Bill would ease licensing for nurses licensed in other states by waiving duplicate English-proficiency or transcript requirements

Senate Bill 72 would require Maryland health licensing boards to waive duplicate English‑proficiency testing if an applicant has already passed a qualifying English test in another state and would ease verification requirements for internationally educated nurses and those holding an interstate compact license.

Sponsor Sen. Clarence Lam said the measure is intended to remove redundant barriers that delay qualified nurses from beginning work in Maryland. Several internationally educated nurses described the burdensome process of retrieving decades‑old transcripts or retaking English tests even after practicing in other U.S. jurisdictions. “This bill will help us with the nursing shortage that we are facing in Maryland right now,” testified Marasevia Kathleen, an internationally educated registered nurse and co‑founder of the Ethiopian Nurses Association in North America.

Hospitals and associations, including the Maryland Hospital Association and Adventist Healthcare, supported the bill as a workforce recruitment tool. Jake Whitaker of the Hospital Association said the bill will make Maryland more competitive by removing a significant administrative barrier and shorten the time new hires spend waiting to deliver bedside care. The Maryland Board of Nursing testified that it already accepts multiple English language tests and supports clear proficiency guidelines; the Board and the sponsor were negotiating an amendment to the bill’s website-posting requirement for cross‑state test lists.

Ending: The board and stakeholders said they were working on technical amendments to the posting requirement; supporters asked the committee for a favorable report to ease staffing bottlenecks.