Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                       H.B. 166
                      MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL LICENSING
                                           AMENDMENTS
                                      2023 GENERAL SESSION
                                              STATE OF UTAH
                               Chief Sponsor: Stephanie Gricius
                              Senate Sponsor: Michael K. McKell
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 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill amends provisions of the Mental Health Professional Practice Act.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < amends the requirements for the provision of remote, transitional mental health
 therapy and substance use disorder counseling;
        < allows for the provision of remote mental health therapy and substance use disorder
 counseling, subject to certain conditions;
        < modifies requirements related to the training hours required for licensure as a:
            C   clinical social worker;
            C   marriage and family therapist; or
            C   clinical mental health counselor; and
        < makes technical and conforming changes.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        None
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        58-60-107, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 313
        58-60-205, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 345, 466
       H.B. 166                                                                       Enrolled Copy
        58-60-207, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 339
        58-60-305, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 345, 416 and 466
        58-60-405, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 345, 416 and 466
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 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 58-60-107 is amended to read:
        58-60-107. Exemptions from licensure.
        (1) Except as modified in Section 58-60-103, the exemptions from licensure in Section
 58-1-307 apply to this chapter.
        (2) In addition to the exemptions from licensure in Section 58-1-307, the following
 may engage in acts included within the definition of practice as a mental health therapist,
 subject to the stated circumstances and limitations, without being licensed under this chapter:
        (a) the following when practicing within the scope of the license held:
        (i) a physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon licensed under
 Chapter 67, Utah Medical Practice Act, or Chapter 68, Utah Osteopathic Medical Practice Act;
        (ii) an advanced practice registered nurse, specializing in psychiatric mental health
 nursing, licensed under Chapter 31b, Nurse Practice Act;
        (iii) a psychologist licensed under Chapter 61, Psychologist Licensing Act; and
        (iv) a physician assistant licensed under Chapter 70a, Utah Physician Assistant Act,
 and specializing in mental health care under Section 58-70a-501.1;
        (b) a recognized member of the clergy while functioning in a ministerial capacity as
 long as the member of the clergy does not represent that the member of the clergy is, or use the
 title of, a license classification in Subsection 58-60-102(5);
        (c) an individual who is offering expert testimony in a proceeding before a court,
 administrative hearing, deposition upon the order of a court or other body having power to
 order the deposition, or a proceeding before a master, referee, or alternative dispute resolution
 provider;
        (d) an individual engaged in performing hypnosis who is not licensed under this title in
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       Enrolled Copy                                                                           H.B. 166
 a profession which includes hypnosis in its scope of practice, and who:
        (i) (A) induces a hypnotic state in a client for the purpose of increasing motivation or
 altering lifestyles or habits, such as eating or smoking, through hypnosis;
        (B) consults with a client to determine current motivation and behavior patterns;
        (C) prepares the client to enter hypnotic states by explaining how hypnosis works and
 what the client will experience;
        (D) tests clients to determine degrees of suggestibility;
        (E) applies hypnotic techniques based on interpretation of consultation results and
 analysis of client's motivation and behavior patterns; and
        (F) trains clients in self-hypnosis conditioning;
        (ii) may not:
        (A) engage in the practice of mental health therapy;
        (B) use the title of a license classification in Subsection 58-60-102(5); or
        (C) use hypnosis with or treat a medical, psychological, or dental condition defined in
 generally recognized diagnostic and statistical manuals of medical, psychological, or dental
 disorders;
        (e) an individual's exemption from licensure under Subsection 58-1-307(1)(b)
 terminates when the student's training is no longer supervised by qualified faculty or staff and
 the activities are no longer a defined part of the degree program;
