Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1167 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Romero, Jr., Frank (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 1167
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 17, 2023;
3	3	April 18, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Health &
4	4	Human Services; May 21, 2023, reported favorably by the following
5	5	vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 21, 2023, sent to printer.)
6	6	Click here to see the committee vote
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to the licensing of marriage and family therapists,
12	12	marriage and family therapist associates, professional counselors,
13	13	professional counselor associates, and social workers, including
14	14	certain out-of-state applicants.
15	15	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	16	SECTION 1. Sections 502.151 and 502.1515, Occupations Code,
17	17	are amended to read as follows:
18	18	Sec. 502.151. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE
19	19	COUNCIL. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the [The]
20	20	executive council shall:
21	21	(1) determine the qualifications and fitness of a
22	22	license applicant under this chapter; and
23	23	(2) adopt a code of professional ethics for license
24	24	holders.
25	25	Sec. 502.1515. BOARD DUTIES. Except as otherwise provided
26	26	by this chapter, the [The] board shall propose to the executive
27	27	council:
28	28	(1) rules regarding:
29	29	(A) the qualifications necessary to obtain a
30	30	license, including rules limiting an applicant's eligibility for a
31	31	license based on the applicant's criminal history;
32	32	(B) the scope of practice of and standards of
33	33	care and ethical practice for marriage and family therapy; and
34	34	(C) continuing education requirements for
35	35	license holders; and
36	36	(2) a schedule of sanctions for violations of this
37	37	chapter or rules adopted under this chapter.
38	38	SECTION 2. Section 502.252, Occupations Code, is amended by
39	39	amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e)
40	40	to read as follows:
41	41	(b) To qualify for a license as a licensed marriage and
42	42	family therapist associate, a person must:
43	43	(1) be at least 18 years of age;
44	44	(2) have completed a graduate internship in marriage
45	45	and family therapy, or an equivalent internship, as approved by the
46	46	executive council;
47	47	(3) pass the license examination and jurisprudence
48	48	examination determined by the board;
49	49	(4) hold a master's or doctoral degree in marriage and
50	50	family therapy or in a related mental health field with coursework
51	51	and training determined by the board [executive council] to be
52	52	substantially equivalent to a graduate degree in marriage and
53	53	family therapy from a regionally accredited institution of higher
54	54	education or an institution of higher education approved by the
55	55	executive council;
56	56	(5) have not been convicted of a felony or a crime
57	57	involving moral turpitude;
58	58	(6) not use drugs or alcohol to an extent that affects
59	59	the applicant's professional competency;
60	60	(7) not have had a license or certification revoked by
61	61	a licensing agency or by a certifying professional organization;
62	62	and
63	63	(8) not have engaged in fraud or deceit in applying for
64	64	a license under this chapter.
65	65	(c) An applicant is eligible to apply for a license as a
66	66	licensed marriage and family therapist if the person:
67	67	(1) meets the requirements of Subsection (b);
68	68	(2) after receipt of a degree described by Subsection
69	69	(b)(4), has completed two years of work experience in marriage and
70	70	family therapist services that includes at least 3,000 hours of
71	71	clinical practice consisting of at least 1,500 hours of direct
72	72	clinical services, including a minimum number of hours providing
73	73	direct clinical services to couples or families as required by
74	74	board [executive council] rule; and
75	75	(3) has completed, in a manner acceptable to the board
76	76	[executive council], at least 200 hours of supervised provision of
77	77	direct clinical services by the applicant, 100 hours of which must
78	78	be supervised on an individual basis.
79	79	(d) Subsections (c)(2) and (c)(3) do not apply to an
80	80	applicant who:
81	81	(1) is licensed in good standing in another state to
82	82	independently practice as a licensed marriage and family therapist;
83	83	and
84	84	(2) has independently practiced as a licensed marriage
85	85	and family therapist in that state before the date the application
86	86	is submitted.
87	87	(e) An applicant for a license as a licensed marriage and
88	88	family therapist who practiced as a licensed marriage and family
89	89	therapist associate in another state may count that out-of-state
90	90	experience toward the requirements under Subsections (c)(2) and
91	91	(c)(3) if:
92	92	(1) the applicant is licensed in good standing as a
93	93	marriage and family therapist associate in that state; and
94	94	(2) based on a review of that experience by a licensed
95	95	supervisor in this state, the board determines that the experience
96	96	is acceptable.
