Board accepts change removing middle-name requirement from advertising rule; votes to proceed with modified regulation

The Board of Behavioral Sciences voted Aug. 22 to adopt a modified version of proposed advertising regulations that removes a requirement that licensees include a middle name or suffix in public advertising.

Background and comment

The board had proposed amended advertising rules that, among other changes, required licensees to disclose their full legal name (first, middle and last) in advertisements. The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) submitted a written comment saying that requiring a middle name or suffix would be burdensome, practically difficult to implement across signage, email signatures and social media, and would not materially aid consumer verification because the license number remains the primary public verification tool.

Board counsel and staff presented legal considerations and recommended removing the middle-name requirement. Regulations counsel noted constitutional limits on speech and precedent indicating the board should minimize requirements that are not necessary to prevent misleading advertising. Counsel proposed that a licensee who uses a nickname or former legal name should be required to display the name on file with the board in the same advertisement to dispel potential confusion.

Action and vote

The board voted to accept CAMFT—s comment and direct staff to proceed with amended language that omits the middle-name/suffix requirement; the board also directed staff to proceed with the 15‑day modified-text public comment period and gave staff authority to make non-substantive edits and adopt the rule if no adverse comments are received.

Why it matters

The amendment reduces a practical regulatory burden on licensees while preserving consumer verification via license numbers and board lookup tools. Counsel—s recommendation to require that any alias be accompanied by the licensee's legal name on the same advertisement addresses the constitutional and consumer-protection balance the board cited.

Provenance

- topicintro: transcript block starting at 6417.8853, evidence_excerpt: "discussion and consideration of comments received on modified text during the 15 day public comment period and proposed responses thereto for the board's rulemaking and adoption of amendments to 16 CCR section 1811, advertising regulations." (s:6417.8853)

- topfinish: transcript block starting at 7503.59, evidence_excerpt: "Motion carries." (s:7503.59)

Speakers

- Christy Shields, Regulations Counsel, provided legal guidance. first_reference: {"timecode":"00:57:30"} - Kathy Atkins, CAMFT Deputy Director, public commenter. first_reference: {"timecode":"00:11:36"} - Justin Huff, board member, motioned to proceed. first_reference: {"timecode":"7274.42"}

Authorities

- ordinance/policy: "16 CCR §1811 (advertising regulations) - modified text considered by board." referenced_by: ["advertising-regs-modified-text"]

Actions

- kind: "rulemaking" motion: "Accept the public comment (CAMFT), remove the requirement for middle name/suffix from subsection a(1), and proceed with the modified regulatory text for Title 16 CCR §1811; if after the 15-day comment no adverse comments are received, authorize staff to make non-substantive edits and adopt the rule." mover: "Justin Huff" second: "not specified" vote_record:[{"member":"Wendy Strack","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Nicholas Boyd","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Lares Bailey","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Susan Friedman","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Justin Huff","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Christopher Jones","vote":"yes"},{"member":"John Sobek","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Rebecca Theiss","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Eleanor Uribe","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Annette Walker","vote":"yes"}] tally: {"yes":11,"no":0,"abstain":0,"absent":1} outcome: "approved" notes: "Board removed middle-name/suffix requirement and directed staff to proceed with 15-day modified public comment period; counsel recommended alias rules be paired with full legal name in same advert to avoid consumer confusion."

Searchable_tags: ["advertising","CAMFT","name display","regulations"]

Meeting_context: {"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":6,"duration_minutes":30,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"low","history":[{"date":"2024-09-01","note":"Initial advertising rule amendments approved for public notice; comment periods followed."}]}