23.0762.01000
Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly SENATE BILL NO. 2187
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Senators Cleary, Hogan, K. Roers
Representatives Porter, D. Ruby, Weisz
1 A BILL for an Act to create and enact chapter 43-47.1 of the North Dakota Century Code,
2 relating to adoption of the counseling compact.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
4 SECTION 1. Chapter 43-47.1 of the North Dakota Century Code is created and enacted as
5 follows:
6 43-47.1-01. Counseling compact.
7 ARTICLE I - PURPOSE
8 1. The purpose of this compact is to facilitate interstate practice of licensed professional
9 counselors with the goal of improving public access to professional counseling
10 services.
11 2. The practice of professional counseling occurs in the state where the client is located
12 at the time of the counseling services. The compact preserves the regulatory authority
13 of states to protect public health and safety through the current system of state
14 licensure.
15 3. This compact is designed to:
16 a. Increase public access to professional counseling services by providing for the
17 mutual recognition of other member state licenses;
18 b. Enhance the states' ability to protect the public's health and safety;
19 c. Encourage the cooperation of member states in regulating multistate practice for
20 licensed professional counselors;
21 d. Support spouses of relocating active duty military personnel;
22 e. Enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and disciplinary information
23 among member states;
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1 f. Allow for the use of telehealth technology to facilitate increased access to
2 professional counseling services;
3 g. Support the uniformity of professional counseling licensure requirements
4 throughout the states to promote public safety and public health benefits;
5 h. Invest all member states with the authority to hold a licensed professional
6 counselor accountable for meeting all state practice laws in the state in which the
7 client is located at the time care is rendered through the mutual recognition of
8 member state licenses;
9 i. Eliminate the necessity for licenses in multiple states; and
10 j. Provide opportunities for interstate practice by licensed professional counselors
11 who meet uniform licensure requirements.
12 ARTICLE II - DEFINITIONS
13 As used in this chapter, and except as otherwise provided, the following definitions apply:
14 1. "Active duty military" means full-time duty status in the active uniformed service of the
15 United States of America, including members of the national guard and reserve on
16 active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. chapters 1209 and 1211.
17 2. "Adverse action" means any administrative, civil, equitable, or criminal action
18 permitted by a state's laws which is imposed by a licensing board or other authority
19 against a licensed professional counselor, including actions against an individual's
20 license or privilege to practice, such as revocation, suspension, probation, monitoring
21 of the licensee, limitation on the licensee's practice, or any other encumbrance on
22 licensure affecting a licensed professional counselor's authorization to practice,
23 including issuance of a cease and desist action.
24 3. "Alternative program" means a nondisciplinary monitoring or practice remediation
25 process approved by a professional counseling licensing board to address impaired
26 practitioners.
27 4. "Continuing competence and education" means a requirement, as a condition of
28 license renewal, to provide evidence of participation in, and completion of, educational
29 and professional activities relevant to practice or area of work.
30 5. "Counseling compact commission" or "commission" means the national administrative
31 body which membership consists of all states that have enacted the compact.
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1 6. "Current significant investigative information" means:
2 a. Investigative information that a licensing board, after a preliminary inquiry that
3 includes notification and an opportunity for the licensed professional counselor to
4 respond, if required by state law, has reason to believe is not groundless and, if
5 proved true, would indicate more than a minor infraction; or
6 b. Investigative information that indicates the licensed professional counselor
7 represents an immediate threat to public health and safety regardless of whether
8 the licensed professional counselor has been notified and had an opportunity to
9 respond.
10 7. "Data system" means a repository of information about licensees, including continuing
11 education, examination, licensure, investigative, privilege to practice, and adverse
12 action information.
13 8. "Encumbered license" means a license in which an adverse action restricts the
14 practice of licensed professional counseling by the licensee and the adverse action
15 has been reported to the national practitioner data bank.
