I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2618 
To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide a guarantee of 
residency for registration of businesses of spouses of members of the 
uniformed services, to improve occupational license portability for military 
spouses through interstate compacts, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 9, 2019 
Mr. BANKS (for himself, Mrs. DAVIS of California, and Mr. CHABOT) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a 
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide 
a guarantee of residency for registration of businesses 
of spouses of members of the uniformed services, to 
improve occupational license portability for military 
spouses through interstate compacts, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR REGISTRA-
TION OF BUSINESSES OF SPOUSES OF MEM-
BERS OF UNIFORMED SERVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Servicemembers 
Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 4021 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 707. GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR BUSINESSES OF 
SPOUSES OF SERVICEMEMBERS. 
‘‘For the purposes of registering a business— 
‘‘(1) a person who is absent from a State be-
cause the person is accompanying the person’s 
spouse who is absent from that same State in com-
pliance with military or naval orders shall not, solely 
by reason of that absence— 
‘‘(A) be deemed to have lost a residence or 
domicile in that State, without regard to wheth-
er or not the person intends to return to that 
State; 
‘‘(B) be deemed to have acquired a resi-
dence or domicile in any other State; or 
‘‘(C) be deemed to have become a resident 
in or a resident of any other State; and 
‘‘(2) the spouse of a servicemember may elect 
to use the same residence as the servicemember re-
gardless of the date on which the marriage of the 
spouse and the servicemember occurred.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 706 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 707. Guarantee of residency for businesses of spouses of servicemem-
bers.’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE PORT-
ABILITY FOR MILITARY SPOUSES THROUGH 
INTERSTATE COMPACTS. 
Section 1784 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(h) IMPROVEMENT
OF OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE 
PORTABILITY THROUGH INTERSTATE COMPACTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 
may enter into a cooperative agreement with the 
Council of State Governments to assist with funding 
of the development of interstate compacts on li-
censed occupations in order to alleviate the burden 
associated with relicensing in such an occupation by 
the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces in con-
nection with a permanent change of duty station of 
members to another State. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The amount provided under 
paragraph (1) as assistance for the development of 
any particular interstate compact may not exceed 
$1,000,000. 
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‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than Feb-
ruary 28 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to 
the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate 
and the House of Representatives a report on inter-
state compacts described in paragraph (1) developed 
through assistance provided under that paragraph. 
Each report shall set forth the following: 
‘‘(A) Any interstate compact developed 
during the preceding calendar year, including 
the occupational licenses covered by such com-
pact and the States agreeing to enter into such 
compact. 
‘‘(B) Any interstate compact developed 
during a prior calendar year into which one or 
more additional States agreed to enter during 
the preceding calendar year. 
‘‘(4) EXPIRATION.—The authority to enter into 
a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1), and 
to provide assistance described in that paragraph 
pursuant to such cooperative agreement, shall expire 
on September 30, 2024.’’. 
Æ 
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