Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
                                           Act 260 of the Regular Session
 State of Arkansas              As Engrossed:       H2/13/23 S3/2/23
 94th General Assembly                        A Bill
 Regular Session, 2023                                                             HOUSE BILL 1181
 4
 By: Representative Haak
 By: Senator J. Boyd
 7
                                   For An Act To Be Entitled
                AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE COUNSELING COMPACT IN
                ARKANSAS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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                                               Subtitle
                         TO ESTABLISH THE COUNSELING COMPACT IN
                         ARKANSAS.
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 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
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        SECTION 1.       Arkansas Code Title 17, Chapter 27, is amended to add an
 additional subchapter to read as follows:
                              Subchapter 5 - Counseling Compact
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        17-27-501.       Text of compact.
        The Counseling Compact is enacted into law and entered into by this
 state with all states legally joining therein and in the form substantially
 as follows:
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 Counseling Compact
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 SECTION 1: PURPOSE
 The purpose of this Compact is to facilitate interstate practice of Licensed
 Professional Counselors with the goal of improving public access to
 Professional Counseling services. The practice of Professional Counseling
 occurs in the State where the client is located at the time of the counseling
 services. The Compact preserves the regulatory authority of States to protect
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     As Engrossed:   H2/13/23 S3/2/23                                           HB1181
 public health and safety through the current system of State licensure.
 This Compact is designed to achieve the following objectives:
 A.   Increase public access to Professional Counseling services by providing
 for the mutual recognition of other Member State licenses;
 B.   Enhance the States’ ability to protect the public’s health and safety;
 C.   Encourage the cooperation of Member States in regulating multistate
 practice for Licensed Professional Counselors;
 D.   Support spouses of relocating Active Duty Military personnel;
 E.   Enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and disciplinary
 information among Member States;
 F.   Allow for the use of Telehealth technology to facilitate increased access
 to Professional Counseling services;
 G.   Support the uniformity of Professional Counseling licensure requirements
 throughout the States to promote public safety and public health benefits;
 H.   Invest all Member States with the authority to hold a Licensed
 Professional Counselor accountable for meeting all State practice laws in the
 State in which the client is located at the time care is rendered through the
 mutual recognition of Member State licenses;
 I.   Eliminate the necessity for licenses in multiple States; and
 J.   Provide opportunities for interstate practice by Licensed Professional
 Counselors who meet uniform licensure requirements.
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 SECTION 2.   DEFINITIONS
 As used in this Compact, and except as otherwise provided, the following
 definitions shall apply:
 A.   “Active Duty Military” means full-time duty status in the active
 uniformed service of the United States, including members of the National
 Guard and Reserve on active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Chapters 1209
 and 1211.
 B.   “Adverse Action” means any administrative, civil, equitable or criminal
 action permitted by a State’s laws which is imposed by a licensing board or
 other authority against a Licensed Professional Counselor, including actions
 against an individual’s license or Privilege to Practice such as revocation,
 suspension, probation, monitoring of the licensee, limitation on the
 licensee’s practice, or any other Encumbrance on licensure affecting a
 Licensed Professional Counselor’s authorization to practice, including
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     As Engrossed:    H2/13/23 S3/2/23                                         HB1181
 issuance of a cease and desist action.
 C.   “Alternative Program” means a non-disciplinary monitoring or practice
 remediation process approved by a Professional Counseling Licensing Board to
 address Impaired Practitioners.
 D.   “Continuing Competence/Education” means a requirement, as a condition of
 license renewal, to provide evidence of participation in, and/or completion
 of, educational and professional activities relevant to practice or area of
 work.
 E.   “Counseling Compact Commission” or “Commission” means the national
 administrative body whose membership consists of all States that have enacted
 the Compact.
 F.   “Current Significant Investigative Information” means:
             1.   Investigative Information that a Licensing Board, after a
 preliminary inquiry that includes notification and an opportunity for the
 Licensed Professional Counselor to respond, if required by State law, has
 reason to believe is not groundless and, if proved true, would indicate more
 than a minor infraction; or
             2.   Investigative Information that indicates that the Licensed
 Professional Counselor represents an immediate threat to public health and
 safety regardless of whether the Licensed Professional Counselor has been
 notified and had an opportunity to respond.
 G.   “Data System” means a repository of information about Licensees,
 including, but not limited to, continuing education, examination, licensure,
 investigative, Privilege to Practice and Adverse Action information.
