Existing law regulates the practice of licensed professional counselors, known as clinical professional counselors, in this State. (Chapter 641A of NRS) Section 1 of this bill ratifies and enters into the Counseling Compact, which is an interstate compact that allows a person who is licensed as a licensed professional counselor in a state that is a member of the Compact to practice as a licensed professional counselor in other states that are members of the Compact. In order to practice as a licensed professional counselor under the Compact, the Compact requires a licensed professional counselor to: (1) hold a license in his or her home state; (2) have a valid social security number or National Practitioner Identifier; (3) notify the Counseling Compact Commission, a joint public agency established by the Compact, that he or she is seeking to practice under the Compact in another state; (4) have had no encumbrances or restrictions placed against any license or authority to practice under the Compact within the previous 2 years; (5) pay any applicable fees; (6) meet any requirements for continuing education established by his or her home state; (7) meet any requirement in the state in which he or she seeks to practice under the Compact to pass an assessment of his or her knowledge of the applicable laws and rules of that state; and (8) report any adverse action taken against him or her or any encumbrance or restriction placed upon him or her in a non-member state within 30 days after the date of the adverse action or the placement of the encumbrance or restriction, as applicable. The Compact also requires a member state to authorize a professional counselor who is licensed in a member state to provide counseling services via telehealth to a patient located in any member state under rules prescribed by the Commission. The Compact authorizes a member state to take certain adverse actions against a licensed professional counselor practicing within that member state under the Compact. The Compact requires the Commission, among other duties, to: (1) establish bylaws; (2) make rules that facilitate and coordinate implementation and administration of the Compact; (3) hold meetings, which may be closed to the public under certain conditions; (4) develop, maintain and use a coordinated database and reporting system; and (5) resolve disputes related to the Compact among states that are members of the Compact. The Commission is additionally authorized to levy and collect an annual assessment from each state that is a member of the Compact. Section 2 of this bill authorizes the Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors to disclose certain investigatory information to the Commission and the coordinated database and reporting system when required by the Compact. Sections 1 and 4 of this bill provide for the confidentiality of certain information disclosed to the Board from the coordinated database and reporting system. Section 3 of this bill deems practicing as a licensed professional counselor under the Compact to be equivalent to practicing as a clinical professional counselor under a license issued by the Board.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 641A.191, 239.010
BDR: 641A.191, 239.010