(a)
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1)
In times of national or state disasters, a shortage of qualified health care practitioners may exist in areas throughout the state where they are desperately required to respond to public health emergencies.
(2)
Health care practitioners with lapsed or inactive licenses could potentially serve in those areas where a shortage of qualified health care practitioners exists, if licensing requirements were streamlined and fees curtailed.
(b)
It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to address these matters through the provisions of the Health Care Professional Disaster Response Act.