Bill > HB32

This bill enacts the Counseling Licensure Compact, which establishes an agreement between states to allow licensed professional counselors (LPCs) to practice in multiple member states without needing separate licenses in each. The compact aims to increase public access to counseling services, enhance public safety, and support military families by creating a system of mutual recognition of licenses. Key provisions include defining terms like "home state" (where the counselor resides and is licensed) and "remote state" (where the counselor is practicing under the compact), outlining requirements for states to join the compact (such as specific educational and examination standards for LPCs), and detailing how counselors obtain a "privilege to practice" in a remote state, which involves meeting their home state's requirements and adhering to the laws of the remote state. The bill also establishes a Counseling Compact Commission to oversee the compact, manage a data system for sharing licensee information, and create rules for its operation, while preserving each state's authority to regulate the practice of counseling within its borders and take adverse actions against a counselor's license.

Health and Social Services

https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=H&legtype=B&legno=32&year=26