State agencies; authorize to enter into intergovernmental support agreeements with military branches.

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To: Military Affairs; State
Affairs
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives Carpenter, Hall,
Kinkade, Mattox, McLean, Byrd

HOUSE BILL NO. 612
(As Passed the House)

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE STATE AGENCIES AND DIVISIONS THEREOF TO 1
ENTER INTO INTERGOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT AGREEMENTS WITH MILITARY 2
BRANCHES; TO AMEND SECTION 73-15-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 3
PROVIDE THAT PERSONS WHO HAVE COMPLETED THE TRAINING REQUIRED FOR 4
A UNITED STATES COAST GUARD HEALTH SERVICES TECHNICIAN AND THEN 5
COMPLETED TWO YEARS OF CLINICAL EXPERIENCE THAT INVOLVES PROVIDING 6
DIRECT PATIENT CARE, SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO TAKE THE EXAMINATION 7
TO BE LICENSED AS A LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE; AND FOR RELATED 8
PURPOSES. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 10
SECTION 1. An entity of the state, and any unit or 11
subdivision thereof, may enter into an intergovernmental support 12
agreement with a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States 13
under the National Defense Authorization Act, 10 USC Section 2679, 14
to provide installation-support services to a military 15
installation located in this state. 16
SECTION 2. Section 73-15-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 17
amended as follows: 18
73-15-21. (1) Licensed practical nurse applicant 19
qualifications. Any applicant for a license to practice practical 20
nursing as a licensed practical nurse shall submit to the board: 21
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(a) An attested written application on a Board of 22
Nursing form; 23
(b) A diploma from an approved high school or the 24
equivalent thereof, as determined by the appropriate educational 25
agency; 26
(c) Written official evidence of completion of a 27
practical nursing program approved by the State Department of 28
Education through its Division of Vocational Education, or one 29
approved by a legal accrediting agency of another state, territory 30
or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or a 31
foreign country which is satisfactory to this board; 32
(d) Evidence of competence in English related to 33
nursing, provided the first language is not English; 34
(e) Any other official records required by the board. 35
(2) Licensed practical nurse applicant qualifications for 36
military medics. Any applicant for a license to practice 37
practical nursing as a licensed practical nurse who is a United 38
States Army Combat Medic Specialist, a United States Navy Hospital 39
Corpsman, * * * a United States Air Force Aerospace Medical 40
Service Specialist, or a United States Coast Guard Health Services 41
Technician shall submit to the board: 42
(a) An attested written application on a Board of 43
Nursing form; 44
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(b) A diploma from an approved high school or the 45
equivalent thereof, as determined by the appropriate educational 46
agency; 47
(c) Written official evidence of completion of the 48
training required for a United States Army Combat Medic 49
Specialist, a United States Navy Hospital Corpsman, * * * a United 50
States Air Force Aerospace Medical Service Specialist, or a United 51
States Coast Guard Health Services Technician and after such 52
training, completion of two (2) years of clinical experience that 53
involves providing direct patient care, which may include trauma 54
or emergency oriented care; 55
(d) Evidence of competence in English related to 56
nursing, provided the first language is not English; 57
(e) Any other official records required by the board. 58
(3) Additional requirements for applicants. In addition to 59
the requirements specified in paragraphs (a) through (e) of 60
subsection (1) or (2) of this section, in order to qualify for a 61
license to practice practical nursing as a licensed practical 62
nurse, an applicant must have successfully been cleared for 63
licensure through an investigation that shall consist of a 64
determination as to good moral character and verification that the 65
prospective licensee is not guilty of or in violation of any 66
statutory ground for denial of licensure as set forth in Section 67
73-15-29 or guilty of any offense specified in Section 73-15-33. 68
To assist the board in conducting its licensure investigation, all 69
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applicants shall undergo a fingerprint-based criminal history 70
records check of the Mississippi central criminal database and the 71
Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history database. Each 72
applicant shall submit a full set of his or her fingerprints in a 73
form and manner prescribed by the board, which shall be forwarded 74
to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (department) and 75
the Federal Bureau of Investigation Identification Division for 76
this purpose. 77
Any and all state or national criminal history records 78
information obtained by the board that is not already a matter of 79
public record shall be deemed nonpublic and confidential 80
information restricted to the exclusive use of the board, its 81
members, officers, investigators, agents and attorneys in 82
evaluating the applicant's eligibility or disqualification for 83
licensure, and shall be exempt from the Mississippi Public Records 84
Act of 1983. Except when introduced into evidence in a hearing 85
before the board to determine licensure, no such information or 86
records related thereto shall, except with the written consent of 87
the applicant or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, be 88
released or otherwise disclosed by the board to any other person 89
or agency. 90
The board shall provide to the department the fingerprints of 91
the applicant, any additional information that may be required by 92
the department, and a form signed by the applicant consenting to 93
the check of the criminal records and to the use of the 94
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fingerprints and other identifying information required by the 95
state or national repositories. 96
The board shall charge and collect from the applicant, in 97
addition to all other applicable fees and costs, such amount as 98
may be incurred by the board in requesting and obtaining state and 99
