Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 352 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to establish a professional counselor licensing program.

Your Committee understands that at the present time, there is a severe lack of licensed professional counselors available to provide services to the mental health population in Hawaii, especially in the rural areas, neighbor islands, and among the Felix class population. Moreover, your Committee realizes that through licensure of these health care professionals, the public can be assured that mental health providers in Hawaii are competent to provide qualified and ethical services to the public. Licensure provides consistent and accountable standards of practice and provides for a method of recourse for clients when they are harmed in some way by a provider who is unethical or incompetent. Furthermore, your Committee recognizes that through the licensing of professional counselors, the pool of professional persons available to the Medicaid, Quest, and Felix programs will increase, thus benefitting to this population.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the National Association of Rehabilitation Professionals in the Private Sector, the Hawaii Rehabilitation Counseling Association, the Rehabilitation Association of Hawaii, Sestak Rehabilitation Services, the Hawaii Youth Services Network, and a various professional counselors and concerned citizens.

The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), the agency responsible for licensing professionals, testified that the need for licensure was not apparent since professional counselors posed no significant harm to consumers and therefore did not require regulation. However, DCCA further stated that if the measure were to pass, they would request various amendments limiting the bill to mental health counselors only eliminating the word licensure since the bill dealt mainly with certification omitting the "grandfather" clause, and including amendments.

However, your Committee felt that the discussion of this issue has gone on for three years and that it would be in the best interest of the public to license professional counselors. Thus, your Committee has decided to pass this measure unamended.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 352 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.