2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · House bill

HB879

HB879 requires the relevant Texas board to issue a license to a qualifying military veteran applying as a physician, physician assistant or nurse.

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Official caption: Relating to the licensing of certain military veterans as health care providers.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists House author(s): Frank, Perez, Vincent. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.

Bill highlights

Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.

HB879 requires the relevant Texas board to issue a license to a qualifying military veteran applying as a physician, physician assistant or nurse.
This is a route for already licensed clinicians meeting defined service conditions, not permission for any veteran with medical experience to practice without a license.
The boards may not issue a license under this route if the applicant holds a relevant professional or controlled-substance license that is under active investigation, or is or was subject to disciplinary action/order or denial by another jurisdiction.
The act incorporates the existing statutory definitions of active duty and the U.S. armed forces.
The law took effect September 1, 2025.

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What does it do?

HB879 requires the relevant Texas board to issue a license to a qualifying military veteran applying as a physician, physician assistant or nurse. The applicant must meet all of these conditions:

Hold a license in good standing in the same profession in another state.
Have retired or otherwise left military service no more than one year before applying.
Have been on active duty at the time of leaving and authorized in that profession to treat enlisted service members or veterans.
Have been honorably discharged.
Have passed the applicable Texas jurisprudence examination—a test of the profession’s governing laws and rules.

This is a route for already licensed clinicians meeting defined service conditions, not permission for any veteran with medical experience to practice without a license. The final law does not require the prior active-duty service to have occurred in Texas. Final law

The boards may not issue a license under this route if the applicant holds a relevant professional or controlled-substance license that is under active investigation, or is or was subject to disciplinary action/order or denial by another jurisdiction. It also excludes applicants convicted of, on deferred-adjudication community supervision or deferred disposition for, or under active investigation for a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude. The screening provisions are not limited to current criminal convictions.

The act incorporates the existing statutory definitions of active duty and the U.S. armed forces. Those definitions include specified state military active-duty service and reserve units; the applicant still must meet every eligibility condition in the new licensing provision. Definitions

The law took effect September 1, 2025. It does not set a guaranteed number of days for processing an application or itself change the professional scope of practice after licensing. Official history

What changed along the way?

The introduced bill covered physicians and nurses only, required their active-duty service at separation to be in Texas, and used specified misconduct-based discharge exclusions. The House committee substitute relocated the physician provision and revised headings without changing those substantive eligibility conditions.

The House adopted the Frank/Bucy amendment on April 28. It removed the Texas-service-location condition, replaced the discharge exclusions with an affirmative honorable-discharge requirement, and added the parallel physician-assistant licensing route with the same eligibility and screening structure. Those changes appear in the engrossed, Senate committee and final texts unchanged.

The amendment index lists that one adopted amendment. There was no Senate floor amendment or conference rewrite. The governor signed May 28 after House passage April 29 and Senate passage May 15.

For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.

Official bill versions

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?

Recently separated military clinicians who already hold out-of-state licenses may have a clearer route into Texas civilian practice. Employers and patients may benefit if qualified veterans join the workforce, but the act does not guarantee jobs, shorter waits or a particular increase in staffing.

Applicants must document eligibility and pass the law-and-rules examination; those outside the one-year window or barred by the listed screening conditions cannot use this particular route. Licensing boards must process applications and verify the conditions. Other licensing pathways are not abolished by this act.

The latest fiscal note expected no significant state or local-government fiscal impact, assuming costs could be absorbed within existing resources. HB879 does not appropriate new funding or itself promise a fee waiver.

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.