BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 4075

By: Romero, Jr.

Human Services

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The State of Texas faces a shortage of mental health professionals and this shortage is expected to worsen in coming years as many current practitioners approach retirement. The lack of a streamlined reciprocity process inhibits licensed providers in other states from easily relocating to Texas and providing care to Texans. For instance, since current supervision hour requirements vary by state, licensed marriage and family therapists that are in good standing in their state of origin could have a license application in Texas denied or delayed. H.B. 4075 seeks to update standards and streamline reciprocity processes for qualified, experienced, marriage and family therapists with out-of-state licenses that seek to practice in Texas.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 4075 amends the Occupations Code to revise provisions of the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act as follows:

· with respect to a marriage and family therapist associate license:

o changes the entity responsible for approving a graduate internship in marriage and family therapy or an equivalent internship from the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) to the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists;

o requires a person seeking to qualify for a license to pay an examination fee;

o removes the requirement that a person not have been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude to qualify for the license;

o removes statutorily prescribed work experience requirements, including a set number of hours of clinical practice and a set number of hours providing direct clinical services, and grants BHEC instead the discretion to determine the minimum number of hours of work experience providing direct clinical services that an applicant must have;

o removes the statutorily prescribed minimum number of hours or supervised provision of direct clinical services, including a set number of hours that must be supervised on an individual basis, and grants BHEC instead the discretion to determine the number of hours of supervised provision of direct clinical services an applicant must have to apply;

o requires the supervisor for an applicant's provision of direct clinical services to be approved as prescribed by BHEC; and

o repeals the requirement for an applicant to file an application on a form prescribed by BHEC not later than the 90th day before the examination date;

· removes provisions authorizing BHEC to issue a provisional license to practice in Texas to an out-of-state applicant who is licensed or otherwise registered as a marriage and family therapist by another state or jurisdiction under certain circumstances and authorizes BHEC to grant a regular license to such an applicant instead if the applicant is licensed in good standing to independently practice as a marriage and family therapist in another state or jurisdiction, meets the requirements to qualify for a license as a licensed marriage and family therapist associate, and files an application with the appropriate fee in the form and manner prescribed by BHEC; and

· limits the licenses issued under the act subject to renewal to only the marriage and family therapist license and removes the provision requiring renewal to occur on a biennial basis, granting BHEC the authority instead to determine the renewal timeline.

These provisions apply only to a license application filed with BHEC on or after the bill's effective date and, as applicable, only to a license that expires on or after that date.

H.B. 4075 expands the licenses for which BHEC may enter into and implement reciprocity agreements with other jurisdictions from only licenses issued under the Psychologists' Licensing Act to licenses issued under that act as well as those issued under the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, the Licensed Professional Counselor Act, or the Social Work Practice Act.  

H.B. 4075 repeals the following provisions of the Occupations Code:

· Section 501.262;

· Section 502.254(b); and

· Sections 502.259(c), (d), and (e).

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.