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© 2008 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, California Division
Post Office BOX 6907
Santa Barbara, CA 93160
Phone: 800-662-2638
Fax: (805) 681-1412
updated 05/01/08

Public Policy and Legislative Watch

The following CA bills are relevant to MFTs. The list below contains a summary and information about the bills as well as the AAMFT position.

AB 164

(Smyth) Immunity: marriage and family therapy schools. (A-01/14/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 01/22/2007

Last Amend: 01/14/2008

Status: 01/31/2008-Referred to Com. on JUD.

Location: 01/31/2008- S JUD . 

Summary: Would extend that immunity to a person whose communications to a marriage and family therapy school are intended to aid in the evaluation of the qualifications, fitness, character, or insurability of a practitioner of the healing or veterinary arts.

Position: support

AB 1486

(Calderon, Charles) Licensed professional counselors. (A-06/26/2007  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/23/2007

Last Amend: 06/26/2007

Status: 07/09/2007-In committee: Set first hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted.

Location: 07/09/2007-S B., P. & E.D.

Summary: Would provide for the licensure or registration and regulation of licensed professional counselors and interns by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. The bill would add 4 additional members to the board, to be appointed by the Governor. The bill would enact various provisions concerning the practice of licensed professional counselors, interns, and counselor trainees, including, but not limited to, practice requirements, and enforcement specifications. The bill would authorize the issuance of licenses between October 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009, to individuals who meet certain criteria. The bill would authorize the board to begin accepting applications for intern registration on January 1, 2009, and for professional counselor licensure on January 1, 2010. The bill would authorize the board to impose specified fees on licensed professional counselors and interns which would be deposited in the Behavioral Sciences Fund to carry out the provisions of the bill. The bill would provide that the startup costs of the program shall be funded by a loan from the Behavioral Sciences Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would provide that a violation of its provisions is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $3,500 for each violation in a civil action brought by a public prosecutor . This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

Position: oppose (see details below)

AB 1887

(Beall) Health care coverage: mental health services. (I-02/07/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/07/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 02/21/2008-Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

Location: 02/21/2008-A HEALTH

Summary: Would expand this coverage requirement for certain health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2009, to include the diagnosis and treatment of a mental illness of a person of any age and would define mental illness for this purpose as a mental disorder defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV. The bill would specify that this requirement does not apply to a health care benefit plan, contract, or health insurance policy with the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System unless the board elects to purchase a plan, contract, or policy that provides mental health coverage. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

Position: support

AB 1897

(Emmerson) Marriage and family therapists: licensure. (I-02/07/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/07/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 03/11/2008-From committee: Do pass, and re-refer to Com. on HIGHER ED. Re-referred. (Ayes 9. Noes 0. Page 4218.) (March 11).

Location: 03/11/2008-A HIGHER ED.

Calendar: 03/25/08 1:30 p.m. - Room 437 ASM HIGHER EDUCATION

 Summary: Would specify that the doctor's or master's degree may also be obtained from an educational institution accredited by an essentially equivalent accrediting agency, as determined by the board.

Position: support

AB 1922

(Hernandez) Healing arts practitioners: peer review. (I-02/12/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/12/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 02/28/2008-Referred to Com. on B. & P.

Location: 02/28/2008-A B. & P.

Calendar: 04/01/08 9 a.m. - Room 447 ASM BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS 

Summary: Would revise that definition to also include a marriage and family therapist.

Position: support

AB 2652

(Anderson) Prisoners: professional mental health providers: marriage and family therapists. (I-02/22/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/22/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 03/13/2008-Referred to Com. on B. & P.

Location: 03/13/2008-A B. & P.

Calendar: 04/09/08 Anticipated Hearing ASM B. & P.

Summary: Would also authorize the waiver for a person to gain qualifying experience for licensure as a marriage and family therapist.

Position: support

AB 2809

(Leno) Crime victims: mental health counseling. (I-02/22/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/22/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 02/25/2008-Read first time.

Location: 02/22/2008-A PRINT

 Summary: Would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would make a minor who suffers emotional injury as a result of witnessing a violent crime eligible for compensation from the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board for mental health counseling if the minor is not otherwise eligible for compensation as a victim or derivative victim of that crime.

Position: support

AB 2828

(Salas) Veterans' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Fund. (I-02/22/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/22/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 03/13/2008-Referred to Com. on V.A.

Location: 03/13/2008-A V. A.

Summary: Would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit a grant application to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for the purposes of funding community-based organizations, certified b the department, to provide substance abuse and mental health services to veterans. This bill contains other related provisions

Position: support

AB 2861

(Hayashi) Mental health services. (I-02/22/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/22/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 02/25/2008-Read first time.

