LB554 LB554
2021 2021
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 554
Introduced by Blood, 3; Day, 49; Pansing Brooks, 28.
Read first time January 19, 2021
Committee: Health and Human Services
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to public health; to adopt the Licensed
2 Professional Counselors Interstate Compact; and to provide a duty
3 for the Health and Human Services Committee of the Legislature.
4 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. The Health and Human Services Committee of the
2 Legislature shall prepare an amendment to harmonize provisions of state
3 law consistent with the adoption of the Licensed Professional Counselors
4 Interstate Compact.
5 Sec. 2. The State of Nebraska adopts the Licensed Professional
6 Counselors Interstate Compact in the form substantially as follows:
7 Licensed Professional Counselors Interstate Compact
8 SECTION 1: PURPOSE
9 The purpose of this Compact is to facilitate interstate practice of
10 Licensed Professional Counselors with the goal of improving public access
11 to Professional Counseling services. The practice of Professional
12 Counseling occurs in the State where the client is located at the time of
13 the counseling services. The Compact preserves the regulatory authority
14 of States to protect public health and safety through the current system
15 of State licensure.
16 This Compact is designed to achieve the following objectives:
17 A. Increase public access to Professional Counseling services by
18 providing for the mutual recognition of other Member State licenses;
19 B. Enhance the States' ability to protect the public's health and
20 safety;
21 C. Encourage the cooperation of Member States in regulating
22 multistate practice for Licensed Professional Counselors;
23 D. Support spouses of relocating Active Duty Military personnel;
24 E. Enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and
25 disciplinary information among Member States;
26 F. Allow for the use of Telehealth technology to facilitate
27 increased access to Professional Counseling services;
28 G. Support the uniformity of Professional Counseling licensure
29 requirements throughout the States to promote public safety and public
30 health benefits;
31 H. Invest all Member States with the authority to hold a Licensed
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1 Professional Counselor accountable for meeting all State practice laws in
2 the State in which the client is located at the time care is rendered
3 through the mutual recognition of Member State licenses;
4 I. Eliminate the necessity for licenses in multiple States; and
5 J. Provide opportunities for interstate practice by Licensed
6 Professional Counselors who meet uniform licensure requirements.
7 SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS
8 As used in this Compact, and except as otherwise provided, the
9 following definitions shall apply:
10 A. "Active Duty Military" means full-time duty status in the active
11 uniformed service of the United States, including members of the National
12 Guard and Reserve on active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Chapters
13 1209 and 1211.
14 B. "Adverse Action" means any administrative, civil, equitable or
15 criminal action permitted by a State's laws which is imposed by a
16 licensing board or other authority against a Licensed Professional
17 Counselor, including actions against an individual's license or Privilege
18 to Practice such as revocation, suspension, probation, monitoring of the
19 licensee, limitation on the licensee's practice, or any other Encumbrance
20 on licensure affecting a Licensed Professional Counselor's authorization
21 to practice, including issuance of a cease and desist action.
22 C. "Alternative Program" means a non-disciplinary monitoring or
23 practice remediation process approved by a Professional Counseling
24 Licensing Board to address Impaired Practitioners.
25 D. "Continuing Competence/Education" means a requirement, as a
26 condition of license renewal, to provide evidence of participation in,
27 and/or completion of, educational and professional activities relevant to
28 practice or area of work.
29 E. "Counseling Compact Commission" or "Commission" means the
30 national administrative body whose membership consists of all States that
31 have enacted the Compact.
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1 F. "Current Significant Investigative Information" means:
2 1. Investigative Information that a Licensing Board, after a
3 preliminary inquiry that includes notification and an opportunity for the
4 Licensed Professional Counselor to respond, if required by State law, has
5 reason to believe is not groundless and, if proved true, would indicate
6 more than a minor infraction; or
7 2. Investigative Information that indicates that the Licensed
8 Professional Counselor represents an immediate threat to public health
9 and safety regardless of whether the Licensed Professional Counselor has
10 been notified and had an opportunity to respond.
