Companion draft (08:16) favors preserving clinician judgment while permitting administrative AI

Committee members reviewed a companion draft (referred to as 08:16 in the session) that takes a narrower approach than some other drafts, emphasizing preservation of clinician judgment while allowing constrained AI uses.

Katie McLean summarized the bill's purpose: to "ensure therapeutic judgment, clinical decision making, and therapeutic communication remain the responsibility of qualified mental health professionals" and to allow administrative and quality‑improvement AI functions that support access and efficiency. The bill expressly defines generative AI, permitted administrative and supplementary support functions, and a broad list of mental‑health practitioners covered by the rules.

Permitted uses in the draft include scheduling, billing, coding, transcription and documentation with patient consent, de‑identified analytics for quality improvement and workforce planning, and operational functions so long as the mental‑health professional retains clinical responsibility. The draft also contains confidentiality and consent requirements for transcription and reporting tools and requires that such uses comply with existing health‑privacy statutes.

McLean noted exemptions for religious counseling, non‑certified peer support, and generalized educational and self‑help resources that do not purport to offer mental‑health services; the draft contains explicit consent language and makes clear that providers may disclose AI admin uses to clients. The bill takes effect on passage, according to McLean's summary.

Committee members said they prefer working through the bills section‑by‑section, asked for crosswalks, and planned to invite targeted witnesses to examine the technical and clinical boundaries of permitted AI uses.