Location: 02/22/2008-A PRINT

Summary: Would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation regarding the authorization of mental health services by health care service plans and health insurers.

Position: watch

SB 1218

(Correa) Marriage and family therapy: licensure and registration. (I-02/14/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/14/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 03/11/2008-Set for hearing March 24.

Location: 02/28/2008-S B., P. & E.D.

Calendar: 03/24/08 Upon adjournment of session - Room 3191 SEN BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

 Summary: Would limit the application of these requirements to applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate study before August 1, 2012, and would impose additional requirements on applicants who do not complete that study on or before December 31, 2018, and those who begin graduate study on or after August 1, 2012. The bill would require that these applicants, among other things, possess a doctor's or master's degree containing no less than 60 semester or 90 quarter units of instruction in certain areas, including, but not limited to, cooccurring disorders, multicultural development and cross-cultural interaction, and an understanding of the effects of socioeconomic status on treatment and available resources, as specified. The bill would require that these units include 6 semester or 9 quarter units of practicum that provides training in specified areas and includes a minimum of 225 hours of face-to-face experience counseling individuals, couples, families, or groups. The bill would additionally, with respect to these applicants, revise the requirements needed for the degree program to meet the educational qualifications for licensure, as specified. The bill would make other conforming changes and enact related provisions. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

Position: support

SB 1427

(Calderon) Psychologists: scope of practice: prescribing drugs. (I-02/21/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/21/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 03/13/2008-Re-referred to Coms. on HEALTH and B., P. & E.D. Set for hearing April 2.

Location: 03/13/2008-S HEALTH

Calendar: 04/02/08 1:30 p.m. - John L. Burton Hearing Room (4203) SEN HEALTH 

Summary: Would enact the Collaborative Medication Treatment Management Act, which would revise these provisions to authorize a prescribing psychologist, as defined, to prescribe drugs for the treatment of specified disorders if certain requirements are met. This bill would require the Board of Psychology to establish and administer a certification process to grant licensed psychologists the authority to write prescriptions, and would require an applicant for certification as a prescribing psychologist to meet specified education and training requirements, including completion of a preceptorship, as specified, and, upon certification, collaboration with a licensed physician, and surgeon, as specified. The bill would require the board to charge fees for the issuance and renewal of a certificate to cover the costs of administering the certification process, and would provide for the deposit of these fees in the Psychology Fund. The bill would require the board to establish requirements for the renewal of a certificate, including continuing education requirements, and to provide certain information to the California State Board of Pharmacy, including a list of psychologists certified to prescribe drugs. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing law.

Position: watch

SB 1553

(Lowenthal) Health care service plans. (I-02/22/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/22/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 03/10/2008-Set for hearing April 2.

Location: 03/06/2008-S HEALTH

Calendar: 04/02/08 1:30 p.m. - John L. Burton Hearing Room (4203) SEN HEALTH

Summary: Would require health care service plans to establish Web sites, updated at least every 2 months, and would require plans to issue a benefits card to enrollees. The bill would delete the ability of a plan to retrospectively modify, delay, or deny health care services to an enrollee, and would modify provisions relating to disclosure by health plans of the process used to authorize, modify, or deny health care services. The bill would impose various additional requirements on health plans, including standards for appointment scheduling, waiting times, and other related matters, and would require plans to have a monitoring system for compliance with these requirements and to prepare an annual compliance report. The bill would expand the grievance system, departmental review, and independent medical review systems to allow health care providers to participate in addition to enrollees. The bill would revise provisions governing timeliness of payment of claims made for health care services. The bill would extend certain requirements now only applicable to full service plans to also apply to specialized plans, including certain mental health plans. The bill would revise provisions relating to imposition of civil penalties by the department. The bill would enact other related provisions. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

Position: watch

SB 1606

(Yee) Assisted outpatient treatment services. (I-02/22/2008  html  pdf)

Introduced: 02/22/2008

Last Amend: 

Status: 03/19/2008-Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. Set for hearing April 9.

Location: 03/06/2008-S HEALTH

Calendar: 04/09/08 1:30 p.m. - John L. Burton Hearing Room (4203) SEN HEALTH

 Summary: Would instead allow an order for assisted outpatient treatment for a person who had been offered any opportunity to participate in treatment but continues to fail to engage in treatment. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

Position: watch

AAMFT-CA OPPOSITION TO AB 1486

While AAMFT-CA does not oppose the concept of regulating qualified counselors and views this bill as an improvement over last year's AB 894, we remain concerned about provisions within the language of the current legislation that create a potential for harm.

In brief, AB 1486 seeks to create an umbrella license for counselors that encompasses a diffuse group of clinical and vocational specialties (such as career, school, rehabilitation, college counseling) and gives them the right to practice psychotherapy.

