HB 276: "An Act relating to licensing of psychologists and psychological associates; and relating to the practice of psychology."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 276 01 "An Act relating to licensing of psychologists and psychological associates; and relating 02 to the practice of psychology." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 08.86.070 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 08.86.070. Duties of the board. The board shall 06 (1) establish objective examination requirements for persons who 07 apply for a license to practice psychology in the state; 08 (2) examine, or cause to be examined, eligible license applicants; 09 (3) approve the issuance of licenses to qualified applicants; 10 (4) adopt regulations establishing standards and a code of ethics for 11 the practice of psychology; 12 (5) impose disciplinary sanctions as authorized by this chapter; 13 (6) adopt regulations requiring proof of continued competency for 14 license renewal;
01 (7) review, when requested by the department, the quality and 02 availability of psychological services in the state; 03 (8) compile information for submission to the department on the 04 practice of psychology by psychologists and psychological associates in the state; 05 (9) maintain an active membership with a national association of 06 psychology boards. 07 * Sec. 2. AS 08.86.130(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) The board shall issue a psychologist license to a person who 09 (1) holds an earned doctorate degree, from an academic institution 10 whose program of graduate study for a doctorate degree in psychology meets the 11 criteria established by the board by regulation, in 12 (A) clinical psychology; 13 (B) counseling psychology; or 14 (C) education in a field of specialization considered equivalent 15 by the board; 16 (2) has not engaged in dishonorable conduct related to the practice of 17 counseling or psychometry; 18 (3) has completed at least 3,000 hours of supervised professional 19 experience gained through practicum, internship, or postdoctoral experience 20 approved by the board, or organized through a combination of those; [ONE 21 YEAR OF POST DOCTORAL SUPERVISED EXPERIENCE APPROVED BY THE 22 BOARD; AND] 23 (4) takes and passes the objective examination developed or approved 24 by the board; 25 (5) has submitted an application on a form approved by the board 26 that includes a brief written account of the person's education, qualifications, and 27 work history and proof of the person's competence to practice psychology; and 28 (6) provides the documents specified in (c) of this section. 29 * Sec. 3. AS 08.86.130 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 30 (c) The board may not require an applicant under (a) of this section to submit 31 verification of credentials other than those listed in this subsection. An applicant shall
01 provide the following, to be submitted to the board directly from the applicable 02 agency, person, licensing jurisdiction, school, or national association of psychology 03 boards credentials bank: 04 (1) a copy of each health-related professional license or certificate 05 issued by a state or Canada; 06 (2) an official transcript from each undergraduate or graduate school 07 from which the applicant holds a degree; 08 (3) a score report verifying that the applicant has passed an 09 examination developed or approved by the board under (a)(4) of this section; and 10 (4) three letters of recommendation from professional sources familiar 11 with the applicant's work of the previous five years. 12 * Sec. 4. AS 08.86 is amended by adding a new section to read: 13 Sec. 08.86.132. Part-time license. (a) The board may issue a part-time 14 psychologist license to a person who 15 (1) meets the requirements of AS 08.86.130 or 08.86.150; and 16 (2) has been licensed to practice psychology under this chapter for at 17 least 20 years. 18 (b) A person holding a part-time psychologist license under this section may 19 (1) engage in the practice of psychology for not more than 20 hours a 20 week; and 21 (2) convert the license to an active license by applying to the board and 22 paying the required fees. 23 (c) A person holding a part-time psychologist license shall meet the 24 continuing competency requirements established by the board under AS 08.86.070 for 25 a person licensed under AS 08.86.130. 26 * Sec. 5. AS 08.86.140(a) is amended to read: 27 (a) The department shall set fees under AS 08.01.065 for the following: 28 (1) application; 29 (2) examination; 30 (3) credential review; 31 (4) initial license;
