HB 208: "An Act relating to professional counselors; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 208 01 "An Act relating to professional counselors; and providing for an effective date." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 08.02.010(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) An acupuncturist licensed under AS 08.06, an audiologist licensed under 05 AS 08.11, a person licensed in the state as a chiropractor under AS 08.20, a 06 professional counselor licensed under AS 08.29, a dentist under AS 08.36, a marital 07 and family therapist licensed under AS 08.63, a medical practitioner or osteopath under 08 AS 08.64, a direct-entry midwife certified under AS 08.65, a registered nurse under 09 AS 08.68, an optometrist under AS 08.72, a licensed pharmacist under AS 08.80, a 10 physical therapist or occupational therapist licensed under AS 08.84, a psychologist 11 under AS 08.86, or a clinical social worker licensed under AS 08.95, shall use as 12 professional identification appropriate letters or a title after that person's name which 13 represents that person's specific field of practice. The letters or title shall appear on 14 all signs, stationery, or other advertising in which the person offers or displays
01 personal professional services to the public. In addition, a person engaged in the 02 practice of medicine or osteopathy as defined in AS 08.64.380, or a person engaged 03 in any manner in the healing arts who diagnoses, treats, tests, or counsels other persons 04 in relation to human health or disease and uses the letters "M.D." or the title "doctor" 05 or "physician" or another title that tends to show that the person is willing or qualified 06 to diagnose, treat, test, or counsel another person, shall clarify the letters or title by 07 adding the appropriate specialist designation, if any, such as "dermatologist", 08 "radiologist", "audiologist", "naturopath", or the like. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 08.29.020(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) In addition to the duties specified in AS 08.01, the board shall 11 (1) license professional counselors, establish criteria for supervisor 12 certification, and certify approved counselor supervisors under this chapter; the board 13 may provide for licensure in areas of counseling specialization; 14 (2) establish continuing education requirements for the renewal of a 15 license under this chapter; 16 (3) adopt, by regulation, a code of ethics that must be observed by 17 persons licensed under this chapter; 18 (4) establish education and training requirements that must be met 19 before a professional counselor can administer and use assessment instruments 20 described in AS 08.29.490(1)(C) ; and 21 (5) enforce the provisions of this chapter and adopt regulations 22 necessary to carry out the board's duties under this chapter . 23 * Sec. 3. AS 08.29.110(a) is amended to read: 24 (a) The board shall issue a professional counselor license to a person who 25 applies for the license, submits the required fee, submits two letters of recommendation 26 from professional counselors who are familiar with the applicant's practice of 27 professional counseling, and presents evidence satisfactory to the board that the person 28 (1) is at least 18 years of age; 29 (2) is not under investigation in this or another jurisdiction for an act 30 that would constitute a violation of this chapter; 31 (3) has passed a written examination as required by the board; the
01 board may provide that passing a nationally recognized examination for professional 02 counselors is sufficient to meet the examination requirement of this paragraph; 03 (4) has successfully completed either 04 (A) an earned doctoral degree in counseling or a related 05 professional field from a regionally accredited institution of higher education 06 approved by the board; or 07 (B) an earned master's degree in counseling or a related 08 professional field , from a regionally accredited institution of higher 09 education approved by the board, consisting of at least 48 semester hours 10 and at least 12 other graduate semester hours in counseling during or after 11 earning the master's degree, for a total of at least 60 hours; and 12 (5) has , after completing the requirement of either (4)(A) or (B) of 13 this subsection, had at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience in the practice of 14 professional counseling performed over a period of at least two years under the 15 supervision of a supervisor approved under AS 08.29.210, with at least 1,000 hours of 16 direct counseling with individuals, couples, families, or groups and at least 100 hours 17 of face-to-face supervision by a supervisor approved under AS 08.29.210 unless, under 18 regulations of the board, the board allows the supervision to be by telephonic or 19 electronic means because of the remote location of the counselor. 20 * Sec. 4. AS 08.29.210(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) The board shall approve and certify a person as an approved counselor 22 supervisor for the purposes of this chapter if the person 23 (1) is licensed under this chapter as a professional counselor or is a 24 licensed physician, licensed psychiatrist, licensed advanced nurse practitioner who 25 is certified to provide psychiatric or mental health services, licensed clinical social 26 worker, licensed marital and family therapist, licensed psychologist, or licensed 27 psychological associate; 28 (2) submits an application for certification and the appropriate fee; 29 (3) has five years of counseling experience; 30 (4) provides to the board for its approval or disapproval a statement 31 that details the person's supervision philosophy, orientation, and experience; and
01 (5) meets other criteria that may be established by the board in 02 regulations. 03 * Sec. 5. Section 6, ch. 75, SLA 1998, is amended to read: 04 TRANSITIONAL PROVISION. Notwithstanding this Act, the Board of 05 Professional Counselors shall issue a license under AS 08.29, enacted by sec. 1 of this 06 Act, to an applicant who 07 (1) applies by June 30, 2000 [DECEMBER 31, 1999]; 08 (2) submits documentation that the applicant holds a master's or 09 doctorate degree in counseling or a related professional field; 10 (3) submits, on a form provided by the department, documentation from 11 an employer, a supervisor, or a professional peer that , after graduating with a 12 master's or doctoral degree in counseling or a related field, the applicant has 13 practiced professional counseling in the state for at least 24 months during the five 14 years immediately preceding the date of application; 15 (4) meets the requirements of AS 08.29.110(a)(1) and (2), enacted by 16 sec. 1 of this Act, and is not subject to denial of a license under AS 08.29.400, enacted 17 by sec. 1 of this Act; 18 (5) submits two letters of recommendation from professional counselors 19 who are familiar with the applicant's work; and 20 (6) pays the required fee. 21 * Sec. 6. APPLICABILITY. AS 08.29.110(a), as amended by sec. 3 of this Act, and 22 sec. 6(3), ch. 75, SLA 1998, as amended by sec. 5 of this Act, apply to applications pending 23 or filed with the Board of Professional Counselors on or after the effective date of secs. 2 - 24 5 of this Act. 25 * Sec. 7. Sections 2 - 6 of this Act take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).