Senate committee advances bill to ease supervision for prescribing psychologists, add background checks

Summary

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1088 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation after sponsor testimony and clinicians said the measure would reduce supervision barriers for prescribing psychologists, broaden who may serve as collaborators, expand service‑extender eligibility and add an initial background check to comply with an interstate compact.

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1088 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation after the bill’s sponsor and several Idaho psychologists described the measure as a set of technical and access‑focused changes to the state’s psychology practice laws.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Mark Harris, told the committee SB 1088 “improves and streamlines the practice of psychology in the state of Idaho by removing unnecessary barriers, deleting obsolete, redundant language, and making some other changes.” He said the proposal targets the supervision model for prescribing psychologists and other licensing technicalities.

Supporters said the most significant policy change would replace the current supervision agreement for provisional prescribing psychologists with a collaborative‑practice model. The change would allow provisional prescribers to form collaborative agreements with a broader set of experienced prescribers — including practice nurses, pharmacists, prescribing…

Senate committee advances bill to ease supervision for prescribing psychologists, add background checks

Summary

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