BILL ANALYSIS �
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|Hearing Date:April 11, 2011 |Bill No:SB |
| |146 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., Chair
Bill No: SB 146Author:Wyland
As Amended:March 30, 2011 Fiscal:Yes
SUBJECT: Professional clinical counselors.
SUMMARY: Revises various provisions relating to the practice of
mental health professionals to also include the practice of licensed
professional clinical counselors, clinical counselor trainees, and
clinical counselor interns; makes technical updating and conforming
changes.
Existing law:
1) Beginning January 1, 2012, licenses and regulates professional
clinical counselors (LPCC) under the Licensed Professional Clinical
Counselor Act (Act), by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS),
within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). The Act also
regulates clinical counselor trainees and clinical counselor
interns.
2) Requires certain health-related licensees to complete training in
human sexuality and authorizes the boards regulating those
licensees to adopt education and training requirements related to
chemical dependency and the assessment and treatment of AIDS.
(Business and Professions Code (BPC) �� 25, 29, 32)
3) Requires boards to provide specified information on the Internet
about the status of every license issued by the respective boards.
(BPC � 27)
4) Requires liability insurers, and state or local government agencies
that self insure specified licensees, to report settlement or
arbitration awards above $10,000, or a claim or action for damages
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for death or personal injury by that licensee's negligence, error,
or omission in practice, or by rendering unauthorized services.
(BPC � 801)
5) Establishes peer review for certain healing arts licensees. (BPC �
805)
6) Provides a cause of action against a psychotherapist, as defined,
for injury caused by sexual contact with the psychotherapist.
(Civil Code � 43.93)
7) Requests public postsecondary colleges and universities in
California to develop standards and guidelines for curriculum in
gerontology, nursing, social work, psychology, marriage and family
therapy, and rehabilitation therapies. (Education Code � 66085)
8) Permits testimony in a criminal proceeding of a witness who has
previously undergone hypnosis, by specified licensees, for the
purpose of recalling events. (Evidence Code � 795)
9) Provides that a patient has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and
to prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication
between the patient and a psychotherapist. (Evidence Code � 1010)
10)Authorizes the superior court family law division to contract with
specified providers for supervised visitation and exchange
services, education, and group counseling. (Family Code � 3202)
11)Establishes provisions regarding mental health treatment or
counseling services and residential shelter services by specified
professionals. (Family Code � 6924).
12)Prohibits the license requirements of healing arts professionals in
state and other licensed governmental health facilities from being
any less than those of professional personnel in privately-owned
health facilities, as specified. (Health and Safety Code � 1277).
13)Requires health care service plans licensed by the Department of
Managed Health Care that operates, or contracts for telephone
medical advice services to ensure that those providing those
services are licensed. (Health and Safety Code � 1348.8)
14)Requires health care service plans to provide, upon request, a list
of contracting providers within a plan of enrollee's general
geographic area. (Health and Safety Code � 1367.26)
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15)Prohibits a health care service plan, or insurance carrier from
prohibiting an enrollee from selecting certain types of licensees
for mental health services. (Health and Safety Code
�1373, Insurance Code � 10176.7)
16)Establishes requirements governing patient records and the
responsibilities of health care providers regarding those records
when practicing at institutions for the developmentally disabled or
mental hospitals. (Health and Safety Code � 123100)
17)Requires a person who provides mental health services in local
mental health facilities to be licensed, but allows the licensure
requirement to be waived in local facilities for psychologists,
clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists who are
gaining experience required for licensure. (Welfare and
Institutions Code � 5751.2)
18)Makes certain persons mandated reporters under the Child Abuse
Neglect and Reporting Act. (Penal Code �11165.7)
19)Establishes staffing requirements for mental health regional
facilities, including requiring that the staff include a
pediatrician, dentist, and marriage and family therapist, on an
as-needed basis. (Welfare and Institutions Code �5696.5)
This bill:
1) Revises various provisions relating to the practice of mental
health professionals to also include the practice of professional
clinical counselors, clinical counselor trainees, and clinical
counselor interns.
2) Specifically, this bill does the following:
a) Extends the requirements for training in human sexuality,
chemical dependency and the assessment and treatment of AIDS to
LPCCs.
b) Requires BBS to disclose information on licensed professional
clinical counselors on its Internet site.
c) Applies the requirement to report to the BBS settlement or
arbitration awards involving LPCCs.
d) Includes LPCCs within the peer review requirements.