01 (5) license renewal; 02 (6) initial inactive license; 03 (7) inactive license renewal; 04 (8) initial part-time license; 05 (9) part-time license renewal. 06 * Sec. 6. AS 08.86.150 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 07 (b) The board may not require an applicant under (a) of this section to submit 08 verification of credentials other than those listed in (a) of this section. 09 (c) The board may, without unreasonable delay, investigate an academic 10 program completed by an applicant under (a) of this section and, if the board 11 determines that the academic program is not acceptable, may deny an application 12 submitted under (a) of this section. 13 * Sec. 7. AS 08.86 is amended by adding a new section to article 3 to read: 14 Sec. 08.86.155. Inactive license status. (a) A person licensed to practice 15 psychology under this chapter who does not practice in the state may convert a license 16 to inactive status when renewing the license. A person who practices in the state, 17 however infrequently, shall hold an active or part-time license. A person renewing an 18 inactive license shall meet the same renewal requirements that would be applicable if 19 the person were renewing an active license. 20 (b) A person holding an inactive license may reactivate the license by 21 (1) completing and providing proof of having completed at least 40 22 hours of continuing education in the preceding two years; 23 (2) applying for an active or part-time license; and 24 (3) paying the required fees. 25 * Sec. 8. AS 08.86 is amended by adding a new section to read: 26 Sec. 08.86.165. Part-time psychological associate license. (a) The board may 27 issue a part-time psychological associate license to a person who 28 (1) meets the requirements of AS 08.86.160; and 29 (2) has been licensed as a psychological associate under this chapter 30 for at least 20 years. 31 (b) A person holding a part-time psychological associate license under this
01 section may 02 (1) engage in practice, as described in AS 08.86.164, for not more than 03 20 hours a week; and 04 (2) convert the license to an active license by applying to the board and 05 paying the required fees. 06 (c) A person holding a part-time psychological associate license shall meet the 07 continuing competency requirements established by the board under AS 08.86.070 for 08 a person licensed under AS 08.86.160. 09 * Sec. 9. AS 08.86 is amended by adding a new section to article 4 to read: 10 Sec. 08.86.168. Inactive psychological associate license. (a) A person 11 licensed as a psychological associate under this chapter who does not practice in the 12 state may convert a license to inactive status when renewing the license. A person who 13 practices in the state, however infrequently, shall hold an active or part-time license. A 14 person renewing an inactive license shall meet the same renewal requirements that 15 would be applicable if the person were renewing an active license. 16 (b) A person holding an inactive license may reactivate the license by 17 applying for an active or part-time license and paying the required fees. 18 * Sec. 10. AS 08.86.180(b) is amended to read: 19 (b) This section does not apply to 20 (1) a person employed as a school psychologist, if the school district 21 maintains appropriate supervision of psychological activities and professional conduct, 22 and if the person is performing the psychological activities as part of the duties for 23 which the person was employed, is performing the activities solely within the facilities 24 of the school district in which the person is employed or under the supervision of the 25 school district, and does not render or offer to render psychological services to the 26 public for compensation in addition to the salary the person receives from the school 27 district; 28 (2) an officer, [OR] employee, or contractor of the United States 29 government or a tribal organization who is licensed to practice psychology in 30 another state and is practicing psychology while in the discharge of the officer's, 31 [OR] employee's, or contractor's official duties;
01 (3) a student, intern, or resident in psychology pursuing a course of 02 study approved by the board as qualifying training and experience for a psychologist, 03 if that person's activities constitute a part of that person's supervised course of study 04 and that person is designated by titles such as "psychology intern" or "psychology 05 trainee"; 06 (4) a qualified member of another profession, in doing work of a 07 psychological nature consistent with that person's training and consistent with the code 08 of ethics of that person's profession, if the person does not hold out to the public by a 09 title or description of services incorporating the words "psychology," "psychological," 10 "psychologist," "psychometry," "psychotherapy," "psychotherapeutic," 11 "psychotherapist," "psychoanalysis," or "psychoanalyst" or represent to be trained, 12 experienced, or qualified to render services in the field of psychology; or 13 (5) a physician engaged in the normal practice of medicine for which 14 the physician is licensed under AS 08.64. 15 * Sec. 11. AS 08.86.180 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 16 (e) In this section, "tribal organization" has the meaning given in 25 U.S.C. 17 5304.