STAND. COM. REP. 933
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2003
RE: S.B. No. 695
S.D. 2
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2003
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 695, S.D. 2, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to protect consumers by:
(1) Establishing a licensing program for professional counselors;
(2) Setting educational and experimental standards for professional counselors;
(3) Requiring licensure for those persons who seek to represent themselves to the public as licensed professional counselors; and
(4) Establishing a Professional Counselors Licensing Program Start-up Trust Fund to receive gifts, bequests, and other contributions of money for the initial costs of implementing the program.
Catholic Charities Hawaii-Family Services, Hale Kipa, Inc., Hawaii Youth Services Network, Sestak Rehabilitation Services, National Association of Social Workers, Kaiser Permanente, Hawaii Rehabilitation Counseling Association, Lynn C. Fox & Associates, Inc., Vocational Rehabilitation Consultants, Child and Family Service, American Counseling Association, Hawaii Counseling Association, Alliance for Professional Counselor Licensure, and a concerned citizen testified in support of this measure.
The Christian Science Committee on Publication for Hawaii testified in support of the intent of this measure. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) opposed this measure. The Department of Education (DOE) commented on this bill.
Your Committee finds that Hawaii is only one of a handful of states that does not license professional counselors. Professional counselors should possess appropriate qualifications and follow the ethical standards of the counseling profession. A licensure process safeguards the health and well-being of the public.
Your Committee notes that other possible benefits to the licensing of professional counselors would include savings in reimbursement rates for services provided by professional counselors and an increase in the availability of qualified professionals to meet the requirements of the Felix Consent Decree.
Although your Committee understands the concerns raised by DCCA on the necessity of licensing professional counselors and the reported benefits of doing so, safeguarding the public should be of utmost concern. After careful consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Providing that any individual employed by the State, any of its political subdivisions, or any instrumentality of the State or its political subdivisions shall be exempted from licensure requirements provided that the State, its political subdivisions, or any instrumentality thereof, shall not be precluded from requiring licensing as a condition of employment;
(2) Removing language that individuals employed by a federal, state, or county government agency whose duties and responsibilities involve the practice of professional counseling are exempt from licensing requirements only at those times when that person is carrying out the duties and responsibilities as a counselor in governmental employment;
(3) Clarifying that one of the qualifications necessary for licensure as a professional counselor is to have a masters degree or doctoral degree from a nationally or regionally accredited institution in counseling or in an allied field related to the practice of professional counseling that includes or is supplemented by graduate level coursework in counseling; and
(4) Clarifying that one of the qualifications necessary for licensure as a professional counselor is to have at least two academic terms of practicum experience in a counseling setting with 300 hours of supervised client contact.
Other technical, nonsubstantive amendments were made for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
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 S.B. No. 695, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 695, S.D. 2,
H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,
|
____________________________ DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair |
||