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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5318
February Session, 2024
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, 2027) 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
human lactation through the systematic collection of subjective and 14
objective information; 15
(C) Analyzing relevant information and data; 16 Substitute Bill No. 5318
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(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, 2027) (a) No person may practice 27
lactation consulting, for compensation, unless licensed pursuant to 28
section 3 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 license and training, provided the person does not hold 37
himself or herself out to the public as a lactation consultant, (2) is a 38
student enrolled in a lactation consulting educational program or a 39
graduate nursing or medical education program in lactation consulting 40
and lactation consulting is an integral part of the student's course of 41
study and such student is performing such consulting under the direct 42
supervision of a licensed lactation consultant, physician or other health 43
care provider or educator who provides lactation consulting or 44
education in lactation counseling within the scope of practice of the 45
provider's license and training, (3) provides lactation consulting 46 Substitute Bill No. 5318
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through the federal Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, 47
Infants and Children, administered pursuant to section 19a-59c of the 48
general statutes, or any other federally funded nutrition assistance 49
program administered in the state, to participants in such program 50
while acting within the scope of the person's profession and training, 51
provided the person does not hold himself or herself out to the public 52
as a lactation consultant, or (4) provides lactation consulting as a 53
certified community health worker, as defined in section 20-195ttt of the 54
general statutes, provided the person does not hold himself or herself 55
out to the public as a lactation consultant. 56
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2027) (a) The Commissioner of 57
Public Health shall grant a license as a lactation consultant to any 58
applicant who furnishes evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that 59
such applicant has earned a certification or credential from the 60
International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, or any successor 61
of said board. The commissioner shall develop and provide application 62
forms. The application fee shall be two hundred dollars. 63
(b) Any license issued under this section shall expire in accordance 64
with the provisions of section 19a-88 of the general statutes, as amended 65
by this act, and may be renewed every two years, for a fee of one 66
hundred dollars. Each licensed lactation consultant applying for license 67
renewal shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of 68
having a current certification or credential with the International Board 69
of Lactation Consultant Examiners, or any successor of said board, and 70
having obtained continuing education units for such certification or 71
credential as required by said board. 72
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2027) The Commissioner of Public 73
Health may deny an application of an individual or take any 74
disciplinary action set forth in section 19a-17 of the general statutes 75
against a lactation consultant for any of the following reasons: (1) 76
Failure to conform to the accepted standards of the profession; (2) 77
conviction of a felony, provided any action taken is based upon (A) the 78
nature of the conviction and its relationship to the license holder's ability 79 Substitute Bill No. 5318
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to safely or competently practice as a lactation consultant, (B) 80
information pertaining to the degree of rehabilitation of the license 81
holder, and (C) the time elapsed since the conviction or release; (3) fraud 82
or deceit in obtaining or seeking reinstatement of a license to practice 83
lactation consulting; (4) fraud or deceit in the practice of lactation 84
consulting; (5) negligent, incompetent or wrongful conduct in 85
professional activities; (6) physical, mental or emotional illness or 86
disorder resulting in an inability to conform to the accepted standards 87
of the profession; (7) alcohol or substance abuse; or (8) wilful 88
falsification of entries in any hospital, patient or other record pertaining 89
to lactation consulting. The commissioner may order a license holder to 90
submit to a reasonable physical or mental examination if his or her 91
physical or mental capacity to practice safely is the subject of an 92
investigation. The commissioner may petition the superior court for the 93
judicial district of Hartford to enforce such order or any action taken 94
pursuant to section 19a-17 of the general statutes. The commissioner 95
shall give notice and an opportunity to be heard on any contemplated 96
action under section 19a-17 of the general statutes. 97
Sec. 5. Subsection (c) of section 19a-14 of the general statutes is 98
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 99
1, 2027): 100
(c) No board shall exist for the following professions that are licensed 101
or otherwise regulated by the Department of Public Health: 102
(1) Speech and language pathologist and audiologist; 103
(2) Hearing instrument specialist; 104
(3) Nursing home administrator; 105
(4) Sanitarian; 106
(5) Subsurface sewage system installer or cleaner; 107
(6) Marital and family therapist and marriage and family therapist 108
associate; 109 Substitute Bill No. 5318
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(7) Nurse-midwife; 110
(8) Licensed clinical social worker; 111
(9) Respiratory care practitioner; 112
(10) Asbestos contractor, asbestos consultant and asbestos training 113
provider; 114
(11) Massage therapist; 115
(12) Registered nurse's aide; 116
(13) Radiographer; 117
(14) Dental hygienist; 118
(15) Dietitian-Nutritionist; 119
(16) Asbestos abatement worker; 120
(17) Asbestos abatement site supervisor; 121
(18) Licensed or certified alcohol and drug counselor; 122
(19) Professional counselor and professional counselor associate; 123
(20) Acupuncturist; 124
(21) Occupational therapist and occupational therapist assistant; 125
(22) Lead abatement contractor, lead consultant contractor, lead 126
consultant, lead abatement supervisor, lead abatement worker, lead 127
training provider, lead inspector, lead inspector risk assessor and lead 128
planner-project designer; 129
(23) Emergency medical technician, advanced emergency medical 130
technician, emergency medical responder and emergency medical 131
services instructor; 132
(24) Paramedic; 133 Substitute Bill No. 5318
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(25) Athletic trainer; 134
(26) Perfusionist; 135
(27) Master social worker subject to the provisions of section 20-195v; 136
(28) Radiologist assistant, subject to the provisions of section 20-74tt; 137
(29) Homeopathic physician; 138
(30) Certified water treatment plant operator, certified distribution 139
system operator, certified small water system operator, certified 140
backflow prevention device tester and certified cross connection survey 141
inspector, including certified limited operators, certified conditional 142
operators and certified operators in training; 143
(31) Tattoo technician; 144
(32) Genetic counselor; 145
(33) Behavior analyst; 146
(34) Art therapist; 147
(35) Esthetician; 148
(36) Eyelash technician; [and] 149
(37) Nail technician; and 150
(38) Lactation consultant. 151
The department shall assume all powers and duties normally vested 152
with a board in administering regulatory jurisdiction over such 153
professions. The uniform provisions of sections 1 to 4, inclusive, of this 154
act, this chapter and chapters 368v, 369 to 381a, inclusive, 383 to 388, 155
inclusive, 393a, 395, 398, 399, 400a and 400c, including, but not limited 156
to, standards for entry and renewal; grounds for professional discipline; 157
receiving and processing complaints; and disciplinary sanctions, shall 158
apply, except as otherwise provided by law, to the professions listed in 159 Substitute Bill No. 5318
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this subsection. 160
Sec. 6. Subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 19a-88 of the general 161
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 162
(Effective October 1, 2027): 163
(2) Each person holding a license or certificate issued under section 164
19a-514, sections 1 to 4, inclusive, of this act, and chapters 384a, 384c, 165
384d, 386, 387, 388 and 398 shall apply for renewal of such license or 166
certificate once every two years, during the month of such person's 167
birth, giving such person's name in full, such person's residence and 168
business address and such other information as the department 169
requests. 170
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2027 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2027 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2027 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2027 New section
Sec. 5 October 1, 2027 19a-14(c)
Sec. 6 October 1, 2027 19a-88(e)(2)
PH Joint Favorable Subst.