97	97	SECTION 3. Sections 502.2545(a) and (b), Occupations Code,
98	98	are amended to read as follows:
99	99	(a) The board [executive council] may waive the requirement
100	100	that an applicant for a license as a licensed marriage and family
101	101	therapist pass the examination required by Section 502.254 if the
102	102	applicant:
103	103	(1) is a provisional license holder under Section
104	104	502.259 and the executive council determines that the applicant
105	105	possesses sufficient education and professional experience to
106	106	receive a license without further examination; [or]
107	107	(2) holds a license issued by another licensing agency
108	108	in a profession related to the practice of marriage and family
109	109	therapy and the executive council determines that the applicant
110	110	possesses sufficient education and professional experience to
111	111	receive a license without satisfying the examination requirements
112	112	of this chapter; or
113	113	(3) meets the criteria provided by Section 502.252(d).
114	114	(b) The executive council may, subject to approval by the
115	115	board, adopt rules necessary to administer this section, including
116	116	rules under Subsection (a)(2) prescribing the professions that are
117	117	related to the practice of marriage and family therapy.
118	118	SECTION 4. Section 502.259(b), Occupations Code, is amended
119	119	to read as follows:
120	120	(b) An applicant for a provisional license must:
121	121	(1) be licensed in good standing as a marriage and
122	122	family therapist or a marriage and family therapist associate in
123	123	another state or jurisdiction that has licensing requirements that
124	124	are substantially equal to the requirements of this chapter;
125	125	(2) have passed a national or other examination that:
126	126	(A) is recognized by the board [executive
127	127	council]; and
128	128	(B) relates to marriage and family therapy; and
129	129	(3) be sponsored by a person licensed by the executive
130	130	council with whom the provisional license holder may practice under
131	131	this section.
132	132	SECTION 5. Section 503.201(a), Occupations Code, is amended
133	133	to read as follows:
134	134	(a) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the [The]
135	135	executive council shall:
136	136	(1) determine the qualifications and fitness of an
137	137	applicant for a license, license renewal, or provisional license;
138	138	(2) examine for, deny, approve, issue, revoke,
139	139	suspend, suspend on an emergency basis, place on probation, and
140	140	renew the license of an applicant or license holder under this
141	141	chapter;
142	142	(3) adopt and publish a code of ethics; and
143	143	(4) by rule adopt a list of authorized counseling
144	144	methods or practices that a license holder may undertake or
145	145	perform.
146	146	SECTION 6. Section 503.2015, Occupations Code, is amended
147	147	to read as follows:
148	148	Sec. 503.2015. BOARD DUTIES. Except as otherwise provided
149	149	by this chapter, the [The] board shall propose to the executive
150	150	council:
151	151	(1) rules regarding:
152	152	(A) the qualifications necessary to obtain a
153	153	license, including rules limiting an applicant's eligibility for a
154	154	license based on the applicant's criminal history;
155	155	(B) the scope of practice of and standards of
156	156	care and ethical practice for professional counseling; and
157	157	(C) continuing education requirements for
158	158	license holders; and
159	159	(2) a schedule of sanctions for violations of this
160	160	chapter or rules adopted under this chapter.
161	161	SECTION 7. Section 503.302, Occupations Code, is amended by
162	162	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to
163	163	read as follows:
164	164	(a) A person qualifies for a license under this chapter if
165	165	the person:
166	166	(1) is at least 18 years old;
167	167	(2) has a master's or doctoral degree in counseling or
168	168	a related field;
169	169	(3) has successfully completed a graduate degree at a
170	170	regionally accredited institution of higher education and the
171	171	number of graduate semester hours required by the board [executive
172	172	council rule], which may not be less than 48 hours and must include
173	173	at least 300 clock hours of supervised practicum that:
174	174	(A) is primarily counseling in nature; and
175	175	(B) meets the specific academic course content
176	176	and training standards established by the board [executive
177	177	council];
178	178	(4) has completed the number of supervised experience
179	179	hours required by executive council rule, which may not be less than
180	180	3,000 hours working in a counseling setting that meets the
181	181	requirements established by the executive council after the
182	182	completion of the graduate program described by Subdivision (3);
183	183	(5) passes the license examination and jurisprudence
184	184	examination required by this chapter;
185	185	(6) submits an application as required by the
186	186	executive council, accompanied by the required application fee; and
187	187	(7) meets any other requirement established by the
188	188	board or [prescribed by] the executive council.
