Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
LIMITED LICENSED PSYCHOLOGISTS
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
House Bill 5785 (H-1) as referred from subcommittee Analysis available at
Sponsor: Rep. Felicia Brabec http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Committee: Health Policy
Complete to 11-14-24
SUMMARY:
House Bill 5785 would amend the Public Health Code to do all of the following:
• Change criteria regarding limited licenses to practice psychology (notably by removing
supervision requirements for a person practicing under a limited license and requiring
a longer period of supervised postgraduate experience to apply).
• Allow the two-year temporary limited license for individuals getting their required
amount of supervised postgraduate experience to be extended for two additional two-
year periods (instead of just one), for a total of six years (instead of four).
• Change the composition of the Michigan Board of Psychology to increase its size while
including more licensed psychologists and limited licensed psychologists and fewer
public members.
• Restrict an existing confidentiality provision to apply only to a psychologist who is
supervising an individual granted a temporary limited license while they get required
postgraduate experience.
Limited license to practice psychology
To have a license to practice psychology in Michigan, a person must have an appropriate
doctoral degree in psychology or a closely related field and at least one year of qualifying
postdoctoral experience in the practice of psychology. (These licenses will be referred to below
as doctoral licenses.)
A person with a master’s degree can get a limited license to practice psychology if they have
one year of supervised postgraduate experience 1 and meet appropriate education, training, and
experience requirements as established by the Michigan Board of Psychology. Currently,
except for duties performed as an employee of a government entity or charitable or benevolent
nonprofit organization, the holder of a limited license must be supervised by the holder of a
doctoral license and cannot represent themselves as practicing under a doctoral license.
Under the bill, a person getting their supervised postgraduate experience on or immediately
before the bill takes effect would (as under current law) have to have one year of that experience
to be granted a limited license. If that does not apply, the bill would require an applicant for a
limited license to meet either of the following:
• An applicant granted a master’s degree in psychology before August 31, 2026, would
have to have at least two years of supervised postgraduate experience (totaling at least
3,000 hours).
1
Under both current law and the bill, supervision of postgraduate experience must be conducted by the holder of a
doctoral license or, if one is not available, by either the holder of a master’s degree with at least three years of practice
experience or another individual approved by the Michigan Board of Psychology.
House Fiscal Agency Page 1 of 3
 • An applicant granted a master’s degree in psychology on or after August 31, 2026,
would have to have at least two years of supervised postgraduate experience (totaling
at least 4,000 hours).
In addition, the bill would allow a person granted a limited license to practice without
supervision and do anything within the practice of psychology that they are qualified to do
because of their education, training, or experience. They could not represent themselves as able
to do anything in the practice of psychology that they are not so qualified to do or are prohibited
from doing. Current holders of limited licenses also would be subject to these provisions, and
not the current provisions requiring supervision, as soon as the bill takes effect.
Under both current law and the bill, a person can be issued a temporary limited license to
practice psychology that will allow them to perform supervised postgraduate work in order to
get the experience required to apply for a limited license as described above. These temporary
licenses are good for two years and can be renewed for an additional two-year period. The bill
would allow them to be renewed for two additional two-year periods (for a potential total term
of six years).
Michigan Board of Psychology
Among other things, the Michigan Board of Psychology determines the minimal entry level
competency of those licensed to practice psychology and takes disciplinary action against
licensees as needed. The board currently consists of nine voting members: four psychologists
who hold doctoral licenses, one psychologist who holds a limited license, and four members
of the public.
The bill would increase the size of the board to 11 voting members and require the appointment
of two limited licensed psychologists to fill the additional positions. In addition, while the four
public members of the board would continue in office for the remainder of their terms, the
public member whose term expires first after the bill is enacted would be replaced with a
psychologist holding a doctoral license instead of with a public member. The composition of
the board after these changes would be five psychologists who hold doctoral licenses, three
psychologists who hold limited licenses, and three members of the public.
Confidentiality
With some exceptions, the law current provides that a psychologist holding a doctoral license
or anyone under their supervision (for example, the holder of a limited license or temporary
limited license) cannot be compelled to disclose confidential information acquired from an
individual consulting the psychologist in a profession capacity if the information is necessary
to allow the psychologist to provide services.
Under the bill, this provision would no longer apply generally to licensed psychologists or
apply at all to limited licensed psychologists or temporary limited licensed psychologists (or
others under supervision of a licensed psychologist). It would appear to apply only to a
psychologist holding a doctoral license who is supervising the holder of a temporary limited
license granted so they can gain postgraduate experience to apply for a limited license.
MCL 333.18221 et seq.
House Fiscal Agency HB 5785 (H-1) as referred to Health Policy Page 2 of 3
FISCAL IMPACT:
House Bill 5785 would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the Department of Licensing
and Regulatory Affairs. The bill would make changes to the requirements for limited
psychology licenses, but the overall impact that these changes would have on the volume of
licenses is indeterminate. LARA assesses a fee of $204 to cover the initial application fee and
a two-year license fee, a fee of $224 for relicensure, and a fee of $143.40 for license renewal.
The bill would not have a fiscal impact on any other units of state or local government.
POSITIONS:
Representatives of the Michigan Psychological Association testified in support of the bill.
(11-7-24)
The following entities indicated support for the bill (11-7-24):
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
• Community Mental Health Association of Michigan
• Michigan Association of Substance Addiction Providers
• Michigan Behavioral Health and Wellness Collaborative
• Michigan Care Council
• Michigan School of Psychology
Legislative Analyst: Rick Yuille
Fiscal Analyst: Una Jakupovic
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
House Fiscal Agency HB 5785 (H-1) as referred to Health Policy Page 3 of 3


Statutes affected:
Substitute (H-1): 333.18221
Substitute (H-2): 333.18221
House Introduced Bill: 333.18221
As Passed by the House: 333.18221