        (f) an individual holding an earned doctoral degree or master's degree in social work,
 marriage and family therapy, or clinical mental health counseling, who is employed by an
 accredited institution of higher education and who conducts research and teaches in that
 individual's professional field, but only if the individual does not engage in providing or
 supervising professional services regulated under this chapter to individuals or groups
 regardless of whether there is compensation for the services;
        (g) an individual in an on-the-job training program approved by the division while
 under the supervision of qualified persons;
        (h) an individual providing general education in the subjects of alcohol, drug use, or
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        H.B. 166                                                                          Enrolled Copy
 substance use disorders, including prevention;
         (i) an individual providing advice or counsel to another individual in a setting of their
 association as friends or relatives and in a nonprofessional and noncommercial relationship, if
 there is no compensation paid for the advice or counsel; and
         (j) an individual who is licensed, in good standing, to practice mental health therapy or
 substance use disorder counseling in a state or territory of the United States outside of Utah
 may provide short term transitional mental health therapy remotely or short term transitional
 substance use disorder counseling remotely to a client in Utah [only] if:
         (i) the individual is present in the state or territory where the individual is licensed to
 practice mental health therapy or substance use disorder counseling;
         (ii) the client relocates to Utah;
         (iii) the client is a client of the individual immediately before the client relocates to
 Utah;
         (iv) the individual provides the short term transitional mental health therapy or short
 term transitional substance use disorder counseling remotely to the client only during the [45]
 90 day period beginning on the day on which the client relocates to Utah;
         (v) within [10 days] one day after the day on which the [client relocates to] individual
 first provides mental health therapy or substance use disorder counseling remotely to the client
 in Utah, the individual provides written notice to the division of the individual's intent to
 provide short term transitional mental health therapy or short term transitional substance use
 disorder counseling remotely to the client; and
         (vi) the individual does not engage in unlawful conduct or unprofessional conduct.
         (3) (a) As used in this Subsection (3):
         (i) "Prescribe" means the same as that term is defined in Section 58-17b-102.
         (ii) "Prescription drug" means the same as that term is defined in Section 58-17b-102.
         (b) Except as otherwise provided in an interstate compact enacted under this title,
 an individual who is licensed, in good standing, to practice mental health therapy or substance
 use disorder counseling in a state or territory of the United States outside of Utah, and who
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                          H.B. 166
 provides mental health therapy remotely or substance use disorder counseling remotely to a
 client in Utah:
        (i) may not prescribe a prescription drug for a client in Utah unless the individual is
 licensed in Utah to prescribe the prescription drug;
        (ii) shall, before providing mental health therapy remotely or substance use disorder
 counseling remotely to a client in Utah, be aware of:
        (A) how to access emergency services and resources in Utah; and
        (B) all applicable laws and rules regarding the required or permitted reporting or
 disclosing of confidential client communications;
        (iii) shall, within one day after the day on which the individual first provides mental
 health therapy remotely or substance use disorder counseling remotely to a client in Utah,
 submit to the division a signed notice, in the form required by the division, notifying the
 division that the individual is providing therapy or counseling under the exemption in this
 Subsection (3); and
        (iv) shall obtain a Utah license:
        (A) within nine months after the day on which the individual first provides mental
 health therapy remotely or substance use disorder counseling remotely to a client in Utah; or
        (B) if at any time the individual provides mental health therapy remotely or substance
 use disorder counseling remotely to more than one client in Utah.
        (4) The division shall report to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee at
 or before the committee's October 2026 meeting regarding the exemption described in
 Subsection (3), including information about any complaints the division has received
 concerning individuals who have provided therapy or counseling under that exemption.
        Section 2. Section 58-60-205 is amended to read:
        58-60-205. Qualifications for licensure or certification as a clinical social worker,
 certified social worker, and social service worker.