11 G. "Data System" means a repository of information about Licensees,
12 including, but not limited to, continuing education, examination,
13 licensure, investigative, Privilege to Practice and Adverse Action
14 information.
15 H. "Encumbered License" means a license in which an Adverse Action
16 restricts the practice of licensed Professional Counseling by the
17 Licensee and said Adverse Action has been reported to the National
18 Practitioners Data Bank (NPDB).
19 I. "Encumbrance" means a revocation or suspension of, or any
20 limitation on, the full and unrestricted practice of Licensed
21 Professional Counseling by a Licensing Board.
22 J. "Executive Committee" means a group of directors elected or
23 appointed to act on behalf of, and within the powers granted to them by,
24 the Commission.
25 K. "Home State" means the Member State that is the Licensee's
26 primary State of residence.
27 L. "Impaired Practitioner" means an individual who has a
28 condition(s) that may impair their ability to practice as a Licensed
29 Professional Counselor without some type of intervention and may include,
30 but are not limited to, alcohol and drug dependence, mental health
31 impairment, and neurological or physical impairments.
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1 M. "Investigative Information" means information, records, and
2 documents received or generated by a Professional Counseling Licensing
3 Board pursuant to an investigation.
4 N. "Jurisprudence Requirement" if required by a Member State, means
5 the assessment of an individual's knowledge of the laws and Rules
6 governing the practice of Professional Counseling in a State.
7 O. "Licensed Professional Counselor" means a counselor licensed by a
8 Member State, regardless of the title used by that State, to
9 independently assess, diagnose, and treat behavioral health conditions.
10 P. "Licensee" means an individual who currently holds an
11 authorization from the State to practice as a Licensed Professional
12 Counselor.
13 Q. "Licensing Board" means the agency of a State, or equivalent,
14 that is responsible for the licensing and regulation of Licensed
15 Professional Counselors.
16 R. "Member State" means a State that has enacted the Compact.
17 S. "Privilege to Practice" means a legal authorization, which is
18 equivalent to a license, permitting the practice of Professional
19 Counseling in a Remote State.
20 T. "Professional Counseling" means the assessment, diagnosis, and
21 treatment of behavioral health conditions by a Licensed Professional
22 Counselor.
23 U. "Remote State" means a Member State other than the Home State,
24 where a Licensee is exercising or seeking to exercise the Privilege to
25 Practice.
26 V. "Rule" means a regulation promulgated by the Commission that has
27 the force of law.
28 W. "Single State License" means a Licensed Professional Counselor
29 license issued by a Member State that authorizes practice only within the
30 issuing State and does not include a Privilege to Practice in any other
31 Member State.
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1 X. "State" means any state, commonwealth, district, or territory of
2 the United States of America that regulates the practice of Professional
3 Counseling.
4 Y. "Telehealth" means the application of telecommunication
5 technology to deliver Professional Counseling services remotely to
6 assess, diagnose, and treat behavioral health conditions.
7 Z. "Unencumbered License" means a license that authorizes a Licensed
8 Professional Counselor to engage in the full and unrestricted practice of
9 Professional Counseling.
10 SECTION 3. STATE PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPACT
11 A. To Participate in the Compact, a State must currently:
12 1. License and regulate Licensed Professional Counselors;
13 2. Require Licensees to pass a nationally recognized exam approved
14 by the Commission;
15 3. Require Licensees to have a sixty semester-hour (or ninety
16 quarter-hour) master's degree in counseling or sixty semester-hours (or
17 ninety quarter-hours) of graduate course work including the following
18 topic areas:
19 a. Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice;
20 b. Social and Cultural Diversity;
21 c. Human Growth and Development;
22 d. Career Development;
23 e. Counseling and Helping Relationships;
24 f. Group Counseling and Group Work;
25 g. Diagnosis and Treatment; Assessment and Testing;
26 h. Research and Program Evaluation; and
27 i. Other areas as determined by the Commission.
