Law will allow new Mississippi residents to keep professional licenses

FILE – Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves delivers his State of the State speech on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. Congress just sweetened the incentives for states to extend Medicaid insurance coverage to more low-income adults, but the dozen Republican-controlled states that have spent years resisting expanding the programs have no plans to change course now. Gov. Reeves says he’s not going for it, noting that his stance was a major issue in his 2019 campaign. His GOP primary opponents supported a plan to expand, with the state’s share being paid for by hospitals and a fee of up to $20 a month for people who signed up. He opposed it, even as the Mississippi Hospital Association said it could bring up to 19,000 jobs to the state. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, file)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Mar 26, 2021 / 08:30 AM AST

Updated: Mar 26, 2021 / 07:12 AM AST

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

JACKSON, Miss. — A new law signed by Gov. Tate Reeves will allow people who move to Mississippi from out-of-state to maintain their professional licenses.

House Bill 1263 requires licensing boards to issue occupational licenses for professions without new testing or classroom training if a person held a license in good standing from another state for at least one year. The new rule will take effect on July 1.

Licensing boards will also be required to issue licenses if a person has worked at least three years in a state that did not require a license for their occupation.