Bill Text: TX HB5421 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of certain occupations by the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, including the licensing of marriage and family therapists, marriage and family therapist associates, professional counselors, professional counselor associates, and social workers; authorizing fees.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-04-07 - Referred to Human Services [HB5421 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB5421-Introduced.html

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By: Romero H.B. No. 5421

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of certain occupations by the Texas
Behavioral Health Executive Council, including the licensing of
marriage and family therapists, marriage and family therapist
associates, professional counselors, professional counselor
associates, and social workers; authorizing fees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 502.151 and 502.1515, Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 502.151. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the [The]
executive council shall:
(1) determine the qualifications and fitness of a
license applicant under this chapter; and
(2) adopt a code of professional ethics for license
holders.
Sec. 502.1515. BOARD DUTIES. Except as otherwise provided
by this chapter, the [The] board shall propose to the executive
council:
(1) rules regarding:
(A) the qualifications necessary to obtain a
license, including rules limiting an applicant's eligibility for a
license based on the applicant's criminal history;
(B) the scope of practice of and standards of
care and ethical practice for marriage and family therapy; and
(C) continuing education requirements for
license holders; and
(2) a schedule of sanctions for violations of this
chapter or rules adopted under this chapter.
SECTION 2. Sections 502.252(b) and (c), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) To qualify for a license as a licensed marriage and
family therapist associate, a person must:
(1) be at least 18 years of age;
(2) have completed a graduate internship in marriage
and family therapy, or an equivalent internship, as approved by the
board [executive council];
(3) pay the examination fee and pass the license
examination and jurisprudence examination determined by the board;
(4) hold a master's or doctoral degree in marriage and
family therapy or in a related mental health field with coursework
and training determined by the board [executive council} to be
substantially equivalent to a graduate degree in marriage and
family therapy from a regionally accredited institution of higher
education or an institution of higher education approved by the
executive council;
(5) [have not been convicted of a felony or a crime
involving moral turpitude];
[(6)] not use drugs or alcohol to an extent that
affects the applicant's professional competency;
(6) [(7)] not have had a license or certification
revoked by a licensing agency or by a certifying professional
organization; and
(7) [(8)] not have engaged in fraud or deceit in
applying for a license under this chapter.
(c) An applicant is eligible to apply for a license as a
licensed marriage and family therapist if the person:
(1) meets the requirements of Subsection (b);
(2) [after receipt of a degree described by Subsection
(b)(4),] has completed [two years of] work experience in marriage
and family therapist services that includes the number of hours [at
least 3,000 hours of clinical practice consisting of at least 1,500
hours of direct clinical services, including a minimum number of
hours] providing [direct] clinical services to individuals,
couples, or families as required by the executive council [rule];
and
(3) has completed, in a manner acceptable to the
executive council, [at least 200 hours of] supervised provision of
direct clinical services by the applicant for the number of hours as
determined by the executive council, [100 hours of] which must be
supervised by an approved supervisor as prescribed by the executive
council [on an individual basis].
SECTION 3. Section 502.2545 (a) and (b), Occupations Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 502.2545. WAIVER OF EXAMINATION FOR CERTAIN
APPLICANTS. (a) The executive council may waive the requirement
that an applicant for a license as a licensed marriage and family
therapist pass the examination required by Section 502.254 if the
applicant[:
[(1) is a provisional license holder under Section
502.259 and the executive council determines that the applicant
possesses sufficient education and professional experience to
receive a license without further examination; or]
[(2)] holds a license issued by another licensing
agency in a profession related to the practice of marriage and
family therapy and the executive council determines that the
applicant possesses sufficient education and professional
experience to receive a license without satisfying the examination
requirements of this chapter.
(b) The executive council may adopt rules necessary to
administer this section, including rules [under Subsection (a)(2)]
prescribing the professions that are related to the practice of
marriage and family therapy.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 502.259, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 502.259. APPLICANTS LICENSED OUT OF STATE [PROVISIONAL
LICENSE].
SECTION 5. Sections 502.259(a) and (b), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The executive council may grant a [provisional] license
to practice as a marriage and family therapist in this state
[without examination] to an applicant who is licensed or otherwise
registered as a marriage and family therapist by another state or
jurisdiction [if the requirements to be licensed or registered in
the other state or jurisdiction were, on the date the person was
licensed or registered, substantially equal to the requirements of
this chapter].
(b) An applicant for a [provisional] license under this
section must:
(1) be licensed in good standing to independently
practice as a marriage and family therapist in another state or
jurisdiction [that has licensing requirements that are
substantially equal to the requirements of this chapter];
(2) meet the requirements of Section 502.252(b) [have
passed a national or other examination that:
[(A) is recognized by the executive council; and
[(B) relates to marriage and family therapy];
and]
(3) file an application with the appropriate fee in
the form and manner prescribed [be sponsored by a person licensed]
by the executive council [with whom the provisional license holder
may practice under this section].
SECTION 6. Section 502.301(a), Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A marriage and family therapist license issued under
this chapter is subject to [biennial] renewal. The executive
council shall adopt a system under which licenses expire on various
dates during the year.
SECTION 7. Subchapter F, Chapter 507, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 507.260 to read as follows:
Sec. 507.260. RECIPROCAL LICENSE. The executive council
may enter into and implement agreements with other jurisdictions
for the issuance of a license under Chapter 501, 502, 503, or 505 by
reciprocity if the other jurisdiction's requirements for
licensing, certification, or registration are substantially equal
to the requirements of the applicable chapter.
SECTION 8. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Section 501.262, Occupations Code;
(2) Section 502.254(b), Occupations Code; and
(3) Sections 502.259(c), (d), and (e), Occupations
Code.
SECTION 9. (a) Chapter 502, Occupations Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to an application for a license under that
chapter filed with the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council on
or after the effective date of this Act. An application for a
license filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect on the date the application was filed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Section 502.301(a), Occupations Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to a license that expires on or after the
effective date of this Act. A license that expires before that date
is governed by the law in effect on the date the license expired,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.