Amendment #38, as changed to H4879

Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions

Representatives Cutler of Pembroke and LaNatra of Kingston move to amend the bill by inserting after section 13 the following 2 sections:-

SECTION 13A. Section 88 of chapter 13 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the figure “13”, in line 4, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 15.

SECTION 13B. Section 89 of said chapter 13, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out paragraph (A) in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

(A) 12 members shall be licensed practicing mental health and human services professionals and shall have been, for at least 5 years immediately preceding appointment, actively engaged as a practitioner rendering professional services in that field, in the education and training of graduate students or interns in the field, in appropriate human developmental research, or in another area substantially equivalent thereto, and shall, during the 2 years preceding the appointment, have spent the majority of their professional time in such activity in the commonwealth. One of the 12 shall also be a member of a union licensable under sections 163 to 172, inclusive, of chapter 112.

Said members shall be appointed in such a manner as to proportionally represent the total number of active holders of each professional license type, as determined from time to time by the board; provided, that at least 1 member shall be a marriage and family therapist, at least 1 shall be a rehabilitation counselor, at least 1 shall be a clinical mental health counselor, at least 1 shall be an educational psychologist and at least 1 shall be a behavior analyst who meet the qualifications in the last 2 paragraphs of section 165 of chapter 112.

And moves to further amend the bill by inserting after section 56 the following section:-

SECTION 56A. The executive office of health and human services and the department of public health shall conduct a study relative to the feasibility and cost, if any, of creating a board of registration of mental health counselors. The report shall be submitted not later than June 30, 2023 to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the joint committee on mental health and substance use and recovery and the joint committee on labor and workforce development.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #38, as changed to H4879

Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions