Bill Text: MS HB129 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Counselors; direct licensing board to establish procedure for issuance of licenses by reciprocity to out-of-state licensees.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-23 - Died In Committee [HB129 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2016-HB129-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Holland
House Bill 129
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-30-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT APPLICANTS FOR LICENSURE AS A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR ARE ELIGIBLE FOR LICENSURE IF THEY PAY PROPERTY TAXES IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; TO AMEND SECTION 73-30-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DIRECT THE STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS TO ADOPT REGULATIONS NOT LATER THAN JANUARY 1, 2017, TO ESTABLISH A PROCEDURE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LICENSES AS A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR BY RECIPROCITY TO PERSONS WHO ARE LICENSED IN OTHER STATES AND WHO MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS ESTABLISHED BY THE BOARD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 73-30-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-30-9. (1) The board shall issue a license as a licensed professional counselor, without regard to race, religion, sex or national origin, to each applicant who furnishes satisfactory evidence of the following:
(a) The applicant has completed an application on a form prescribed by the board accompanied by a nonrefundable initial licensing fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
(b) The applicant is at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
(c) The applicant is of good moral character.
(d) The applicant is a
resident of * * *
Mississippi, pays income tax or property taxes in the State of
Mississippi, or has an immigration document to verify legal alien work status
in the United States. The immigration document must be current and issued by
the United States Immigration Bureau.
(e) The applicant is not in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted hereunder.
(f) The applicant shall have an earned doctoral degree primarily in counseling, guidance or related counseling field, or have a master's degree or educational specialist's degree from a regionally or nationally accredited college or university program in counselor education or a related counseling program subject to board approval. The master's degree or educational specialist's degree shall consist of a program of not less than sixty (60) acceptable semester hours or ninety (90) acceptable quarter hours. Persons applying for licensure with a master's degree of less than sixty (60) semester hours or ninety (90) quarter hours may complete the additional coursework required without earning an additional degree, provided the coursework is in a regionally or nationally accredited college or university program in counseling or a related field. Proof of same must be submitted in the form of an updated transcript to the board when reapplying for licensure. All applicants shall provide official transcripts of all graduate work.
(g) The applicant must pass the examination approved by the board, as set forth in Section 73-30-7(5).
(h) The applicant has had two (2) years of supervised experience in professional counseling, or its equivalent, acceptable to the board, one (1) year of which may be concurrent with the pursuit of the master's degree program. Applicant shall submit verification of previous employment.
* * *
(i) * * * The board shall require
each first-time applicant for licensure and may require applicants for license
renewal to apply to the Department of Public Safety for a state and national
background check which will include consulting sex offender registries.
(2) Each application or filing made under this section shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64.
SECTION 2. Section 73-30-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-30-15. (1) The board shall enter into a reciprocal agreement with any state which licenses counselors if the board finds that such state has substantially the same requirements for licensure. The issuance of a license by reciprocity to a military-trained applicant or military spouse shall be subject to the provisions of Section 73-50-1.
(2) The board shall adopt regulations not later than January 1, 2017, to establish a procedure for the issuance of licenses as a licensed professional counselor by reciprocity to persons who are licensed in other states and who meet the qualifications established by the board.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.