189	189	(a-1) Subsection (a)(4) does not apply to an applicant who:
190	190	(1) is licensed in good standing in another state to
191	191	independently practice as a professional counselor or as an art
192	192	therapist; and
193	193	(2) has independently practiced as a professional
194	194	counselor or an art therapist in that state for at least the two
195	195	years preceding the date the application is submitted.
196	196	(a-2) The executive council may waive the requirement that
197	197	an applicant pass the license examination required by Subsection
198	198	(a)(5) if the applicant meets the criteria provided by Subsection
199	199	(a-1). The applicant must pass the jurisprudence examination.
200	200	SECTION 8. Section 503.3025, Occupations Code, is amended
201	201	to read as follows:
202	202	Sec. 503.3025. EXPERIENCE REQUIRED TO ACT AS SUPERVISOR. A
203	203	[The executive council shall allow a] license holder who has
204	204	practiced as a licensed counselor in another state may [to] count
205	205	that out-of-state experience toward any experience that the license
206	206	holder is required [by executive council rule] to obtain to act as a
207	207	supervisor under this chapter if the [executive council determines
208	208	that the] other state has license requirements substantially
209	209	equivalent to the requirements of this chapter.
210	210	SECTION 9. Section 503.308, Occupations Code, is amended to
211	211	read as follows:
212	212	Sec. 503.308. ASSOCIATE [TEMPORARY] LICENSE. (a) The
213	213	board may establish and the executive council [by rule] may provide
214	214	for the issuance of an associate [a temporary] license. Rules
215	215	adopted under this subsection must provide a time limit for the
216	216	period an associate [a temporary] license is valid.
217	217	(b) The executive council by rule may adopt a system under
218	218	which an associate [a temporary] license may be issued to a person
219	219	who:
220	220	(1) meets all of the academic requirements for
221	221	licensing; and
222	222	(2) enters into a supervisory agreement with a
223	223	supervisor approved by the executive council.
224	224	SECTION 10. Section 505.3575, Occupations Code, is amended
225	225	by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
226	226	follows:
227	227	(a) Notwithstanding any other licensing requirement of this
228	228	subchapter:
229	229	(1) the executive council may not require an applicant
230	230	who is licensed in good standing in another state to pass a
231	231	licensing examination conducted by the executive council under
232	232	Section 505.354 if an applicant with substantially equivalent
233	233	experience who resides in this state would not be required to take
234	234	the licensing examination; [and]
235	235	(2) the executive council may waive the requirement
236	236	that an applicant not otherwise described by Subdivision (1) pass a
237	237	licensing examination conducted by the executive council under
238	238	Section 505.354 if the applicant:
239	239	(A) is licensed in good standing in another state
240	240	to independently practice as a social worker; and
241	241	(B) has independently practiced as a licensed
242	242	social worker in that state for at least one year preceding the date
243	243	the application is submitted; and
244	244	(3) the executive council may issue a license to an
245	245	applicant who is currently licensed in another state to
246	246	independently practice social work if:
247	247	(A) after an assessment, the executive council
248	248	determines that the applicant:
249	249	(i) demonstrates sufficient experience and
250	250	competence, subject to Subsection (c);
251	251	(ii) has passed the jurisprudence
252	252	examination conducted by the executive council under Section
253	253	505.3545; and
254	254	(iii) at the time of the application, is in
255	255	good standing with the regulatory agency of the state in which the
256	256	applicant is licensed; and
257	257	(B) the applicant presents to the executive
258	258	council credentials that the applicant obtained from a national
259	259	accreditation organization and the executive council determines
260	260	that the requirements to obtain the credentials are sufficient to
261	261	minimize any risk to public safety.
262	262	(c) An applicant satisfies the requirements of Subsection
263	263	(a)(3)(A)(i) if the applicant:
264	264	(1) is licensed in good standing in another state to
265	265	independently practice as a social worker; and
266	266	(2) has independently practiced as a licensed social
267	267	worker in that state for at least one year preceding the date the
268	268	application is submitted.
269	269	SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
270	270	to an application for a license submitted on or after the effective
271	271	date of this Act. An application for a license submitted before the
272	272	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
273	273	date the application was submitted, and that law is continued in
274	274	effect for that purpose.
275	275	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
276	276	* * * * *