or investigation is 141
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resolved, or the applicant otherwise satisfies the criteria for 142
licensure in Mississippi to the satisfaction of the occupational 143
licensing board in Mississippi; and 144
(f) The applicant pays all applicable fees in 145
Mississippi. 146
(4) Notwithstanding any other law, the occupational 147
licensing board shall issue a license to an applicant in the 148
discipline applied for and at the same practice level, as 149
determined by the occupational licensing board, to a person who 150
establishes residence in this state based on work experience in 151
another state, if all the following apply: 152
(a) The applicant worked in a state that does not use a 153
license to regulate a lawful occupation, but Mississippi uses a 154
license to regulate a lawful occupation with a similar scope of 155
practice, as determined by the occupational licensing board; 156
(b) The applicant worked for at least three (3) years 157
in the lawful occupation; and 158
(c) The applicant satisfies the provisions of 159
paragraphs (c) through (f) of subsection (3) of this section. 160
(5) Except as otherwise provided by law, an occupational 161
licensing board may require an applicant to pass a jurisprudential 162
examination specific to relevant state laws in Mississippi that 163
regulate the occupation if the issuance of a license in 164
Mississippi requires an applicant to pass a jurisprudential 165
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examination specific to relevant state statutes and administrative 166
rules in Mississippi that regulate the occupation. 167
(6) For purposes of this section, residence may be 168
established by demonstrating proof of a state-issued 169
identification card or one (1) of the following: 170
(a) Current Mississippi residential utility bill with 171
the applicant's name and address; 172
(b) Documentation of the applicant's current ownership, 173
or current lease of a residence in Mississippi; 174
(c) Documentation of current in-state employment or 175
notarized letter of promise of employment of the applicant or his 176
or her spouse; or 177
(d) Any verifiable documentation demonstrating 178
Mississippi residency. 179
(7) A person who receives a license under this section is 180
subject to the laws regulating the person's practice in this state 181
and is subject to the occupational licensing board's jurisdiction. 182
(8) A license issued under this section is valid only in 183
this state and does not make the person eligible to be part of an 184
interstate compact. 185
(9) The occupational licensing board shall issue or deny the 186
license to the applicant within one hundred twenty (120) days 187
after receiving an application. 188
If the application requires longer than two (2) weeks to 189
process, the occupational licensing board shall issue a temporary 190
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practice permit within thirty (30) days after receiving the 191
application if the applicant submits an affidavit, under penalties 192
of perjury, affirming that he or she satisfies the provisions of 193
subsection (3) or subsection (4) and pays all applicable fees as 194
required by subsection (3)(f) or subsection (4)(c). 195
The applicant may practice under the temporary permit until a 196
license is granted, or until a notice to deny the license is 197
issued, in accordance with rules adopted by the occupational 198
licensing board. A temporary license will expire in three hundred 199
sixty-five (365) days after its issuance if the applicant fails to 200
satisfy the requirement for licensure in subsections (3) through 201
(5), as applicable. 202
(10) (a) The applicant may appeal any of the following 203
decisions of an occupational licensing board to a court of general 204
jurisdiction: 205
(i) Denial of a license; 206
(ii) Determination of the occupation; 207
(iii) Determination of the similarity of the scope 208
of practice of the license issued; or 209
(iv) Other determinations under this section. 210
(b) The court shall determine all questions of law, 211
including the interpretation of a constitutional or statutory 212
provision or a rule adopted by an occupational licensing board, 213
without regard to any previous determination that may have been 214
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made on the question in any action before the occupational 215
licensing board. 216
(11) An occupational licensing board shall prominently print 217
the following on all license applications, any communication 218
denying a license, and on the board's website: "Pursuant to the 219
provisions of the Universal Recognition of Occupational Licenses 220
Act, Mississippi shall recognize occupational licenses obtained 221
from other states." An occupational licensing board shall prepare 222
and place on the board's website an annual report detailing the 223
number of applications submitted to the licensing board under this 224
section during a calendar year and the actions taken by the board 225
on the applications. 226
(12) An occupational licensing board shall adopt rules 227
necessary to implement this section by January 1, 2022. In 228
addition, an occupational licensing board shall make all 229
reasonable efforts to issue a license to an applicant for a 230
license under this section. 231
(13) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit 232
an applicant for licensure from proceeding under the existing 233
licensure requirements established by an occupational licensing 234
board in Mississippi. 235
(14) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent 236
Mississippi from entering into a licensing compact or reciprocity 237
agreement with another state, foreign province or foreign country. 238
A license issued under this section is valid only in Mississippi. 239
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ST: Social workers; prohibit licensing board
from requiring certain exam for applicants for a
license by reciprocity.
It does not make the person eligible to work in another state 240
under an interstate compact or reciprocity agreement unless 241
otherwise provided in Mississippi law. 242
(15) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to: 243
(a) The practice of law as regulated under Section 244
73-3-1 et seq.; 245
(b) Criteria for an applicant to obtain a license that 246
is established under an interstate compact; 247
(c) The ability of an occupational licensing board to 248
require an applicant to submit fingerprints in order to access 249
state and federal criminal records information for noncriminal 250
justice purposes; 251
(d) The practice of medicine by physicians as regulated 252
under Section 73-25-1 et seq.; 253
(e) The provisions of the Military Family Freedom Act, 254
Section 73-50-1; or 255
(f) An occupation regulated under Section 73-1-1 et 256
seq. to the extent there is a conflict with a law granting 257
licensure reciprocity under Section 73-1-1 et seq. 258
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 259
and after July 1, 2026. 260