SENATE BILL 415

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

INTRODUCED BY

Harold Pope

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO LICENSURE; PROVIDING AN EXEMPTION FROM STATE LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL MILITARY AND FAMILY LIFE COUNSELORS AND MILITARY ONESOURCE COUNSELORS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Uniform Licensing Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] MILITARY AND FAMILY LIFE COUNSELORS AND MILITARY ONESOURCE COUNSELORS--LICENSURE WAIVER.--

          A. A military and family life counselor or a military onesource counselor shall be exempt from the licensure requirements pursuant to the Professional Psychologist Act, the Counseling and Therapy Practice Act and the Social Work Practice Act.

          B. A military and family life counselor or a military onesource counselor shall not provide counseling to a person who is not a member of the federal department of defense military, the national guard or reserve, affiliated personnel or their family members unless the military and family life counselor or military onesource counselor is licensed in this state to provide the services within the scope of practice of that counselor's profession.

          C. As used in this section, "military and family life counselor" and "military onesource counselor" means a licensed social worker, marriage and family therapist, professional clinical counselor or psychologist pursuant to U.S.C.A. Title 10, Section 1781 who holds a master's degree from an accredited graduate program in a mental health-related field such as social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy or counseling and holds a valid, unrestricted counseling license or certification from another state, the District of Columbia, a United States commonwealth or a United States territory that grants authority to provide counseling services as an independent practitioner in the respective fields, that provides non-medical counseling for circumstances that include stress and anger management, grief and loss, the deployment cycle, parent-children relations, relationships and relocations to members of the federal department of defense military, the national guard or reserve, affiliated personnel and their family members."