BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 632
                                                                  Page  1


          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 632 (Emmerson)
          As Amended  June 6, 2012
          2/3 vote.  Urgency 

           SENATE VOTE  :38-0  
           
           BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS    9-0                                   
           
           -------------------------------- 
          |Ayes |Hayashi, Bill Berryhill,  |
          |     |Allen, Butler, Eng,       |
          |     |Hagman, Hill, Ma, Smyth   |
          |-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |
           -------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Clarifies which marriage and family therapist (MFT) 
          trainees are allowed to counsel clients outside of a practicum 
          course, and clarifies a limited exemption for trainees who are 
          not allowed to counsel clients outside of a practicum course.  
          Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Specifies that trainees who begin graduate study before August 
            1, 2012, and complete that study on or before December 31, 
            2018, may gain hours of experience and counsel clients outside 
            of the required practicum.

          2)Specifies that the following trainees may gain hours of 
            experience outside of the required practicum but must be 
            enrolled in a practicum course to counsel clients:

             a)   Applicants for licensure or registration who begin 
               graduate study before August 1, 2012, and do not complete 
               that study on or before December 31, 2018;

             b)   Applicants for licensure or registration who begin 
               graduate study before August 1, 2012, and who graduate from 
               a degree program that meets additional educational 
               requirements, as specified; and,

             c)   Applicants for licensure or registration who begin 
               graduate study on or after August 1, 2012.

          3)Specifies that the trainees identified in 2) above, may 








                                                                  SB 632
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            counsel clients while not enrolled in a practicum course if 
            the period of lapsed enrollment is less than 90 calendar days, 
            and if that period is immediately preceded by enrollment in a 
            practicum course and immediately followed by enrollment in a 
            practicum course or completion of the degree program.

          4)Deletes an irrelevant implementation date.

          5)States legislative intent that trainees identified in 1) 
            above, shall be allowed to gain experience and counsel clients 
            as of January 1, 2012, and that this bill, in that respect, is 
            to operate retroactively.

          6)Contains an urgency clause.




           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Licenses and regulates the practice of MFTs by the Board of 
            Behavioral Sciences (BBS) within the Department of Consumer 
            Affairs.

          2)Establishes education requirements for MFT licensure, 
            including a requirement for a practicum completed by an MFT 
            intern and trainee that involves certain types and hours of 
            experience, as specified.

          3)Defines certain terms for purposes of the licensing law, 
            including:

             a)   "Intern" to mean an unlicensed person registered with 
               BBS who has earned a masters or doctors degree qualifying 
               for licensure; and,

             b)   "Trainee" to mean an unlicensed person currently 
               enrolled in a masters or doctors degree program, as 
               specified, that is designed to qualify the person for 
               licensure as an MFT.

          4)Authorizes MFT interns and trainees to perform counseling 
            activities and services in certain work settings, provided 
            that the activities and services are part of the trainee's 








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            supervised course of study.

          5)Provides that MFT trainees may gain hours of experience 
            outside the required practicum but must be enrolled in a 
            practicum course to counsel clients. 

          6)Provides that trainees may counsel clients while not enrolled 
            in a practicum course if the period of lapsed enrollment is 
            less than 90 calendar days, and if that period is immediately 
            preceded and immediately followed by enrollment in a practicum 
            course. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the 
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "SB 632 is a clean-up 
          measure to SB 363 (2011, Chapter 384).  Currently, under Section 
          4980.42 (c), all MFT trainees must be enrolled in a practicum 
          course to counsel clients beginning January 1, 2012, unless the 
          period of lapsed enrollment is less than 90 days, and is 
          immediately preceded and followed by enrollment in a practicum 
          course.  However, the intent of SB 363 was to apply this 90 day 
          exemption period to the practicum requirement only to those 
          trainees subject to Section 4980.36, which specifically refers 
          to trainees who begin graduate study on or after August 1, 2012. 
           Therefore, SB 632 will correct this oversight and only apply 
          this practicum requirement to trainees who begin graduate study 
          on or after August 1, 2012.  This bill also contains a provision 
          to clarify that the change is retroactive back to January 1, 
          2012, which is the date that SB 363 became effective and imposed 
          the practicum requirement with the 90 day exemption period to 
          all trainees."


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Angela Mapp / B.,P. & C.P. / (916) 
          319-3301 


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