national criminal history records information on the applicant. 100
The board may, in its discretion, refuse to accept the 101
application of any person who has been convicted of a criminal 102
offense under any provision of Title 97 of the Mississippi Code of 103
1972, as now or hereafter amended, or any provision of this 104
article. 105
(4) Licensure by examination. (a) Upon the board being 106
satisfied that an applicant for a license as a practical nurse has 107
met the qualifications set forth in subsection (1) or (2) of this 108
section and subsection (3) of this section, the board shall 109
proceed to examine such applicant in such subjects as the board 110
shall, in its discretion, determine. The subjects in which 111
applicants shall be examined shall be in conformity with curricula 112
in schools of practical nursing approved by the State Department 113
of Education. 114
(b) The applicant shall be required to pass the written 115
examination selected by the board. 116
(c) Upon successful completion of such examination, the 117
board shall issue to the applicant a license to practice as a 118
licensed practical nurse. 119
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(d) The board may use any part or all of the state 120
board test pool examination for practical nurse licensure, its 121
successor examination, or any other nationally standardized 122
examination identified by the board in its rules. The passing 123
score shall be established by the board in its rules. 124
(5) Licensure by endorsement. The board may issue a license 125
to practice practical nursing as a licensed practical nurse 126
without examination to an applicant who has been duly licensed as 127
a licensed practical nurse under the laws of another state, 128
territory or possession of the United States, the District of 129
Columbia, or a foreign country if, in the opinion of the board, 130
the applicant meets the qualifications required of licensed 131
practical nurses in this state and has previously achieved the 132
passing score or scores on the licensing examination required by 133
this state at the time of his or her graduation. The issuance of 134
a license by endorsement to a military-trained applicant, military 135
spouse or person who establishes residence in this state shall be 136
subject to the provisions of Section 73-50-1 or 73-50-2, as 137
applicable. 138
(6) Licensure by equivalent amount of theory and clinical 139
experience. In the discretion of the board, former students of a 140
state-accredited school preparing students to become registered 141
nurses may be granted permission to take the examination for 142
licensure to practice as a licensed practical nurse, provided the 143
applicant's record or transcript indicates the former student 144
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completed an equivalent amount of theory and clinical experiences 145
as required of a graduate of a practical nursing program, and 146
provided the school attended was, at the time of the student's 147
attendance, an accredited school of nursing. 148
(7) Requirements for rewriting the examination. The board 149
shall establish in its rules the requirements for rewriting the 150
examination for those persons failing the examination on the first 151
writing or subsequent writing. 152
(8) Fee. The applicant applying for a license by 153
examination or by endorsement to practice as a licensed practical 154
nurse shall pay a fee not to exceed Sixty Dollars ($60.00) to the 155
board. 156
(9) Temporary permit. (a) The board may issue a temporary 157
permit to practice practical nursing to a graduate of an approved 158
school of practical nursing pending the results of the examination 159
in Mississippi, and to a qualified applicant from another state, 160
territory or possession of the United States, or the District of 161
Columbia, pending licensing procedures as provided for elsewhere 162
in this article. The fee shall not exceed Twenty-five Dollars 163
($25.00). 164
(b) The board may issue a temporary permit for a period 165
of ninety (90) days to a licensed practical nurse who is currently 166
licensed in another state, territory or possession of the United 167
States or the District of Columbia and who is an applicant for 168
licensure by endorsement. Such permit is not renewable except by 169
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board action. The issuance of a temporary permit to a 170
military-trained applicant, military spouse or person who 171
establishes residence in this state shall be subject to the 172
provisions of Section 73-50-1 or 73-50-2, as applicable. 173
(c) The board may issue a temporary permit to a 174
graduate of an approved practical nursing education program or an 175
equivalent program satisfactory to the board pending the results 176
of the first licensing examination scheduled after application. 177
Such permit is not renewable except by board action. 178
(d) The board may issue a temporary permit for a period 179
of thirty (30) days to any licensed practical nurse during the 180
time enrolled in a nursing reorientation program. This time 181
period may be extended by board action. The fee shall not exceed 182
Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00). 183
(e) The board may adopt such regulations as are 184
necessary to limit the practice of persons to whom temporary 185
permits are issued. 186
(10) Title and abbreviation. Any person who holds a license 187
or holds the privilege to practice as a licensed practical nurse 188
in this state shall have the right to use the title "licensed 189
practical nurse" and the abbreviation "L.P.N." No other person 190
shall assume such title or use such abbreviation, or any words, 191
letters, signs or devices to indicate that a person using the same 192
is a licensed practical nurse. 193
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ST: State agencies; authorize to enter into
intergovernmental support agreeements with
military branches.
(11) Licensed practical nurses licensed under a previous 194
law. Any person holding a license to practice nursing as a 195
practical nurse issued by this board which is valid on July 1, 196
1981, shall thereafter be deemed to be licensed as a practical 197
nurse under the provisions of this article upon payment of the fee 198
prescribed in Section 73-15-27. 199
(12) Each application or filing made under this section 200
shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in 201
accordance with Section 93-11-64. 202
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 203
and after its passage. 204