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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Begaye

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/23/07

HB 103

SHORT TITLE Counseling and Therapy License Requirements

SB

ANALYST Hanika Ortiz

REVENUE (dollars in thousands)

Estimated Revenue

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

FY09

$.01

recurring

Counseling and

Therapy Practice

Board Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 103 amends Section 61-9A-5 NMSA 1978 of the Counseling and Therapy Practice

Act enhancing the alcohol and drug abuse counselor’s scope of practice by permitting the

treatment of clients with co-occurring disorders within a multidisciplinary team co-authorized by

a licensed counselor or therapist.

House Bill 103 also enhances a substance abuse associate’s scope of practice by eliminating the

previous limitations on client interactions and supervision requirements.

House Bill 103 amends Section 61-9A-13 NMSA 1978 defining the level of education

recognized by national accreditation organizations and increases the post-graduate experience

requirement, thereby eliminating the need for the Board to determine what is an appropriate art

therapist preparation.

House Bill 103– Page

2

House Bill 103 also adds new Section 61-9A-14.3 NMSA 1978 allowing for grandfathered

licensure for current certified alcohol and drug abuse counselors or licensed substance abuse

associates with certifications or licenses issued between July 1, 1996 and July 1, 2010, as long as

licensee files the required application with fee and provides evidence of meeting the education

and experience requirements as stated in the bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

House Bill 103 allows the Board to set an additional license renewal extension penalty fee of

$300.

All money received by the board under the Counseling and Therapy Practice Act is

deposited with the state treasurer for credit to the counseling and therapy practice board fund.

The state treasurer invests the fund as all other state funds are invested and income from

investment of the fund is credited to the fund. Balances in the fund remaining at the end of any

fiscal year do not revert to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

RLD report that substance abuse associates are entry level mental health providers. The current

supervisory requirement and limitations on allowable client interactions within the Counseling

and Therapy Practice Act exist to serve as a monitoring system to ensure client safety and

appropriateness of treatment.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

Any additional workload for the Department ought to be accomplished with existing staff and

resources.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

The current standards to include scope of practice and licensing requirements within the

Counseling and Therapy Practice Act will remain in effect.

AHO/mt:csd