PRINTER'S NO. 3112
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2300
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY O'MARA, HANBIDGE, SANCHEZ, HOHENSTEIN, MADDEN,
SAPPEY, ISAACSON, CIRESI, HILL-EVANS, FIEDLER, STURLA,
D. WILLIAMS, KHAN, OTTEN, HOWARD, BOYD AND SHUSTERMAN,
MAY 20, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, MAY 20, 2024
AN ACT
1 Authorizing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to join the
2 Counseling Compact; and providing for the form of the
3 compact.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Counseling
8 Compact Legislation Act.
9 Section 2. Authority to execute compact.
10 The Governor, on behalf of the Commonwealth, is hereby
11 authorized to execute a compact in substantially the following
12 form with any one or more of the states of the United States,
13 and the General Assembly hereby signifies in advance its
14 approval and ratification of such compact:
15 COUNSELING COMPACT MODEL LEGISLATION
16 SECTION 1: PURPOSE
17 The purpose of this Compact is to facilitate interstate practice
 1 of Licensed Professional Counselors with the goal of improving
2 public access to Professional Counseling services. The practice
3 of Professional Counseling occurs in the State where the client
4 is located at the time of the counseling services. The Compact
5 preserves the regulatory authority of States to protect public
6 health and safety through the current system of State licensure.
7 This Compact is designed to achieve the following objectives:
8 A. Increase public access to Professional Counseling
9 services by providing for the mutual recognition of other Member
10 State licenses;
11 B. Enhance the States' ability to protect the public's
12 health and safety;
13 C. Encourage the cooperation of Member States in regulating
14 multistate practice for Licensed Professional Counselors;
15 D. Support spouses of relocating Active Duty Military
16 personnel;
17 E. Enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and
18 disciplinary information among Member States;
19 F. Allow for the use of Telehealth technology to facilitate
20 increased access to Professional Counseling services;
21 G. Support the uniformity of Professional Counseling
22 licensure requirements throughout the States to promote public
23 safety and public health benefits;
24 H. Invest all Member States with the authority to hold a
25 Licensed Professional Counselor accountable for meeting all
26 State practice laws in the State in which the client is located
27 at the time care is rendered through the mutual recognition of
28 Member State licenses;
29 I. Eliminate the necessity for licenses in multiple States;
30 and
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 1 J. Provide opportunities for interstate practice by Licensed
2 Professional Counselors who meet uniform licensure requirements.
3 SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS
4 As used in this Compact, and except as otherwise provided, the
5 following definitions shall apply:
6 A. "Active Duty Military" means full-time duty status in the
7 active uniformed service of the United States, including members
8 of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty orders pursuant
9 to 10 U.S.C. Chapters 1209 and 1211.
10 B. "Adverse Action" means any administrative, civil,
11 equitable or criminal action permitted by a State's laws which
12 is imposed by a licensing board or other authority against a
13 Licensed Professional Counselor, including actions against an
14 individual's license or Privilege to Practice such as
15 revocation, suspension, probation, monitoring of the licensee,
16 limitation on the licensee's practice, or any other Encumbrance
17 on licensure affecting a Licensed Professional Counselor's
18 authorization to practice, including issuance of a cease and
19 desist action.
20 C. "Alternative Program" means a non-disciplinary monitoring
21 or practice remediation process approved by a Professional
22 Counseling Licensing Board to address Impaired Practitioners.
23 D. "Continuing Competence/Education" means a requirement, as
24 a condition of license renewal, to provide evidence of
25 participation in, and/or completion of, educational and
26 professional activities relevant to practice or area of work.
27 E. "Counseling Compact Commission" or "Commission" means the
28 national administrative body whose membership consists of all
29 States that have enacted the Compact.
30 F. "Current Significant Investigative Information" means:
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 1 1. Investigative Information that a Licensing Board,
2 after a preliminary inquiry that includes notification and an
3 opportunity for the Licensed Professional Counselor to
4 respond, if required by State law, has reason to believe is
5 not groundless and, if proved true, would indicate more than
6 a minor infraction; or
7 2. Investigative Information that indicates that the
8 Licensed Professional Counselor represents an immediate
9 threat to public health and safety regardless of whether the
10 Licensed Professional Counselor has been notified and had an
11 opportunity to respond.
12 G. "Data System" means a repository of information about
13 Licensees, including, but not limited to, continuing education,
14 examination, licensure, investigative, Privilege to Practice and
15 Adverse Action information.
16 H. "Encumbered License" means a license in which an Adverse
17 Action restricts the practice of licensed Professional
18 Counseling by the Licensee and said Adverse Action has been
19 reported to the National Practitioners Data Bank (NPDB).
