Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Counseling Compact topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee considers AB163 to join interstate counseling compact to expand access and telehealth
Summary
Assembly Bill 163 would authorize Nevada’s entry into the Counseling Compact to streamline licensure portability for licensed professional counselors, permit telehealth practice across member states, and build a shared licensure data system. Sponsors and supporters said the compact would help address Nevada’s mental health workforce shortage.
CARSON CITY — Assembly Bill 163, which would join Nevada to the interstate Counseling Compact for licensed professional counselors, received broad support Tuesday at a Commerce and Labor Committee hearing as sponsors and multiple stakeholders cited workforce shortages and the potential for telehealth to extend services to rural communities.
“Nearly every county in our state is designated as a mental health professional shortage area,” said former Assemblywoman Sarah Peters, who co-presented AB163 with sponsor Assemblyman Gregory Hafen II. Peters cited low counselor-to-resident ratios and said the compact would “allow licensed professional counselors from other participating states to practice in Nevada without unnecessary licensure barriers.”
Sponsor Gregory Hafen said the compact reduces administrative duplication, preserves each state’s scope-of-practice laws and helps military families and mobile professionals who face delays when relicensing across states.
How it would work: Testimony from Elijah Wion and other presenters outlined that the compact establishes a multistate commission, a shared data system for licensure and disciplinary records, and criteria for privilege-to-practice, including education and examination requirements. The presenters said the compact explicitly includes telehealth; licensees practicing into Nevada under the compact must obey Nevada law and scope of practice when treating Nevada residents.
Supporters who testified included the Nevada State Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors, NAMI Nevada, the Vegas Chamber, the Department of Defense’s Defense State Liaison Office (which highlighted benefits for military spouses), the Nevada Policy Research Institute and rural behavioral health coordinators. Joelle McNutt, executive director of the state licensure board, said the board supports joining but requested that Nevada add a jurisprudence exam; she said that request is permitted under compact language and would ensure incoming practitioners understand Nevada law and regulations.
Committee members asked operational questions about the compact’s data system, background checks and identifying practitioners. Carl Sims with the Council of State Governments, serving as a compact resource, told the committee the compact allows a National Provider Identifier (NPI) to be used where a U.S. Social Security number may not be available, such as for certain credentialing or tax-identification purposes. Sims said roughly 400,000 counseling professionals exist nationwide but could not immediately provide a precise count of counselors in compact member states.
Multiple witnesses said joining the compact could shorten the time for credential verification and background checks from months to weeks, enabling counselors to begin practicing more quickly in Nevada.
There was no recorded opposition testimony in committee; the hearing closed without a formal vote on AB163.
