LCO 4759 1 of 8
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1373
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 4759
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 July 1, 2026) 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 is licensed pursuant to section 3 of this act; 6
and 7
(2) "Lactation consulting" means clinical application of scientific 8
principles and a multidisciplinary body of evidence for evaluation, 9
problem identification, treatment, education and consultation to 10
families regarding the course of lactation and feeding, including, but not 11
limited to, the following services: 12
(A) Taking maternal, child and feeding histories; 13 Raised Bill No. 1373
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(B) Performing clinical assessments related to breastfeeding and 14
human lactation through the systematic collection of subjective and 15
objective information; 16
(C) Analyzing relevant information and data; 17
(D) Developing an unbiased lactation management and child feeding 18
plan with demonstration and instruction to parents; 19
(E) Providing lactation and feeding education, including, but not 20
limited to, recommendations for and training in the use of assistive 21
devices for lactation and breastfeeding; 22
(F) Communicating to a primary health care practitioner and 23
referring to other health care practitioners, as necessary; 24
(G) Conducting appropriate follow-up appointments and evaluating 25
outcomes; and 26
(H) Documenting patient encounters in a patient record. 27
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) (a) No person may practice 28
lactation consulting, for compensation, unless licensed pursuant to 29
section 3 of this act. 30
(b) No person shall (1) hold himself or herself out to the public as 31
being licensed as a lactation consultant, (2) use, in connection with such 32
person's name or business, the title "licensed lactation consultant" or 33
"lactation consultant" or the designation "IBCLC" or "L.C.", or (3) make 34
use of any title, words, letters, abbreviations or insignia that may 35
reasonably be confused with licensure as a lactation consultant, unless 36
such person is licensed pursuant to section 3 of this act. 37
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a person who (1) 38
is licensed or certified by the Department of Public Health pursuant to 39
title 20 of the general statutes or by the Department of Consumer 40
Protection pursuant to chapter 400j of the general statutes and providing 41
lactation consulting while acting within the scope of practice of the 42 Raised Bill No. 1373
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person's license or certification, provided the person does not refer to 43
himself or herself by the term "lactation consultant", (2) is a student 44
enrolled in a lactation consulting educational program or an accredited 45
education program the completion of which is required for licensure or 46
certification by the Department of Public Health pursuant to title 20 of 47
the general statutes or by the Department of Consumer Protection 48
pursuant to chapter 400j of the general statutes, lactation consulting is a 49
part of the student's course of study and the student is performing such 50
consulting under appropriate program supervision, provided the 51
student does not refer to himself or herself by the term "lactation 52
consultant", (3) provides lactation education and support through the 53
federal Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and 54
Children, administered pursuant to section 19a-59c of the general 55
statutes, or any other federally funded nutrition assistance program 56
administered in the state, to participants in such program while acting 57
within the person's job description and training, provided the person 58
does not refer to himself or herself by the term "lactation consultant", (4) 59
is certified as a community health worker, as defined in section 20-195ttt 60
of the general statutes, and providing lactation support to a HUSKY 61
Health program member, provided the community health worker does 62
not refer to himself or herself by the term "lactation consultant", (5) 63
provides education, social support, peer support, peer counseling or 64
nonclinical services relating to lactation and feeding, provided the 65
person does not refer to himself or herself by the term "lactation 66
consultant", (6) is a doula or midwife and providing services within the 67
doula's or midwife's scope of practice and for which the doula or 68
midwife is trained, provided the doula or midwife does not refer to 69
himself or herself by the term "lactation consultant", or (7) is a public 70
health professional and engaging in outreach, engagement, education, 71
coaching, informal counseling, social support, advocacy, care 72
coordination or research related to social determinants of health or a 73
basic screening or assessment of any risk associated with social 74
determinants of health, provided the professional does not refer to 75
himself or herself by the term "lactation consultant". 76 Raised Bill No. 1373
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Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) (a) The Commissioner of Public 77
Health shall grant a license as a lactation consultant to any applicant 78
who furnishes evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that such 79
applicant has earned a certification as an international board certified 80
lactation consultant from the International Board of Lactation 81
Consultant Examiners, or any successor of said board. The 82
commissioner shall develop and provide application forms. The 83
application fee shall be two hundred dollars. 84
(b) Any license issued under this section shall expire in accordance 85
with the provisions of section 19a-88 of the general statutes, as amended 86
by this act, and may be renewed every two years, for a fee of one 87
hundred dollars. Each licensed lactation consultant applying for license 88
renewal shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of 89
having a current certification as an international board certified lactation 90
consultant with the International Board of Lactation Consultant 91
Examiners, or any successor of said board, and having obtained 92