28 4. Require Licensees to complete a supervised postgraduate
29 professional experience as defined by the Commission;
30 5. Have a mechanism in place for receiving and investigating
31 complaints about Licensees.
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1 B. A Member State shall:
2 1. Participate fully in the Commission's Data System, including
3 using the Commission's unique identifier as defined in Rules;
4 2. Notify the Commission, in compliance with the terms of the
5 Compact and Rules, of any Adverse Action or the availability of
6 Investigative Information regarding a Licensee;
7 3. Implement or utilize procedures for considering the criminal
8 history records of applicants for an initial Privilege to Practice. These
9 procedures shall include the submission of fingerprints or other
10 biometric-based information by applicants for the purpose of obtaining an
11 applicant's criminal history record information from the Federal Bureau
12 of Investigation and the agency responsible for retaining that State's
13 criminal records;
14 a. A member state must fully implement a criminal background check
15 requirement, within a time frame established by rule, by receiving the
16 results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation record search and shall
17 use the results in making licensure decisions.
18 b. Communication between a Member State, the Commission and among
19 Member States regarding the verification of eligibility for licensure
20 through the Compact shall not include any information received from the
21 Federal Bureau of Investigation relating to a federal criminal records
22 check performed by a Member State under Public Law 92-544.
23 4. Comply with the Rules of the Commission;
24 5. Require an applicant to obtain or retain a license in the Home
25 State and meet the Home State's qualifications for licensure or renewal
26 of licensure, as well as all other applicable State laws;
27 6. Grant the Privilege to Practice to a Licensee holding a valid
28 Unencumbered License in another Member State in accordance with the terms
29 of the Compact and Rules; and
30 7. Provide for the attendance of the State's commissioner to the
31 Counseling Compact Commission meetings.
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1 C. Member States may charge a fee for granting the Privilege to
2 Practice.
3 D. Individuals not residing in a Member State shall continue to be
4 able to apply for a Member State's Single State License as provided under
5 the laws of each Member State. However, the Single State License granted
6 to these individuals shall not be recognized as granting a Privilege to
7 Practice Professional Counseling in any other Member State.
8 E. Nothing in this Compact shall affect the requirements established
9 by a Member State for the issuance of a Single State License.
10 F. A license issued to a Licensed Professional Counselor by a Home
11 State to a resident in that State shall be recognized by each Member
12 State as authorizing a Licensed Professional Counselor to practice
13 Professional Counseling, under a Privilege to Practice, in each Member
14 State.
15 SECTION 4. PRIVILEGE TO PRACTICE
16 A. To exercise the Privilege to Practice under the terms and
17 provisions of the Compact, the Licensee shall:
18 1. Hold a license in the Home State;
19 2. Have a valid United States Social Security Number or National
20 Practitioner Identifier;
21 3. Be eligible for a Privilege to Practice in any Member State in
22 accordance with Section 4(D), (G) and (H);
23 4. Have not had any Encumbrance or restriction against any license
24 or Privilege to Practice within the previous two years;
25 5. Notify the Commission that the Licensee is seeking the Privilege
26 to Practice within a Remote State(s);
27 6. Pay any applicable fees, including any State fee, for the
28 Privilege to Practice;
29 7. Meet any Continuing Competence/Education requirements established
30 by the Home State;
31 8. Meet any Jurisprudence Requirements established by the Remote
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1 State(s) in which the Licensee is seeking a Privilege to Practice; and
2 9. Report to the Commission any Adverse Action, Encumbrance, or
3 restriction on license taken by any non-Member State within thirty days
4 from the date the action is taken.
5 B. The Privilege to Practice is valid until the expiration date of
6 the Home State license. The Licensee must comply with the requirements of
7 Section 4(A) to maintain the Privilege to Practice in the Remote State.
8 C. A Licensee providing Professional