20 I. "Encumbrance" means a revocation or suspension of, or any
21 limitation on, the full and unrestricted practice of Licensed
22 Professional Counseling by a Licensing Board.
23 J. "Executive Committee" means a group of directors elected
24 or appointed to act on behalf of, and within the powers granted
25 to them by, the Commission.
26 K. "Home State" means the Member State that is the
27 Licensee's primary State of residence.
28 L. "Impaired Practitioner" means an individual who has a
29 condition(s) that may impair their ability to practice as a
30 Licensed Professional Counselor without some type of
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 1 intervention and may include, but are not limited to, alcohol
2 and drug dependence, mental health impairment, and neurological
3 or physical impairments.
4 M. "Investigative Information" means information, records,
5 and documents received or generated by a Professional Counseling
6 Licensing Board pursuant to an investigation.
7 N. "Jurisprudence Requirement" if required by a Member
8 State, means the assessment of an individual's knowledge of the
9 laws and Rules governing the practice of Professional Counseling
10 in a State.
11 O. "Licensed Professional Counselor" means a counselor
12 licensed by a Member State, regardless of the title used by that
13 State, to independently assess, diagnose, and treat behavioral
14 health conditions.
15 P. "Licensee" means an individual who currently holds an
16 authorization from the State to practice as a Licensed
17 Professional Counselor.
18 Q. "Licensing Board" means the agency of a State, or
19 equivalent, that is responsible for the licensing and regulation
20 of Licensed Professional Counselors.
21 R. "Member State" means a State that has enacted the
22 Compact.
23 S. "Privilege to Practice" means a legal authorization,
24 which is equivalent to a license, permitting the practice of
25 Professional Counseling in a Remote State.
26 T. "Professional Counseling" means the assessment,
27 diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral health conditions by a
28 Licensed Professional Counselor.
29 U. "Remote State" means a Member State other than the Home
30 State, where a Licensee is exercising or seeking to exercise the
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 1 Privilege to Practice.
2 V. "Rule" means a regulation promulgated by the Commission
3 that has the force of law.
4 W. "Single State License" means a Licensed Professional
5 Counselor license issued by a Member State that authorizes
6 practice only within the issuing State and does not include a
7 Privilege to Practice in any other Member State.
8 X. "State" means any state, commonwealth, district, or
9 territory of the United States of America that regulates the
10 practice of Professional Counseling.
11 Y. "Telehealth" means the application of telecommunication
12 technology to deliver Professional Counseling services remotely
13 to assess, diagnose, and treat behavioral health conditions.
14 Z. "Unencumbered License" means a license that authorizes a
15 Licensed Professional Counselor to engage in the full and
16 unrestricted practice of Professional Counseling.
17 SECTION 3. STATE PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPACT
18 A. To Participate in the Compact, a State must currently:
19 1. License and regulate Licensed Professional
20 Counselors;
21 2. Require Licensees to pass a nationally recognized
22 exam approved by the Commission;
23 3. Require Licensees to have a 60 semester-hour (or 90
24 quarter-hour) master's degree in counseling or 60 semester-
25 hours (or 90 quarter-hours) of graduate course work including
26 the following topic areas:
27 a. Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical
28 Practice;
29 b. Social and Cultural Diversity;
30 c. Human Growth and Development;
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 1 d. Career Development;
2 e. Counseling and Helping Relationships;
3 f. Group Counseling and Group Work;
4 g. Diagnosis and Treatment; Assessment and Testing;
5 h. Research and Program Evaluation; and
6 i. Other areas as determined by the Commission.
7 4. Require Licensees to complete a supervised
8 postgraduate professional experience as defined by the
9 Commission;
10 5. Have a mechanism in place for receiving and
11 investigating complaints about Licensees.
12 B. A Member State shall:
13 1. Participate fully in the Commission's Data System,
14 including using the Commission's unique identifier as defined
15 in Rules;
16 2. Notify the Commission, in compliance with the terms
17 of the Compact and Rules, of any Adverse Action or the
18 availability of Investigative Information regarding a
19 Licensee;
20 3. Implement or utilize procedures for considering the
21 criminal history records of applicants for an initial
22 Privilege to Practice. These procedures shall include the
23 submission of fingerprints or other biometric-based
24 information by applicants for the purpose of obtaining an
25 applicant's criminal history record information from the
26 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the agency responsible
27 for retaining that State's criminal records;
28 a. A member state must fully implement a criminal
29 background check requirement, within a time frame
30 established by rule, by receiving the results of the
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 1 Federal Bureau of Investigation record search and shall
2 use the results in making licensure decisions.