 H.   “Encumbered License” means a license in which an Adverse Action restricts
 the practice of licensed Professional Counseling by the Licensee and said
 Adverse Action has been reported to the National Practitioners Data Bank
 (NPDB).
 I.   “Encumbrance” means a revocation or suspension of, or any limitation on,
 the full and unrestricted practice of Licensed Professional Counseling by a
 Licensing Board.
 J.   “Executive Committee” means a group of directors elected or appointed to
 act on behalf of, and within the powers granted to them by, the Commission.
 K.   “Home State” means the Member State that is the Licensee’s primary State
 of residence.
 L.   “Impaired Practitioner” means an individual who has a condition(s) that
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     As Engrossed:   H2/13/23 S3/2/23                                        HB1181
 may impair their ability to practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor
 without some type of intervention and may include, but are not limited to,
 alcohol and drug dependence, mental health impairment, and neurological or
 physical impairments.
 M.   “Investigative Information” means information, records, and documents
 received or generated by a Professional Counseling Licensing Board pursuant
 to an investigation.
 N.   “Jurisprudence Requirement” if required by a Member State, means the
 assessment of an individual’s knowledge of the laws and Rules governing the
 practice of Professional Counseling in a State.
 O.   “Licensed Professional Counselor” means a counselor licensed by a Member
 State, regardless of the title used by that State, to independently assess,
 diagnose, and treat behavioral health conditions.
 P.   “Licensee” means an individual who currently holds an authorization from
 the State to practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor.
 Q.   “Licensing Board” means the agency of a State, or equivalent, that is
 responsible for the licensing and regulation of Licensed Professional
 Counselors.
 R.   “Member State” means a State that has enacted the Compact.
 S.   “Privilege to Practice” means a legal authorization, which is equivalent
 to a license, permitting the practice of Professional Counseling in a Remote
 State.
 T.   “Professional Counseling” means the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment
 of behavioral health conditions by a Licensed Professional Counselor.
 U.   “Remote State” means a Member State other than the Home State, where a
 Licensee is exercising or seeking to exercise the Privilege to Practice.
 V.   “Rule” means a regulation promulgated by the Commission that has the
 force of law.
 W.   “Single State License” means a Licensed Professional Counselor license
 issued by a Member State that authorizes practice only within the issuing
 State and does not include a Privilege to Practice in any other Member State.
 X.   “State” means any state, commonwealth, district, or territory of the
 United States of America that regulates the practice of Professional
 Counseling.
 Y.   “Telehealth” means the application of telecommunication technology to
 deliver Professional Counseling services remotely to assess, diagnose, and
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     As Engrossed:     H2/13/23 S3/2/23                                           HB1181
 treat behavioral health conditions.
 Z.   “Unencumbered License” means a license that authorizes a Licensed
 Professional Counselor to engage in the full and unrestricted practice of
 Professional Counseling.
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 SECTION 3.   STATE PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPACT
 A.   To Participate in the Compact, a State must currently:
              1.   License and regulate Licensed Professional Counselors;
              2.   Require Licensees to pass a nationally recognized exam
 approved by the Commission;
              3.   Require Licensees to have a 60 semester-hour (or 90 quarter-
 hour) master’s degree in counseling or 60 semester-hours (or 90 quarter-
 hours) of graduate course work including the following topic areas:
                     a.   Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical
 Practice;
                     b.   Social and Cultural Diversity;
                     c.   Human Growth and Development;
                     d.   Career Development;
                     e.   Counseling and Helping Relationships;
                     f.   Group Counseling and Group Work;
                     g.   Diagnosis and Treatment; Assessment and Testing;
                     h.   Research and Program Evaluation; and
                     i.   Other areas as determined by the Commission.
              4.   Require Licensees to complete a supervised postgraduate
 professional experience as defined by the Commission;
              5.   Have a mechanism in place for receiving and investigating
 complaints about Licensees.
 B.   A Member State shall:
              1.   Participate fully in the Commission’s Data System, including
 using the Commission’s unique identifier as defined in Rules;
              2.   Notify the Commission, in compliance with the terms of the
 Compact and Rules, of any Adverse Action or the availability of Investigative
 Information regarding a Licensee;
              3.   Implement or utilize procedures for considering the criminal
 history records of applicants for an initial Privilege to Practice. These
 procedures shall include the submission of fingerprints or other biometric-
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     As Engrossed:     H2/13/23 S3/2/23                                        HB1181
 based information by applicants for the purpose of obtaining an applicant’s
 criminal history record information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
 and the agency responsible for retaining that State’s criminal records;
                     a.   A member state must fully implement a criminal
 background check requirement, within a time frame established by rule, by
 receiving the results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation record search
 and shall use the results in making licensure decisions.
                     b.   Communication between a Member State, the Commission
 and among Member States regarding the verification of eligibility for
 licensure through the Compact shall not include any information received from
 the Federal Bureau of Investigation relating to a federal criminal records
 check performed by a Member State under Public Law 92-544.
