Plain English Breakdown
The source confirms exemptions exist but refers readers elsewhere for 'certain criteria' regarding religious officials; these specific qualifications are not defined in the provided text.
Changes to Rules for Behavioral Science Professionals
AB-1598 updates rules for behavioral science professionals by adding exemptions for religious officials, attorneys, and physicians; extending time limits for exams and experience from six to seven years; increasing associate registration renewals; allowing hardship extensions for subsequent registrations in private practice; requiring disclosure of employer names; and removing a test rescore fee.
What This Bill Does
- Exempts religious officials of any denomination, including imams, priests, rabbis, and ministers, from licensing laws when providing faith-based counseling as part of their regular duties for an established faith-based entity if certain criteria are met.
- Exempts attorneys and physicians who provide counseling services within their professional practice from the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act (LMFTA) and the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act (LPCCA).
- Extends the time limit to gain required experience and pass relevant examinations to 7 years before the board receives an application, changing it from the previous general requirement of 6 years.
- Increases the maximum number of renewals for associate registrations from five times to six times and extends the renewal deadline to seven years from issuance.
- Allows applicants with a subsequent registration number to request a two-year hardship extension to work or volunteer at one private practice employer, subject to specified conditions including signing under penalty of perjury.
- Requires trainees, associates, interns, and applicants in marriage and family therapy, social work, and clinical counseling to disclose their unlicensed status, supervision details, and the name of their employer or volunteering entity to clients.
- Removes the $20 fee for rescoring written examinations under state behavioral science acts.
Who It Names or Affects
- Religious officials providing faith-based counseling services
- Attorneys and physicians offering counseling as part of their practice
- Applicants seeking licensure or registration in marriage and family therapy, educational psychology, social work, or clinical counseling
- Associate registrants who have not yet obtained full licensure
Terms To Know
- Board of Behavioral Sciences
- The state agency within the Department of Consumer Affairs that regulates therapists and counselors.
- Associate registration
- A temporary status for trainees working toward a full license who have not yet met all requirements.
- Subsequent associate registration number
- A new registration issued to someone whose previous registrations can no longer be renewed because they reached time or renewal limits.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill states that religious officials must meet 'certain criteria' for the exemption but does not list those specific details in this summary.
- Hardship extensions are subject to 'specified conditions and requirements' beyond signing under penalty of perjury, which are not detailed here.
- The extension of exam validity periods applies generally now, but the 7-year limit specifically for the California law and ethics examination only applies to applications submitted on or after January 1, 2030.