16 9. "Encumbrance" means a revocation or suspension of, or any limitation on, the full and
17 unrestricted practice of licensed professional counseling by a licensing board.
18 10. "Executive committee" means a group of directors elected or appointed to act on
19 behalf of, and within the powers granted to them by, the commission.
20 11. "Home state" means the member state that is the licensee's primary state of
21 residence.
22 12. "Impaired practitioner" means an individual who has a condition that may impair the
23 individual's ability to practice as a licensed professional counselor without some type
24 of intervention and may include alcohol and drug dependence, mental health
25 impairment, and neurological or physical impairments.
26 13. "Investigative information" means information, records, and documents received or
27 generated by a professional counseling licensing board pursuant to an investigation.
28 14. "Jurisprudence requirement", if required by a member state, means the assessment of
29 an individual's knowledge of the laws and rules governing the practice of professional
30 counseling in a state.
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1 15. "Licensed professional counselor" means a counselor licensed by a member state,
2 regardless of the title used by that state, to independently assess, diagnose, and treat
3 behavioral health conditions.
4 16. "Licensee" means an individual who currently holds an authorization from the state to
5 practice as a licensed professional counselor.
6 17. "Licensing board" means the agency of a state, or equivalent, responsible for the
7 licensing and regulation of licensed professional counselors.
8 18. "Member state" means a state that has enacted the compact.
9 19. "Privilege to practice" means a legal authorization, which is equivalent to a license,
10 permitting the practice of professional counseling in a remote state.
11 20. "Professional counseling" means the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of
12 behavioral health conditions by a licensed professional counselor.
13 21. "Remote state" means a member state other than the home state, where a licensee is
14 exercising or seeking to exercise the privilege to practice.
15 22. "Rule" means a regulation promulgated by the commission which has the force of law.
16 23. "Single state license" means a licensed professional counselor license issued by a
17 member state which authorizes practice only within the issuing state and does not
18 include a privilege to practice in any other member state.
19 24. "State" means any state, commonwealth, district, or territory of the United States of
20 America which regulates the practice of professional counseling.
21 25. "Telehealth" means the application of telecommunication technology to deliver
22 professional counseling services remotely to assess, diagnose, and treat behavioral
23 health conditions.
24 26. "Unencumbered license" means a license that authorizes a licensed professional
25 counselor to engage in the full and unrestricted practice of professional counseling.
26 ARTICLE III - STATE PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPACT
27 1. To participate in the compact, a state currently:
28 a. Shall license and regulate licensed professional counselors;
29 b. Shall require licensees to pass a nationally recognized exam approved by the
30 commission;
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1 c. Shall require licensees to have a sixty semester-hour, or ninety quarter-hour,
2 master's degree in counseling or sixty semester-hours, or ninety quarter-hours, of
3 graduate course work, including the following topic areas:
4 (1) Professional counseling orientation and ethical practice;
5 (2) Social and cultural diversity;
6 (3) Human growth and development;
7 (4) Career development;
8 (5) Counseling and helping relationships;
9 (6) Group counseling and group work;
10 (7) Diagnosis and treatment; assessment and testing;
11 (8) Research and program evaluation; and
12 (9) Other areas as determined by the commission;
13 d. Shall require licensees to complete a supervised postgraduate professional
14 experience as defined by the commission; and
15 e. Must have a mechanism in place for receiving and investigating complaints about
16 licensees.
17 2. A member state shall:
18 a. Participate fully in the commission's data system, including using the
19 commission's unique identifier as defined in rules;
20 b. Notify the commission, in compliance with the terms of the compact and rules, of
21 any adverse action or the availability of investigative information regarding a
22 licensee;
23 c. Implement or use procedures for considering the criminal history records of
24 applicants for an initial privilege to practice. These procedures must include the
25 submission of fingerprints or other biometric-based information by applicants for
26 the purpose of obtaining an applicant's criminal history record information from
27 the federal bureau of investigation and the agency responsible for retaining that
28 state's criminal records;
29 (1) A member state shall implement fully a criminal background check
30 requirement, within a time frame established by rule, by receiving the results
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1 of the federal bureau of investigation record search and shall use the results
2 in making licensure decisions.