3 b. Communication between a Member State, the
4 Commission and among Member States regarding the
5 verification of eligibility for licensure through the
6 Compact shall not include any information received from
7 the Federal Bureau of Investigation relating to a federal
8 criminal records check performed by a Member State under
9 Public Law 92-544.
10 4. Comply with the Rules of the Commission;
11 5. Require an applicant to obtain or retain a license in
12 the Home State and meet the Home State's qualifications for
13 licensure or renewal of licensure, as well as all other
14 applicable State laws;
15 6. Grant the Privilege to Practice to a Licensee holding
16 a valid Unencumbered License in another Member State in
17 accordance with the terms of the Compact and Rules; and
18 7. Provide for the attendance of the State's
19 commissioner to the Counseling Compact Commission meetings.
20 C. Member States may charge a fee for granting the Privilege
21 to Practice.
22 D. Individuals not residing in a Member State shall continue
23 to be able to apply for a Member State's Single State License as
24 provided under the laws of each Member State. However, the
25 Single State License granted to these individuals shall not be
26 recognized as granting a Privilege to Practice Professional
27 Counseling in any other Member State.
28 E. Nothing in this Compact shall affect the requirements
29 established by a Member State for the issuance of a Single State
30 License.
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 1 F. A license issued to a Licensed Professional Counselor by
2 a Home State to a resident in that State shall be recognized by
3 each Member State as authorizing a Licensed Professional
4 Counselor to practice Professional Counseling, under a Privilege
5 to Practice, in each Member State.
6 SECTION 4. PRIVILEGE TO PRACTICE
7 A. To exercise the Privilege to Practice under the terms and
8 provisions of the Compact, the Licensee shall:
9 1. Hold a license in the Home State;
10 2. Have a valid United States Social Security Number or
11 National Practitioner Identifier;
12 3. Be eligible for a Privilege to Practice in any Member
13 State in accordance with Section 4(D), (G) and (H);
14 4. Have not had any Encumbrance or restriction against
15 any license or Privilege to Practice within the previous two
16 (2) years;
17 5. Notify the Commission that the Licensee is seeking
18 the Privilege to Practice within a Remote State(s);
19 6. Pay any applicable fees, including any State fee, for
20 the Privilege to Practice;
21 7. Meet any Continuing Competence/Education requirements
22 established by the Home State;
23 8. Meet any Jurisprudence Requirements established by
24 the Remote State(s) in which the Licensee is seeking a
25 Privilege to Practice; and
26 9. Report to the Commission any Adverse Action,
27 Encumbrance, or restriction on license taken by any non-
28 Member State within 30 days from the date the action is
29 taken.
30 B. The Privilege to Practice is valid until the expiration
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 1 date of the Home State license. The Licensee must comply with
2 the requirements of Section 4(A) to maintain the Privilege to
3 Practice in the Remote State.
4 C. A Licensee providing Professional Counseling in a Remote
5 State under the Privilege to Practice shall adhere to the laws
6 and regulations of the Remote State.
7 D. A Licensee providing Professional Counseling services in
8 a Remote State is subject to that State's regulatory authority.
9 A Remote State may, in accordance with due process and that
10 State's laws, remove a Licensee's Privilege to Practice in the
11 Remote State for a specific period of time, impose fines, and/or
12 take any other necessary actions to protect the health and
13 safety of its citizens. The Licensee may be ineligible for a
14 Privilege to Practice in any Member State until the specific
15 time for removal has passed and all fines are paid.
16 E. If a Home State license is encumbered, the Licensee shall
17 lose the Privilege to Practice in any Remote State until the
18 following occur:
19 1. The Home State license is no longer encumbered; and
20 2. Have not had any Encumbrance or restriction against
21 any license or Privilege to Practice within the previous two
22 (2) years.
23 F. Once an Encumbered License in the Home State is restored
24 to good standing, the Licensee must meet the requirements of
25 Section 4(A) to obtain a Privilege to Practice in any Remote
26 State.
27 G. If a Licensee's Privilege to Practice in any Remote State
28 is removed, the individual may lose the Privilege to Practice in
29 all other Remote States until the following occur:
30 1. The specific period of time for which the Privilege
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 1 to Practice was removed has ended;
2 2. All fines have been paid; and
3 3. Have not had any Encumbrance or restriction against
4 any license or Privilege to Practice within the previous two
5 (2) years.
6 H. Once the requirements of Section 4(G) have been met, the
7 Licensee must meet the r