BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 146|
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 146
Author: Wyland (R)
Amended: 4/12/11
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/11/11
AYES: Price, Emmerson, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete
McLeod, Vargas, Walters, Wyland
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/26/11
AYES: Evans, Harman, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Healing arts: professional clinical counselors
SOURCE : California Association for Licensed Prof.
Clinical Counselors
DIGEST : This bill 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.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law :
1. Beginning January 1, 2012, licenses and regulates
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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.
3. Requires boards to provide specified information on the
Internet about the status of every license issued by the
respective boards.
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 for
death or personal injury by that licensee's negligence,
error, or omission in practice, or by rendering
unauthorized services.
5. Establishes peer review for certain healing arts
licensees.
6. Provides a cause of action against a psychotherapist, as
defined, for injury caused by sexual contact with the
psychotherapist.
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.
8. Permits testimony in a criminal proceeding of a witness
who has previously undergone hypnosis, by specified
licensees, for the purpose of recalling events.
9. Provides that a patient has a privilege to refuse to
disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, a
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confidential communication between the patient and a
psychotherapist.
10.Authorizes the superior court family law division to
contract with specified providers for supervised
visitation and exchange services, education, and group
counseling.
11.Establishes provisions regarding mental health treatment
or counseling services and residential shelter services
by specified professionals.
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.
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.
14.Requires health care service plans to provide, upon
request, a list of contracting providers within a plan
of enrollee's general geographic area.
15.Prohibits a health care service plan, or insurance
carrier from prohibiting an enrollee from selecting
certain types of licensees for mental health services.
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.
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.
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18.Makes certain persons mandated reporters under the Child
Abuse Neglect and Reporting Act.
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.
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.
E. Authorizes the BBS to charge a fee of $20 for
rescoring an examination, $20 for issuance of a
replacement license or registration, and $25 for
issuance of a certificate or letter of good
standing.
F. Authorizes the formation of LPCC corporations
for purposes of rendering professional services,
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
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specified.
G. Includes LPCCs and LPCC interns and trainees
within the definition of psychotherapist as it
relates to injury caused by sexual contact with a
psychotherapist.
H. Requires colleges and universities to develop
standards and guidelines for LPCC curriculum.
I. Includes LPCCs with those licensees that may
perform hypnosis upon a witness who testifies in a
criminal proceeding.
J. Extends the patient-psychotherapist
confidentiality relationship to LPCCs, LPCC interns
and trainees.
K. Authorizes the superior court family law
division to contract with LPCCs.
L. Authorizes mental health treatment or counseling
services at residential shelters to be provided by
LPCCs or LPCC interns.
M. Prohibits the LPCC license requirements in state
or other governmental health facilities from being
any less than for those in privately-owned health
facilities.
N. Requires health care service plans providing
telephone medical advice services to ensure any
LPCCs providing those services are licensed.
O. Requires health care service plans to provide a
list of LPCCs within a plan enrollee's geographic
area.
P. 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.
Q. Applies the provisions regarding patient records
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to LPCCs and LPCC interns.
R. Waives the license requirement for providing
mental health services in local mental health
facilities professional clinical counselors who are
gaining experience required for licensure.
S. Requires LPCCs, LPCC interns and trainees to be
mandated reporters.
T. 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.
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 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/10/11)
California Association for Licensed Prof. Clinical
Counselors (source)
JJA:do 5/10/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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