Oregon Senate passes bill creating licensure pathway for youth behavioral health workers

The Oregon State Senate passed Senate Bill 1547 on Feb. 11, creating a licensure pathway for a new category called licensed behavioral health and wellness practitioners, supporters said, to expand access to prevention‑focused mental health services for young Oregonians.

Senator Rachel Reynolds, the measure’s floor sponsor, told colleagues the new license would cover a bachelor’s‑level, prevention‑focused provider who could work in schools and community clinics to fill gaps in youth behavioral health. "This is the licensed behavioral health and wellness practitioner, which is a bachelor's level prevention focused provider," Reynolds said, arguing the bill will grow the workforce needed for upstream care.

Reynolds noted the state’s youth mental health crisis and cited institutions stepping up to help, including the Ballmer Institute at the University of Oregon. The bill had passed unanimously from the Senate Committee on Early Childhood and Behavioral Health, she said, and urged senators to continue that committee support on the floor.

There was no substantive floor debate recorded. The clerk called the roll for final passage; the clerk recorded 27 ayes and at least one nay (Senator Gorsuch). The Presiding Officer declared Senate Bill 1547 passed after receiving a constitutional majority. The bill’s text, as read on the calendar, includes a provision "to prescribing an effective date," but the session transcript does not state the precise effective date.

The measure now moves through the enactment process indicated in law; the transcript does not specify subsequent administrative steps or implementation timelines.