Rep. Davis’s Veteran’s Proposal Moves to Senate

If there is one thing we can all agree on in Missouri, it is that we respect and should honor our veterans. Our state has many young veterans - women and men fresh from Afghanistan and other posts around the globe. These new vets have sacrificed four or more years of their lives serving their country, even as their peers attend college and raise families. These service members are there for us in national crises and in natural disasters, and it is important that we are there for them when they return to civilian life.

House Bill 114, sponsored by Representative Charlie Davis (R-128), aims to recognize the training veterans receive in the military. Beginning in January 2014, every university, college, and vocational or technical school will be required to award academic credit to students who have already taken equivalent courses as part of their military training.

This bill also makes it easier for nurses and other health-related professionals to keep their civilian certification while serving in the armed forces. Active duty healthcare professionals will be exempt from license renewal fees and, under certain conditions, from continuing education requirements. If a person is assigned to a combat area, it is unreasonable to expect them to take continuing courses: they are already on the scene in the classroom of experience. If a serviceman or servicewoman is continuing their professional training through the military, this bill allows those courses to meet the licensure board’s requirements.

We need qualified employees in this state and country. Who better than veterans to fill that role? Veterans have the discipline and commitment to take full advantage of higher education. Here in the Missouri House, we are working to fund those educations, and to remove the barriers that might discourage veterans from seeking more training. They have served us and it is our responsibility to do our best to serve them.

House Bill 114 passed the House this week and is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate Veterans’ Affairs and Health Committee.