Alaska 2023-2024 Regular Session

Alaska Senate Bill SB116 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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2	2	SB0116A -1- SB 116
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11	11	SENATE BILL NO. 116
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13	13	IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
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15	15	THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
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17	17	BY SENATOR GIESSEL BY REQUEST
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19	19	Introduced: 3/29/23
20	20	Referred: Labor & Commerce, Finance
21	21
22	22
23	23	A BILL
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25	25	FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
26	26
27	27	"An Act relating to the Board of Professional Counselors; relating to licensing of 1
28	28	associate counselors; and providing for an effective date." 2
29	29	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
30	30	* Section 1. AS 08.02.110(a) is amended to read: 4
31	31	(a) An acupuncturist licensed under AS 08.06, an audiologist or speech-5
32	32	language pathologist licensed under AS 08.11, a behavior analyst licensed under 6
33	33	AS 08.15, a person licensed in the state as a chiropractor under AS 08.20, a 7
34	34	professional or associate counselor licensed under AS 08.29, a dentist under
35	35	8
36	36	AS 08.36, a dietitian or nutritionist licensed under AS 08.38, a massage therapist 9
37	37	licensed under AS 08.61, a marital and family therapist licensed under AS 08.63, a 10
38	38	medical practitioner or osteopath under AS 08.64, a direct-entry midwife certified 11
39	39	under AS 08.65, a registered or advanced practice registered nurse under AS 08.68, an 12
40	40	optometrist under AS 08.72, a licensed pharmacist under AS 08.80, a physical 13
41	41	therapist or occupational therapist licensed under AS 08.84, a psychologist under 14 33-LS0421\U
42	42	SB 116 -2- SB0116A
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45	45	AS 08.86, or a clinical social worker licensed under AS 08.95, shall use as 1
46	46	professional identification appropriate letters or a title after that person's name that 2
47	47	represents the person's specific field of practice. The letters or title shall appear on all 3
48	48	signs, stationery, or other advertising in which the person offers or displays personal 4
49	49	professional services to the public. In addition, a person engaged in the practice of 5
50	50	medicine or osteopathy as defined in AS 08.64.380, or a person engaged in any 6
51	51	manner in the healing arts who diagnoses, treats, tests, or counsels other persons in 7
52	52	relation to human health or disease and uses the letters "M.D." or the title "doctor" or 8
53	53	"physician" or another title that tends to show that the person is willing or qualified to 9
54	54	diagnose, treat, test, or counsel another person, shall clarify the letters or title by 10
55	55	adding the appropriate specialist designation, if any, such as "dermatologist," 11
56	56	"radiologist," "audiologist," "naturopath," or the like. 12
57	57	* Sec. 2. AS 08.29.020(a) is amended to read: 13
58	58	(a) In addition to the duties specified in AS 08.01, the board shall 14
59	59	(1) license professional counselors and associate counselors, establish 15
60	60	criteria for supervisor certification and associate counselor licensure, and certify 16
61	61	approved counselor supervisors under this chapter; the board may provide for 17
62	62	licensure in areas of counseling specialization; 18
63	63	(2) establish continuing education requirements for the renewal of a 19
64	64	license under this chapter; 20
65	65	(3) adopt, by regulation, a code of ethics that must be observed by 21
66	66	persons licensed under this chapter; 22
67	67	(4) establish education and training requirements that must be met 23
68	68	before a professional counselor can administer and use assessment instruments 24
69	69	described in AS 08.29.490(1)(C); and 25
70	70	(5) enforce the provisions of this chapter and adopt regulations 26
71	71	necessary to carry out the board's duties under this chapter. 27
72	72	* Sec. 3. AS 08.29.100(a) is amended to read: 28
73	73	(a) A person who is not licensed under this chapter may not 29
74	74	(1) profess to be a licensed professional counselor, a professional 30
75	75	counselor, [OR] a licensed counselor, or an associate counselor; or 31 33-LS0421\U
76	76	SB0116A -3- SB 116
77	77	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
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79	79	(2) make use of a title, words, letters, or abbreviations that may 1
80	80	reasonably be confused with the title of "licensed professional counselor," 2
81	81	"professional counselor," [OR] "licensed counselor," or "associate counselor." 3
82	82	* Sec. 4. AS 08.29.110(a) is amended to read: 4
83	83	(a) The board shall issue a professional counselor license to a person who 5
84	84	applies for the license, submits the required fee, [SUBMITS TWO LETTERS OF 6
85	85	RECOMMENDATION FROM PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS WHO ARE 7
86	86	FAMILIAR WITH THE APPLICANT'S PRACTICE OF PROFESSIONAL 8
87	87	COUNSELING,] and presents evidence satisfactory to the board that the person 9
88	88	(1) is at least 18 years of age; 10
89	89	(2) is not under investigation in this or another jurisdiction for an act 11
90	90	that would constitute a violation of this chapter; 12
91	91	(3) has not had a license related to the practice of counseling, 13
92	92	psychology, marital and family therapy, or social work in this or another jurisdiction 14
93	93	suspended, revoked, or surrendered in lieu of discipline unless the license has been 15
94	94	fully reinstated in that jurisdiction; 16
95	95	(4) has passed a written examination as required by the board; the 17
96	96	board may provide that passing a nationally recognized examination for professional 18
97	97	counselors is sufficient to meet the examination requirement of this paragraph; 19
98	98	(5) has successfully completed either 20
99	99	(A) an earned doctoral degree in counseling or a related 21
100	100	professional field from a regionally or nationally accredited institution of 22
101	101	higher education approved by the board; or 23
102	102	(B) an earned master's degree in counseling or a related 24
103	103	professional field, from a regionally or nationally accredited institution of 25