3 (2) Communication between a member state, the commission, and among
4 member states regarding the verification of eligibility for licensure through
5 the compact may not include any information received from the federal
6 bureau of investigation relating to a federal criminal records check
7 performed by a member state under Public Law No. 92-544.
8 d. Comply with the rules of the commission;
9 e. Require an applicant to obtain or retain a license in the home state and meet the
10 home state's qualifications for licensure or renewal of licensure, as well as all
11 other applicable state laws;
12 f. Grant the privilege to practice to a licensee holding a valid unencumbered license
13 in another member state in accordance with the terms of the compact and rules;
14 and
15 g. Provide for the attendance of the state's commissioner at the counseling compact
16 commission meetings.
17 3. Member states may charge a fee for granting the privilege to practice.
18 4. Individuals not residing in a member state shall continue to be able to apply for a
19 member state's single state license as provided under the laws of each member state;
20 however, the single state license granted to these individuals may not be recognized
21 as granting a privilege to practice professional counseling in any other member state.
22 5. This compact does not affect the requirements established by a member state for the
23 issuance of a single state license.
24 6. A license issued to a licensed professional counselor by a home state to a resident in
25 that state must be recognized by each member state as authorizing a licensed
26 professional counselor to practice professional counseling, under a privilege to
27 practice, in each member state.
28 ARTICLE IV - PRIVILEGE TO PRACTICE
29 1. To exercise the privilege to practice under the terms and provisions of the compact,
30 the licensee:
31 a. Shall hold a license in the home state;
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1 b. Must have a valid United States social security number or national practitioner
2 identifier;
3 c. Must be eligible for a privilege to practice in any member state in accordance with
4 subsections 4, 7, and 8;
5 d. May not have not had any encumbrance or restriction against any license or
6 privilege to practice within the previous two years;
7 e. Shall notify the commission that the licensee is seeking the privilege to practice
8 within a remote state;
9 f. Shall pay any applicable fees, including any state fee, for the privilege to practice;
10 g. Shall meet any continuing competence and education requirements established
11 by the home state;
12 h. Shall meet any jurisprudence requirements established by the remote state in
13 which the licensee is seeking a privilege to practice; and
14 i. Shall report to the commission any adverse action, encumbrance, or restriction
15 on license taken by any nonmember state within thirty days from the date the
16 action is taken.
17 2. The privilege to practice is valid until the expiration date of the home state license. The
18 licensee shall comply with the requirements of subsection 1 to maintain the privilege to
19 practice in the remote state.
20 3. A licensee providing professional counseling in a remote state under the privilege to
21 practice shall adhere to the laws and regulations of the remote state.
22 4. A licensee providing professional counseling services in a remote state is subject to
23 that state's regulatory authority. In accordance with due process and that state's laws,
24 a remote state may remove a licensee's privilege to practice in the remote state for a
25 specific period of time, impose fines, and take any other necessary actions to protect
26 the health and safety of its citizens. The licensee may be ineligible for a privilege to
27 practice in any member state until the specific time for removal has passed and all
28 fines are paid.
29 5. If a home state license is encumbered, the licensee shall lose the privilege to practice
30 in any remote state until the following occur:
31 a. The home state license is no longer encumbered; and
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1 b. The licensee has not had any encumbrance or restriction against any license or
2 privilege to practice within the previous two years.
3 6. Once an encumbered license in the home state is restored to good standing, the
4 licensee shall meet the requirements of subsection 1 to obtain a privilege to practice in
5 any remote state.
6 7. If a licensee's privilege to practice in any remote state is removed, the individual may
7 lose the privilege to practice in all other remote states until the following occur:
8