        (1) An applicant for licensure as a clinical social worker shall:
        (a) submit an application on a form provided by the division;
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        H.B. 166                                                                       Enrolled Copy
         (b) pay a fee determined by the department under Section 63J-1-504;
         (c) produce certified transcripts from an accredited institution of higher education
 recognized by the division in collaboration with the board verifying satisfactory completion of
 an education and an earned degree as follows:
         (i) a master's degree in a social work program accredited by the Council on Social
 Work Education or by the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work; or
         (ii) a doctoral degree that contains a clinical social work concentration and practicum
 approved by the division, by rule, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
 Administrative Rulemaking Act, that is consistent with Section 58-1-203;
         (d) have completed a minimum of 3,000 hours of clinical social work training as
 defined by division rule under Section 58-1-203:
         [(i) in not less than two years;]
         [(ii)] (i) under the supervision of a supervisor approved by the division in collaboration
 with the board who is a:
         (A) clinical mental health counselor;
         (B) psychiatrist;
         (C) psychologist;
         (D) registered psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner;
         (E) marriage and family therapist; or
         (F) clinical social worker; and
         [(iii)] (ii) including a minimum of two hours of training in suicide prevention via a
 course that the division designates as approved;
         (e) document successful completion of not less than 1,000 hours of supervised training
 in mental health therapy obtained after completion of the education requirement in Subsection
 (1)(c), which training may be included as part of the 3,000 hours of training in Subsection
 (1)(d), and of which documented evidence demonstrates not less than [100] 75 of the hours
 were obtained under the direct supervision, as defined by rule, of a supervisor described in
 Subsection [(1)(d)(ii)] (1)(d)(i);
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                           H.B. 166
         (f) have completed a case work, group work, or family treatment course sequence with
 a clinical practicum in content as defined by rule under Section 58-1-203;
         (g) pass the examination requirement established by rule under Section 58-1-203; and
         (h) if the applicant is applying to participate in the Counseling Compact under Chapter
 60a, Counseling Compact, consent to a criminal background check in accordance with Section
 58-60-103.1 and any requirements established by division rule made in accordance with Title
 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
         (2) An applicant for licensure as a certified social worker shall:
         (a) submit an application on a form provided by the division;
         (b) pay a fee determined by the department under Section 63J-1-504;
         (c) produce certified transcripts from an accredited institution of higher education
 recognized by the division in collaboration with the board verifying satisfactory completion of
 an education and an earned degree as follows:
         (i) a master's degree in a social work program accredited by the Council on Social
 Work Education or by the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work; or
         (ii) a doctoral degree that contains a clinical social work concentration and practicum
 approved by the division, by rule, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
 Administrative Rulemaking Act, that is consistent with Section 58-1-203; and
         (d) pass the examination requirement established by rule under Section 58-1-203.
         (3) (a) An applicant for certification as a certified social worker intern shall meet the
 requirements of Subsections (2)(a)[, (b), and] through (c).
         (b) Certification under Subsection (3)(a) is limited to the time necessary to pass the
 examination required under Subsection (2)(d) or six months, whichever occurs first.
         (c) A certified social worker intern may provide mental health therapy under the
 general supervision, as defined by rule, of a supervisor described in Subsection [(1)(d)(ii)]
 (1)(d)(i).
         (4) An applicant for licensure as a social service worker shall:
         (a) submit an application on a form provided by the division;
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        H.B. 166                                                                          Enrolled Copy
           (b) pay a fee determined by the department under Section 63J-1-504;
           (c) produce certified transcripts from an accredited institution of higher education
 recognized by the division in collaboration with the board verifying satisfactory completion of
 an education and an earned degree as follows:
           (i) a bachelor's degree in a social work program accredited by the Council on Social
 Work Education or by the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work;
           (ii) a master's degree in a field approved by the division in collaboration with the
 board;
           (iii) a bachelor's degree in any field if the applicant:
           (A) has completed at least three semester hours, or the equivalent, in each of the
 following areas:
           (I) social welfare policy;
           (II) human growth and development; and
           (III) social work practice methods, as defined by rule; and
           (B) provides documentation that the applicant has completed at least 2,000 hours of
 qualifying experience under the supervision of a mental health therapist, which experience is
 approved by the division in collaboration with the board, and which is performed after
 completion of the requirements to obtain the bachelor's degree required under this Subsection
 (4); or
           (iv) successful completion of the first academic year of a Council on Social Work
 Education approved master's of social work curriculum and practicum; and
           (d) pass the examination requirement established by rule under Section 58-1-203.
           (5) The division shall ensure that the rules for an examination described under
 Subsections (1)(g), (2)(d), and (4)(d) allow additional time to complete the examination if
 requested by an applicant who is:
           (a) a foreign born legal resident of the United States for whom English is a second
 language; or
           (b) an enrolled member of a federally recognized Native American tribe.
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                          H.B. 16