Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 78 of the Regular Session
1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: S1/18/23
2 94th General Assembly A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2023 SENATE BILL 42
4
5 By: Senators D. Sullivan, Irvin
6 By: Representative Vaught
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO AMEND THE PRACTICE AND REGULATION OF
10 COUNSELING AND MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY; TO REMOVE
11 THE REQUIREMENTS FOR FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT AND FOR
12 SEEKING ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND SPECIALIZATIONS; AND
13 FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
14
15
16 Subtitle
17 TO AMEND THE PRACTICE AND REGULATION OF
18 COUNSELING AND MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
19 THERAPY; AND TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENTS
20 FOR FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT AND FOR SEEKING
21 ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND SPECIALIZATIONS.
22
23
24 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
25
26 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 17-27-301(6)(A), concerning the supervision
27 requirement for a licensed professional counselor, is amended to read as
28 follows:
29 (6)(A) The applicant has three thousand (3,000) client contact
30 hours of supervised full-time experience in professional counseling
31 acceptable to the board.
32
33 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 17-27-301(7), concerning specialty areas of
34 a licensed professional counselor, is repealed.
35 (7)(A) The applicant has declared special competencies and
36 demonstrated professional competence in specialty areas by having passed a
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 As Engrossed: S1/18/23 SB42
1 written, oral, or situational examination or any combination thereof as the
2 board will prescribe.
3 (B) Upon the examination of credentials, the board, by a
4 majority of the board members present and voting, may consider those
5 credentials adequate evidence of professional competence and recommend to the
6 Chair of the Arkansas Board of Examiners in Counseling that a license be
7 approved in that specialty.
8
9 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 17-27-307(c), concerning additional
10 specialty areas of a licensed professional counselor, licensed associate
11 counselor, licensed marriage and family therapist, or licensed associate
12 marriage and family therapist, is repealed.
13 (c) If any licensed professional counselor, licensed associate
14 counselor, licensed marriage and family therapist, or licensed associate
15 marriage and family therapist duly licensed under this chapter by virtue of
16 additional training and experience is qualified to practice in a specialty
17 other than that for which he or she was deemed competent at the time of
18 initial licensing and wishes to offer service under the provisions of this
19 chapter, he or she is required to submit additional credentials and he or she
20 is to be given the opportunity to demonstrate his or her knowledge and
21 application thereof in areas deemed relevant to his or her specialty.
22
23 /s/D. Sullivan
24
25
26 APPROVED: 2/19/23
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Statutes affected:
Old version SB42 Original - 1-9-2023 11:23 AM: 17-27-301(6), 17-27-301(7), 17-27-307(c)
Old version SB42 V2 - 1-18-2023 09:41 AM: 17-27-301(6), 17-27-301(7), 17-27-307(c)
SB 42: 17-27-301(6), 17-27-301(7), 17-27-307(c)
Act 78: 17-27-301(6), 17-27-301(7), 17-27-307(c)