BHEC staff detail recent rule changes, proposed life‑coaching guideline and dozens of mental‑health bills under review

A staff member from the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council summarized recent regulatory activity and a slate of bills being tracked by the agency during an “Insights Over the Lunch Hour” webinar.

The council adopted a single cleanup rule at its Feb. 18 meeting, staff said, and has proposed a new investigatory rule, identified in materials as 8.84.10, that aims to clarify when a person’s services fall under the council’s regulatory authority rather than being unregulated "life coaching." "We do not want to create a scheme where somebody can ... call it life coaching, and therefore, I am removed from your regulatory authority," the staff member said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the proposed rule would guide investigators and licensees on whether conduct is within the scope of regulated practice for licensed professional counselors (LPCs), licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs), social workers and related professions. Staff said the rule is intended both to give professionals guidance and to protect the public by preventing regulated practice from being labeled, in words only, as unregulated activity.

What the council said about the proposed rule and timing - Staff described 8.84.10 as guidance for distinguishing counseling and therapy from life‑coaching and said the draft will be published in the Texas Register for public comment. Member boards also completed a rule review process that mostly removed duplicative or unenforceable language and aligned board rules with statute. - Robert, a staff member who presented member‑board adoptions, said most changes were technical or statutory cleanups; one change removed a temporary 45‑day practice allowance for LSSPs that the staff said was not permitted by statute.

Bills the agency is tracking Staff said the agency is monitoring a broad slate of legislation that could affect licensing, workforce and reimbursement. Numbers and descriptions offered in the webinar included: - HB 710 (universal licensure concept): would fast‑track use of an out‑of‑state license for applicants who were licensed and in good standing elsewhere, staff said. - HB 1537 / SB 498 (Counseling Compact): a multistate compact staff said carries no fiscal impact in the agency’s initial fiscal note; the agency later noted the compact could generate state revenue and may require an amended fiscal note. - HB 716 / SB 469 (Medicaid payments to associates): bills that would allow certain associate‑level providers (MFT and LPC associates) to bill Medicaid at reduced rates during their supervised‑experience period. - HB 2157 / SB 531 (pathway to LSSP licensure for psychologists): would create a licensure pathway for licensed psychologists to obtain LSSP status. - HB 2338 / SB 138 (rule swap/repeal exception): bills to repeal an existing exception that allows new rules without a corresponding repeal if the rule is for public health, safety and welfare; staff said the earlier exception had effectively swallowed the limit on net growth of the administrative code. - SB 618 / HB 2816 (conscience protections in health care): described as a bill protecting providers’ “genuinely held beliefs” that could exempt them from delivering certain services. - HB 3503 / SB 1726 (Social Work Licensure Compact): a compact the agency is tracking that would affect social work mobility across states. - SB 1818 (provisional licenses for military applicants): would require agencies to issue provisional licenses for many military applicants so they may practice while a full application is processed. - SB 471 and HB 716 (telehealth registry / mobility): staff described two measures modeled on Florida law — one creating a telehealth registry for out‑of‑state practitioners providing telehealth into Texas, and another creating a mobility endorsement that would fast‑track licensure for some out‑of‑state practitioners. - SB 1081 (art therapy board): would create an art therapy board and an art therapy license under BHEC. - SB 1053 (criminal‑history consequences): a “second chance” style bill that would alter how criminal convictions affect occupational license eligibility.

Budget and agency requests Staff described five exceptional items the agency sought in the state budget process: a one‑time $125,000 request to design a new psychology exam; $837,000 to fund six positions (two attorneys, two licensing specialists, one administrative assistant, one ombudsman); $400,000 for a continuous query subscription to the National Practitioner Data Bank to limit licensees’ need to self‑report queries during renewals; and two smaller internal budget items. Staff said the $400,000 subscription was expected to be cheaper than hiring sufficient staff to process more than 30,000 self‑query reports at each renewal cycle.

Process and next steps Staff described how bills move through the Texas Legislature, the committee assignment process and that many bills are still in committee. The agency said it will publish rules in the Texas Register and seek public comment when appropriate, and staff invited stakeholders to email for the full list of tracked bills.

Quotes "We do not want to create a scheme where somebody can ... call it life coaching, and therefore, I am removed from your regulatory authority and can continue doing these things that are harmful to the public," Staff member, Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, said about proposed rule 8.84.10.

Ending Staff said the proposed complaint‑investigation rule will be posted to the Texas Register and returned to the council after the public comment period. The agency also told attendees it will continue tracking dozens of bills and will notify stakeholders of substantive changes; staff offered to send the full bill list by email to interested parties.