              4.   Comply with the Rules of the Commission;
              5.   Require an applicant to obtain or retain a license in the
 Home State and meet the Home State’s qualifications for licensure or renewal
 of licensure, as well as all other applicable State laws;
              6.   Grant the Privilege to Practice to a Licensee holding a valid
 Unencumbered License in another Member State in accordance with the terms of
 the Compact and Rules; and
              7.   Provide for the attendance of the State’s commissioner to the
 Counseling Compact Commission meetings.
 C.   Member States may charge a fee for granting the Privilege to Practice.
 D.   Individuals not residing in a Member State shall continue to be able to
 apply for a Member State’s Single State License as provided under the laws of
 each Member State. However, the Single State License granted to these
 individuals shall not be recognized as granting a Privilege to Practice
 Professional Counseling in any other Member State.
 E.   Nothing in this Compact shall affect the requirements established by a
 Member State for the issuance of a Single State License.
 F.   A license issued to a Licensed Professional Counselor by a Home State to
 a resident in that State shall be recognized by each Member State as
 authorizing a Licensed Professional Counselor to practice Professional
 Counseling, under a Privilege to Practice, in each Member State.
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 SECTION 4.   PRIVILEGE TO PRACTICE
 A.   To exercise the Privilege to Practice under the terms and provisions of
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     As Engrossed:    H2/13/23 S3/2/23                                          HB1181
 the Compact, the Licensee shall:
             1.   Hold a license in the Home State;
             2.   Have a valid United States Social Security Number or National
 Practitioner Identifier;
             3.   Be eligible for a Privilege to Practice in any Member State
 in accordance with Section 4(D), (G) and (H);
             4.   Have not had any Encumbrance or restriction against any
 license or Privilege to Practice within the previous two (2) years;
             5.   Notify the Commission that the Licensee is seeking the
 Privilege to Practice within a Remote State(s);
             6.   Pay any applicable fees, including any State fee, for the
 Privilege to Practice;
             7.   Meet any Continuing Competence/Education requirements
 established by the Home State;
             8.   Meet any Jurisprudence Requirements established by the Remote
 State(s) in which the Licensee is seeking a Privilege to Practice; and
             9.   Report to the Commission any Adverse Action, Encumbrance, or
 restriction on license taken by any non-Member State within 30 days from the
 date the action is taken.
 B.   The Privilege to Practice is valid until the expiration date of the Home
 State license. The Licensee must comply with the requirements of Section 4(A)
 to maintain the Privilege to Practice in the Remote State.
 C.   A Licensee providing Professional Counseling in a Remote State under the
 Privilege to Practice shall adhere to the laws and regulations of the Remote
 State.
 D.   A Licensee providing Professional Counseling services in a Remote State
 is subject to that State’s regulatory authority. A Remote State may, in
 accordance with due process and that State’s laws, remove a Licensee’s
 Privilege to Practice in the Remote State for a specific period of time,
 impose fines, and/or take any other necessary actions to protect the health
 and safety of its citizens. The Licensee may be ineligible for a Privilege to
 Practice in any Member State until the specific time for removal has passed
 and all fines are paid.
 E.   If a Home State license is encumbered, the Licensee shall lose the
 Privilege to Practice in any Remote State until the following occur:
             1.   The Home State license is no longer encumbered; and
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              2.   Have not had any Encumbrance or restriction against any
 license or Privilege to Practice within the previous two (2) years.
 F.   Once an Encumbered License in the Home State is restored to good
 standing, the Licensee must meet the requirements of Section 4(A) to obtain a
 Privilege to Practice in any Remote State.
 G.   If a Licensee’s Privilege to Practice in any Remote State is removed, the
 individual may lose the Privilege to Practice in all other Remote States
 until the following occur:
              1.   The specific period of time for which the Privilege to
 Practice was removed has ended;
              2.   All fines have been paid; and
              3.   Have not had any Encumbrance or restrictio