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e) Authorizes the formation of LPCC corporations for purposes of
rendering professional services (BPC �� 4990.20 and 4999.123),
and makes conforming changes to the Moscone-Knox Professional
Corporation Act, authorizing professional clinical counselors to
be shareholders, officers, directors, or professional employees
of other professional corporations, as specified. (Corporations
Code � 13401.5)
f) Includes LPCCs and LPCC interns and trainees within the
definition of psychotherapist as it relates to injury caused by
sexual contact with a psychotherapist.
g) Requires colleges and universities to develop standards and
guidelines for LPCC curriculum.
h) Includes LPCCs with those licensees that may perform hypnosis
upon a witness who testifies in a criminal proceeding.
i) Extends the patient-psychotherapist confidentiality
relationship to LPCCs, LPCC interns and trainees.
j) Authorizes the superior court family law division to contract
with LPCCs.
aa) Authorizes mental health treatment or counseling services
at residential shelters to be provided by LPCCs or LPCC interns.
bb) Prohibits the LPCC license requirements in state or other
governmental health facilities from being any less than for those
in privately-owned health facilities.
cc) Requires health care service plans providing telephone
medical advice services to ensure any LPCCs providing those
services are licensed.
dd) Requires health care service plans to provide a list of
LPCCs within a plan enrollee's geographic area.
ee) Adds LPCCs to those mental health professionals that a
health care service plan or insurance carrier may not prohibit an
enrollee from selecting for mental health services.
ff) Applies the provisions regarding patient records to LPCCs
and LPCC interns.
gg) Waives the license requirement for providing mental
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health services in local mental health facilities professional
clinical counselors who are gaining experience required for
licensure.
hh) Requires LPCCs, LPCC interns and trainees to be mandated
reporters.
ii) Revises the staffing requirements for a regional facility
to include a LPCC on an as-needed basis, and authorizes the
director of local mental health services to be a LPCC.
3) Makes other technical updating and conforming changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "fiscal" by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. This bill is sponsored by California Association for
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (Sponsor). The Sponsor
states that the sole purpose of the bill is to add LPCCs to the
State Codes where marriage and family therapists are already
included. The Sponsor states that marriage and family therapists
are "a long-standing comparable profession" and that the bill is
not intended to affect any existing professions included in the
�BPC] Code.
According to the Sponsor, a number of existing State Codes need to be
updated to bring them in line with the new law authorizing licenses
for qualified LPCCs, including: Business and Professions Code,
Civil Code, Corporations Code, Education Code, Evidence Code,
Family Code, Health and Safety Code, Insurance Code, Penal Code and
Welfare and Institutions Code, thereby allowing the LPCCs to be
effectively utilized in California.
2. Background. This bill makes conforming and clean up changes
relating to the provisions to SB 788 (Wyland, Chapter 619, Statutes
of 2009) which enacted the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
Act, providing for the licensing and regulation of professional
clinical counselors (LPCCs) in California. That bill was the final
step in a multi-year effort to establish professional counselor
licensure in California. Prior licensing efforts include AB 1486
(Calderon) in 2008, and AB 894 (La Suer) in 2005.
3. Related Legislation. SB 788 established the licensing and
regulation of professional clinical counselors in California.
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Stated that LPCCs practice is a separate and distinct profession
from licensed marriage and family therapy (MFT) and licensed
clinical social workers (LCSW). Authorized BBS to begin accepting
applications for examination eligibility on January 1, 2012, and
issue LPCC licenses to applicants who meet certain education,
experience and examination requirements.
SB 33 (Correa, Chapter 26, Statutes of 2009) updated and recast the
educational curriculum requirements for MFTs to require persons who
begin graduate study after August 1, 2012, to meet increased total
unit requirements, increased practicum hours for face-to-face
counseling, integrates specified elements, including public mental
health practices, throughout the curriculum, revised MFT
educational requirements and revised requirements for applicants
licensed or educated outside of California.
SB 363 (Emmerson), allows MFT trainees to continue counseling clients
while not enrolled in a practicum if the lapse in enrollment is
less than 45 days; limits the number of client-centered advocacy
hours for a marriage and family therapist intern to 500 hours; and
allows LPCCs to supervise MFT interns if they meet additional
training and education requirements to treat couples and families.
This measure is set for hearing in this Committee on April 11,
2011.
SB 704 (Negrete McLeod) revises and recasts examination requirements
for marriage and family therapists and interns and for licensed
clinical social workers and associate social workers; makes
technical cleanup and conforming changes. This measure was approved
on Consent by this Committee on April 4, 2011.
4. Arguments in Support. In sponsoring the bill, California
Association for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (CALPCC)
states that professional counselors are masters and doctoral-level
mental health service providers who practice psychotherapy, and has
sponsored this bill to update various Codes in line with the new
LPCC law. CALPCC states that there are no fiscal implications to
this clean-up bill.
The California Alliance of Child and Family Services believes that the
bill would help to improve the ability for children and families to
access mental health services that they may need.
NOTE : Double-referral to Judiciary Committee.
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SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
California Association for Licensed Professional Clinical
Counselors (Sponsor)
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
Opposition:
None received as of April 4, 2011.
Consultant:G. V. Ayers