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Committee hears bill to join interstate counseling compact; board delays effective date to avoid fiscal hit
Summary
CARSON CITY — Assembly Bill 163 would admit Nevada to the interstate counseling compact to let licensed counselors practice across member states; the licensing board said delaying the bill's start date to Jan. 1, 2026 removes a projected fiscal impact.
CARSON CITY — Assembly Bill 163, which would make Nevada a member of the interstate counseling compact, was presented to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee with board testimony that a delayed effective date would remove an anticipated fiscal impact.
Assemblymember Gregory Hafen, sponsor of the bill, said the measure originated from the Southern Regional Behavioral Health Policy Board and would enroll Nevada in the compact to expand access to licensed counselors.
Joelle McNutt, executive director of the State Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors, told the committee that moving the compact's effective date from July 1, 2025 to Jan. 1, 2026 "will significantly decrease [the] fiscal impact." She explained Nevada's full-license renewal cycle runs on odd-numbered years with many licenses renewing by Dec. 31; delaying the effective date allows the board to collect renewal revenue and then set a compact application fee by regulation, which the board expects to align with existing renewal fees.
McNutt said the compact commission levies a separate interstate-compact application fee paid by licensees; she cited a likely compact commission fee of about $35 per application and said other states' compact application fees range from $0 to about $400 depending on state policy. McNutt told the committee the board's goal is to adopt regulations so that the compact's implementation is revenue neutral for Nevada.
Supporters including rural and primary-care advocates, and the Vegas Chamber, said the compact could increase the number of available counselors quickly at relatively low up-front cost compared with other workforce strategies. Valerie Haskin, rural regional behavioral health coordinator, said the compact is "one of the lowest cost solutions" to bolster Nevada's behavioral health workforce and could have short-term benefits.
The committee closed the hearing after receiving written and oral support; no formal vote occurred in the session.
Ending: The sponsor and the board emphasized the plan to use the delayed start date and regulatory fee-setting to offset fiscal impacts and keep state costs low while expanding counseling access through the compact.