104	104	higher education approved by the board, and at least 60 graduate semester 26
105	105	hours in counseling [DURING OR AFTER EARNING THE MASTER'S 27
106	106	DEGREE]; and 28
107	107	(6) has, after earning the degree required under either (5)(A) or (B) of 29
108	108	this subsection, successfully completed an associate counselor program authorized 30
109	109	in regulations of the board or completed [HAD] at least 3,000 hours of supervised 31 33-LS0421\U
110	110	SB 116 -4- SB0116A
111	111	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
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113	113	experience in the practice of professional counseling performed over a period of at 1
114	114	least two years under the supervision of a supervisor approved under regulations of 2
115	115	the board [AS 08.29.210], with at least 1,000 hours of direct counseling with 3
116	116	individuals, couples, families, or groups and at least 100 hours of direct [FACE-TO-4
117	117	FACE] supervision [BY A SUPERVISOR] approved [UNDER AS 08.29.21 0 5
118	118	UNLESS,] under regulations of the board [, THE BOARD ALLOWS THE 6
119	119	SUPERVISION TO BE BY TELEPHONIC OR ELECTRONIC MEANS BECAUSE 7
120	120	OF THE REMOTE LOCATION OF THE COUNSELOR]. 8
121	121	* Sec. 5. AS 08.29.120(a) is amended to read: 9
122	122	(a) Except as provided in (b) of this section, the board may issue a license 10
123	123	under this chapter to a person who is licensed in another jurisdiction to practice as a 11
124	124	professional counselor or associate counselor [COUNSELING] if the board finds 12
125	125	that the other jurisdiction has substantially the same or higher licensure requirements 13
126	126	as this state. 14
127	127	* Sec. 6. AS 08.29.220 is amended to read: 15
128	128	Sec. 08.29.220. Disclosure statement. A client may not be charged a fee for 16
129	129	professional counseling services unless, before the performance of the services, the 17
130	130	client was furnished a copy of a professional disclosure statement that contained 18
131	131	(1) the name, title, business address, and business telephone number of 19
132	132	the professional counselor or associate counselor; 20
133	133	(2) a description of the formal professional education of the 21
134	134	professional counselor or associate counselor, including the institutions attended and 22
135	135	the degrees received from them; 23
136	136	(3) the [PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR'S] areas of specialization 24
137	137	and the services available of the professional counselor or associate counselor; 25
138	138	(4) the [PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR'S] fee schedule listed by 26
139	139	type of service or hourly rate of the professional counselor or associate counselor; 27
140	140	(5) at the bottom of the first page of the statement, the following 28
141	141	sentence: "This information is required by the Board of Professional Counselors which 29
142	142	regulates all licensed professional counselors and associate counselors," followed by 30
143	143	the name, address, and telephone number of the board's office. 31 33-LS0421\U
144	144	SB0116A -5- SB 116
145	145	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
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147	147	* Sec. 7. AS 08.29.400(a) is amended to read: 1
148	148	(a) The board may impose a disciplinary sanction under AS 08.01.075 on a 2
149	149	person licensed under this chapter or deny a license to a person when the board finds 3
150	150	that the person 4
151	151	(1) has an addiction to, or severe dependency on, alcohol or other 5
152	152	drugs that impairs the person's ability to engage safely in the practice of professional 6
153	153	counseling; 7
154	154	(2) has been convicted of a felony and has not been sufficiently 8
155	155	rehabilitated to merit the public trust; 9
156	156	(3) used fraud, deception, misrepresentation, or bribery in securing a 10
157	157	license under this chapter or in obtaining permission to take an examination required 11
158	158	under this chapter; 12
159	159	(4) is incompetent or has committed misconduct, fraud, 13
160	160	misrepresentation, or dishonesty in the performance of the functions of a licensed 14
161	161	professional counselor or associate counselor; 15
162	162	(5) violated, or assisted another individual to violate, a provision of 16
163	163	this chapter or a regulation adopted under this chapter; 17
164	164	(6) impersonated a person who holds a license under this chapter; 18
165	165	(7) has had a license related to the practice of counseling, psychology, 19
166	166	marital and family therapy, or social work in this or another jurisdiction revoked, 20
167	167	suspended, limited, or surrendered in lieu of discipline upon grounds for which a 21
168	168	license issued under this chapter could be revoked, suspended, limited, or surrendered 22
169	169	in lieu of discipline; this paragraph does not apply to license actions for failure to pay 23
170	170	a renewal fee; 24
171	171	(8) assisted another person who is not licensed under this chapter in an 25
172	172	attempt to represent the person to the public as a licensed professional counselor or 26
173	173	associate counselor; 27
174	174	(9) was issued a license based on a material mistake of fact; 28
175	175	(10) used an advertisement or solicitation that is false, misleading, or 29
176	176	deceptive to the general public or the person to whom the advertisement was primarily 30
177	177	directed; or 31 33-LS0421\U
178	178	SB 116 -6- SB0116A
179	179	New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
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181	181	(11) failed to respond within 30 days to a written communication from 1
182	182	the board concerning an investigation by the board or failed to make available to the 2
183	183	board a relevant record with respect to an investigation about the licensee's conduct or 3
184	184	background. 4
185	185	* Sec. 8. AS 08.29.210 is repealed. 5
186	186	* Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 6
187	187	read: 7
188	188	TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Board of Professional Counselors may adopt 8
189	189	regulations necessary to implement the changes made by this Act. The regulations take effect 9
190	190	under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of the law 10
191	191	implemented by regulation. 11
192	192	* Sec. 10. Section 9 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 12
193	193	* Sec. 11. Except as provided by sec. 10 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2025. 13