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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5318
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 1969
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT REQUIRING THE LICENSURE OF LACTATION
CONSULTANTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) As used in this section and 1
sections 2 to 4, inclusive, of this act: 2
(1) "Lactation consultant" means a person who holds and maintains 3
certification in good standing as an international board certified 4
lactation consultant with the International Board of Lactation 5
Consultant Examiners; and 6
(2) "Lactation consulting" means clinical application of scientific 7
principles and a multidisciplinary body of evidence for evaluation, 8
problem identification, treatment, education and consultation to 9
families regarding the course of lactation and feeding, including, but not 10
limited to, the following services: 11
(A) Taking maternal, child and feeding histories; 12
(B) Performing clinical assessments related to breastfeeding and 13 Raised Bill No. 5318
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human lactation through the systematic collection of subjective and 14
objective information; 15
(C) Analyzing relevant information and data; 16
(D) Developing an unbiased lactation management and child feeding 17
plan with demonstration and instruction to parents; 18
(E) Providing lactation and feeding education, including, but not 19
limited to, recommendations for and training in the use of assistive 20
devices for lactation and breastfeeding; 21
(F) Communicating to a primary health care practitioner and 22
referring to other health care practitioners, as necessary; 23
(G) Conducting appropriate follow-up appointments and evaluating 24
outcomes; and 25
(H) Documenting patient encounters in a patient record. 26
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) No person may practice 27
lactation consulting unless licensed or permitted pursuant to section 3 28
of this act. 29
(b) No person may use the title "lactation consultant" or the 30
designation "L.C.", or make use of any title, words, letters, abbreviations 31
or insignia that may reasonably be confused with licensure as a lactation 32
consultant unless such person is licensed pursuant to section 3 of this 33
act. 34
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a person who (1) 35
provides lactation consulting while acting within the scope of practice 36
of the person's (A) license, permit or certification, and (B) training, 37
provided the person does not hold himself or herself out to the public 38
as a lactation consultant, or (2) is a student enrolled in a lactation 39
consulting educational program or a graduate nursing or medical 40
education program in lactation consulting and lactation consulting is an 41
integral part of the student's course of study and such student is 42 Raised Bill No. 5318
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performing such consulting under the direct supervision of a licensed 43
lactation consultant, physician or other health care provider who 44
provides lactation consulting within such provider's scope of practice. 45
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) On and after October 1, 46
2027, the Commissioner of Public Health shall grant a license as a 47
lactation consultant to any applicant who, except as provided in 48
subsection (b) of this section, furnishes evidence satisfactory to the 49
commissioner that such applicant has earned a certification or credential 50
from the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, or any 51
successor of said board. The commissioner shall develop and provide 52
application forms. The application fee shall be three hundred fifteen 53
dollars. 54
(b) An applicant for licensure by endorsement shall present evidence 55
satisfactory to the commissioner that the applicant is licensed or 56
certified as a lactation consultant, or as a person entitled to perform 57
similar services under a different designation, in another state or 58
jurisdiction that has requirements for practicing in such capacity that are 59
substantially similar to, or higher than, those of this state and that there 60
are no disciplinary actions or unresolved complaints pending in this 61
state or any other state. 62
(c) Licenses issued under this section shall be renewed annually 63
pursuant to section 19a-88 of the general statutes. The fee for such 64
renewal shall be one hundred ninety dollars. Each licensed lactation 65
consultant applying for license renewal shall furnish evidence 66
satisfactory to the commissioner of having a current certification or 67
credential with the International Board of Lactation Consultant 68
Examiners, or any successor of said board, and having obtained 69
continuing education units for such certification or credential as 70
required by said board. 71
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) The Commissioner of Public 72
Health may deny an application of an individual or take any 73
disciplinary action set forth in section 19a-17 of the general statutes 74 Raised Bill No. 5318
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against a lactation consultant for any of the following reasons: (1) 75
Failure to conform to the accepted standards of the profession; (2) 76
conviction of a felony, provided any action taken is based upon (A) the 77
nature of the conviction and its relationship to the license holder's ability 78
to safely or competently practice as a lactation consultant, (B) 79
information pertaining to the degree of rehabilitation of the license 80
holder, and (C) the time elapsed since the conviction or release; (3) fraud 81
or deceit in obtaining or seeking reinstatement of a license to practice 82
lactation consulting; (4) fraud or deceit in the practice of lactation 83
consulting; (5) negligent, incompetent or wrongful conduct in 84
professional activities; (6) physical, mental or emotional illness or 85
disorder resulting in an inability to conform to the accepted standards 86
of the profession; (7) alcohol or substance abuse; or (8) wilful 87
falsification of entries in any hospital, patient or other record pertaining 88
to lactation consulting. The commissioner may order a license holder to 89
submit to a reasonable physical or mental examination if his or her 90
physical or mental capacity to practice safely is the subject of an 91
investigation. The commissioner may petition the superior court for the 92
judicial district of Hartford to enforce such order or any action taken 93
pursuant to section 19a-17 of the general statutes. The commissioner 94
shall give notice and an opportunity to be heard on any contemplated 95
action under section 19a-17 of the general statutes. 96
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2024 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require licensure of lactation consultants.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]