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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Larranaga
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/2/06
2/08/06 HB 331/aHCPAC
SHORT TITLE Expand Temporary Licensure and Reciprocity
SB
ANALYST McSherry
REVENUE (dollars in thousands)
Estimated Revenue
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
FY08
$0-$25.0
$0-$25.0
Recurring
Counseling and
Therapy Prac-
tice Board Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD)
New Mexico Health Policy Commission (NMHPC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of HCPAC Amendment
The amendments adopted by the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee remove lan-
guage which would have required recipients of reciprocal licensure through the New Mexico
Board of Counseling and Therapy Practice Board
to be one of the following:
•
Nationally certified counselor, as determined by the national board of certified counsel-
ors;
•
Certified clinical mental health counselor or therapist as determined by the national board
of certified counselors;
•
Clinical member of the American association for marriage and family therapy;
•
Registered art therapist, board certified by the art therapy credential board; or
•
Alcohol and drug abuse counselor who is a national certified addiction counselor level.
The amendment retains the requirement that, for reciprocity, candidates would be required 5
years of good standing as a licensed professional, and have a masters or doctorate degree in their
field of licensure from an accredited institution.
pg_0002
House Bill 331/aHCPAC – Page
2
Synopsis of Original Bill
House Bill 331, “Expand temporary licensure and reciprocity,” proposes to:
•
Extend the temporary license for a period not to exceed six months or for a period
of time necessary for the board to ensure that the applicant has met licensure re-
quirements.
•
Authorize the recognition of reciprocal/credentials licensing for Professional
Counselor and Therapists licensed in another state that the applicant:
o
Is of the same “licensure level” as the reciprocal license
o
Is a certified by the same board or association as required for counselors
and therapists receiving their first licenses in NM.
o
Has held licensure for 5 years
o
Is in good standing with no disciplinary action pending or brought against
the applicant for the previous 5 years.
o
Has a masters or doctoral degree in counseling or a counseling-related
field from an accredited institution.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The proposed changes would not have substantial impact, however the Board of Counseling and
Therapy Practice may experience some increase in licensing revenues due to the proposed recip-
rocity amendments. Licensing fees for counseling and therapy practice have a range from $7.5
to $25/year. Assuming 100 new licensures, the board would have $7.5 to $25.0 thousand in in-
creased revenue; the revenue increase is estimated assuming 0 to 100 new licenses.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to RLD, this bill is an executive proposal and would implement the recommendations
of the New Mexico Behavioral Health Workforce Group in response to executive order 2004-
062.
The NM Health Policy Commission, cites New Mexico’s Behavioral Health Collaborative as
reporting the following statistics:
•
New Mexico has over 500,000 individuals who have substance abuse/dependence or
mental disorders. Each of these individuals has family members that are affected di-
rectly or indirectly by their abuse/dependence or disorder.
•
Only 19% of the adults needing public sector mental health services are currently be-
ing served.
•
There are inadequate numbers of licensed practitioners in New Mexico as a whole,
but particularly outside Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
•
Approximately 25-35 percent of those New Mexicans with substance use and/or
mental disorders will need services from the publicly funded system of care.
•
368,721 individuals in New Mexico have some kind of mental disorder. Of these,
70,766 adults have serious mental illness (SMI); 18,594 children/adolescents (ages 9
pg_0003
House Bill 331/aHCPAC – Page
3
through 17) have severe emotional disturbance (SED); 242,438 adults have other
mental disorders not considered to be SMI; and 36,923 children/adolescents have
other mental disorders not considered to be SED.
•
Only 58 percent of psychiatrists have New Mexico addresses while 88 percent of
psychologists, 91 percent of social workers, 93 percent of substance abuse counsel-
ors, and 90 percent of mental health counselors have New Mexico addresses. Addi-
tionally, almost four out of five in-state New Mexico psychiatrists have practice ad-
dresses in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties. Approximately 70 percent of psycholo-
gists, 47 percent of social workers, and 53 percent of counselors have practice ad-
dresses in these two Counties
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
If increased reciprocally-licensed counselors, and additional temporary licenses are granted as a
result of this bill, agencies which address mental health issues may be able to recruit counseling
professionals more easily.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Additional licenses would result in increased workload.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
According to DOH, behavioral healthcare provider agencies and other employers of New Mex-
ico counselors and therapists will continue to experience barriers in recruiting qualified clinical
staff if the bill is enacted.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
1.
How many increased applicants for reciprocity are expected by the Counseling and Ther-
apy Practice Board should the proposed amendments go into effect.
2.
What is the opinion of the professional associations in regards to the proposed changes.
EM/yr:nt