We take issue with the language in the grandparenting provision that will allow an LPC license to be granted to an individual who has previously attained a degree in a non-clinical program, if specific related coursework is completed prior to application. Additionally, the language indicates a license may be granted to an applicant who verifies 1000 hours of supervised direct client contact without stipulating that the nature of the client contact must be clinical. The supervisor may be a "licensed mental health professional or a certified master's level counselor or therapist."

Even with appropriate coursework and practicum, you and I know how important the supervision experience is in shaping and "growing" our future clinicians. As marriage and family therapists, we fully understand the need for clinical supervised experience and the potential harm if the experience is not adequate.

The bill also allows use of the national counseling exam for potential licensees from out of state during the grandparenting period and possibly forever.

If these tests are acceptable, why does the BBS refuse to grant temporary licensure to out-of-state MFTs who have passed our national exam?

The language in the grandparenting provision provides for a six year licensure period, after which "the board shall examine the candidate with regard to his or her knowledge and professional skills and his or her judgment in the utilization of appropriate techniques and methods." Those who do not pass this (yet to be determined) test will not have their license renewed.

Why would individuals granted licensure during the grandparenting period need to be retested for competency 6 years later? And what has been happening in the practice for 6 years of those LPCs who do not pass the subsequent test? What harm has been done to clients?

In addition to the concerns described above, we fail to understand the logic in the grandparenting provision that includes MFTs and LCSWs as eligible for the LPC license.

When a new license is being created, proponents must go through a process of identifying whether the occupation is clearly distinguishable from others already regulated. This was never adequately accomplished. The threshold for establishing a new license is that the profession is distinct from other disciplines and requires a separate set of skills, knowledge and scope of practice. The concept of counseling is so poorly defined that even the bill's own sponsor acknowledges they have no idea how many people they are attempting to regulate.

Such unanswered questions about the need for this new license leave us concerned:

" If MFTs and LCSWs are qualified for licensure as LPCs, what is the difference in the 3 licenses? " If there are no differences, why is there a need for this new license? " If LPCs want to do the same work, why don't they get the MFT or LCSW license? The proposed scope of practice for this license almost entirely overlaps with ours.

In justifying the need for this new license, proponents reference the workforce shortage in public mental health, claiming that the bill will increase the number of providers in the system and in rural communities. We believe that this new license would not help, and may in fact harm, the public mental health system:

" Rather than bringing new professionals into public mental health, 1486 will provide counselors already working in license-exempt, public mental health settings with an opportunity to leave the system and practice independently. Many will take that opportunity, which could actually cause a drain in the system. " An analysis performed by the BBS found that counselors would not be any more likely than MFTs or LCSWs to work in rural settings or with Medi-Cal patients, both significantly underserved populations.

Finally, as advocates for our profession, we are concerned about the professional identity and future of MFTs if we also become LPCs. AAMFT will not promote or support the development of a homogenized mental health counselor license under which MFTs function as a subspecialty. As a licensed MFT for more than 30 years, I feel passionate about protecting the status of our license and the identity of our profession.

If you have questions, suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact me: olivialoewy@aamftca.org or AAMFT-CA Advocacy Committee Chair Dr. Ben Caldwell at: bcaldwell@alliant.edu.

If you would like to read the legislation in its entirety, you can access it at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1451-1500/ab_1486_bill_20070601_amended_asm_v95.html.

DoT Substance Abuse Professional certification officially open to MFTs

After over ten years of advocacy by the AAMFT, the Department of Transportation (DoT) just released its Final Rule granting all licensed/certified MFTs eligibility for its Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) certification.  Effective September 22, 2006, all MFTs may apply for the certification after taking the required SAP preparatory courses and passing the SAP examination.  Interested members should note that DOT Substance Abuse Professional certification is often recognized by private payers and other federal programs as the gatekeeper for entry, so additional professional opportunities for MFTs may evolve out of this certification. 

The final rule comes after years of advocacy, including a successful effort by the AAMFT to include language in last year's transportation reauthorization, H.R. 3. / PL 109-59), mandating MFT recognition.  The DoT issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to include MFTs on March 10, 2006, and the Final Rule was published on August 23, 2006. 

Members who are interested in becoming DoT SAPs should click on the following links to read the new Rule or to find information on the SAP coursework, testing sites, training and credentialing: 

Rule:

SAP RESOURCES & REQUIREMENTS:

http://www.dot.gov/ost/dapc/testingpubs/SAPExamSources_200605_alpha.pdf http://www.dot.gov/ost/dapc/testingpubs/SAP_Guide_200403.pdf

Contact AAMFT Government Affairs (703) 838-9808, with additional questions or concerns.