continuing education units for such certification as required by said 93
board. 94
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) The Commissioner of Public 95
Health may deny an application of an individual or take any 96
disciplinary action set forth in section 19a-17 of the general statutes 97
against a lactation consultant for any of the following reasons: (1) 98
Failure to conform to the accepted standards of the profession; (2) 99
conviction of a felony, provided any action taken is based upon (A) the 100
nature of the conviction and its relationship to the license holder's ability 101
to safely or competently practice as a lactation consultant, (B) 102
information pertaining to the degree of rehabilitation of the license 103
holder, and (C) the time elapsed since the conviction or release; (3) fraud 104
or deceit in obtaining or seeking reinstatement of a license to practice 105
lactation consulting; (4) fraud or deceit in the practice of lactation 106
consulting; (5) negligent, incompetent or wrongful conduct in 107
professional activities; (6) physical, mental or emotional illness or 108
disorder resulting in an inability to conform to the accepted standards 109
of the profession; (7) alcohol or substance abuse; (8) wilful falsification 110 Raised Bill No. 1373
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of entries in any hospital, patient or other record pertaining to lactation 111
consulting; or (9) failure to maintain certification in good standing as an 112
international board certified lactation consultant with the International 113
Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. The commissioner may order 114
a license holder to submit to a reasonable physical or mental 115
examination if his or her physical or mental capacity to practice safely is 116
the subject of an investigation. The commissioner may petition the 117
superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to enforce such order 118
or any action taken pursuant to section 19a-17 of the general statutes. 119
The commissioner shall give notice and an opportunity to be heard on 120
any contemplated action under section 19a-17 of the general statutes. 121
Sec. 5. Subsection (c) of section 19a-14 of the general statutes is 122
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 123
2026): 124
(c) No board shall exist for the following professions that are licensed 125
or otherwise regulated by the Department of Public Health: 126
(1) Speech and language pathologist and audiologist; 127
(2) Hearing instrument specialist; 128
(3) Nursing home administrator; 129
(4) Environmental health specialist; 130
(5) Subsurface sewage system installer or cleaner; 131
(6) Marital and family therapist and marriage and family therapist 132
associate; 133
(7) Nurse-midwife; 134
(8) Licensed clinical social worker; 135
(9) Respiratory care practitioner; 136
(10) Asbestos contractor, asbestos consultant and asbestos training 137 Raised Bill No. 1373
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provider; 138
(11) Massage therapist; 139
(12) Registered nurse's aide; 140
(13) Radiographer; 141
(14) Dental hygienist; 142
(15) Dietitian-Nutritionist; 143
(16) Asbestos abatement worker; 144
(17) Asbestos abatement site supervisor; 145
(18) Licensed or certified alcohol and drug counselor; 146
(19) Professional counselor and professional counselor associate; 147
(20) Acupuncturist; 148
(21) Occupational therapist and occupational therapist assistant; 149
(22) Lead abatement contractor, lead consultant contractor, lead 150
consultant, lead abatement supervisor, lead abatement worker, lead 151
training provider, lead inspector, lead inspector risk assessor and lead 152
planner-project designer; 153
(23) Emergency medical technician, advanced emergency medical 154
technician, emergency medical responder and emergency medical 155
services instructor; 156
(24) Paramedic; 157
(25) Athletic trainer; 158
(26) Perfusionist; 159
(27) Master social worker subject to the provisions of section 20-195v; 160 Raised Bill No. 1373
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(28) Radiologist assistant, subject to the provisions of section 20-74tt; 161
(29) Homeopathic physician; 162
(30) Certified water treatment plant operator, certified distribution 163
system operator, certified small water system operator, certified 164
backflow prevention device tester and certified cross connection survey 165
inspector, including certified limited operators, certified conditional 166
operators and certified operators in training; 167
(31) Tattoo technician; 168
(32) Genetic counselor; 169
(33) Behavior analyst; 170
(34) Art therapist; 171
(35) Esthetician; 172
(36) Eyelash technician; [and] 173
(37) Nail technician; and 174
(38) Lactation consultant. 175
The department shall assume all powers and duties normally vested 176
with a board in administering regulatory jurisdiction over such 177
professions. The uniform provisions of sections 1 to 4, inclusive, of this 178
act, this chapter and chapters 368v, 369 to 381a, inclusive, 383 to 388, 179
inclusive, 393a, 395, 398, 399, 400a and 400c, including, but not limited 180
to, standards for entry and renewal; grounds for professional discipline; 181
receiving and processing complaints; and disciplinary sanctions, shall 182
apply, except as otherwise provided by law, to the professions listed in 183
this subsection. 184
Sec. 6. Subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 19a-88 of the general 185
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 186
(Effective July 1, 2026): 187 Raised Bill No. 1373
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(2) Each person holding a license or certificate issued under section 188
19a-514, sections 1 to 4, inclusive, of this act and chapters 384a, 384c, 189
384d, 386, 387, 388 and 398 shall apply for renewal of such license or 190
certificate once every two years, during the month of such person's 191
birth, giving such person's name in full, such person's residence and 192
business address and such other information as the department 193
requests. 194
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 5 July 1, 2026 19a-14(c)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2026 19a-88(e)(2)
PH Joint Favorable