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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
licensure renewal; fee waiver
Purpose
Requires the Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (Board) to waive the renewal fee for an associate level license if the licensee submits a renewal application while an application for independent licensure is pending.
Background
The Board was established in 1989 to provide voluntary certification to professionals in the fields of counseling, marriage and family therapy, social work and substance abuse counseling. In 2003, the Legislature established mandatory licensure for these four professions (Laws 2003, Ch. 65; Board). The Board's responsibilities include: 1) adopting rules to enforce requirements related to the licensure of behavioral health professionals; 2) licensure of behavioral health professionals, at both the associate and independent levels; 3) maintaining records of all licensed behavioral health professionals, all actions taken on applications for licensure, and actions involving the renewal, suspension, revocation or denial of a license; 4) conducting investigations to determine whether a licensee or applicant has engaged in unprofessional conduct, is incompetent or is mentally or physically unable to engage in the practice of behavioral health; 5) conducting disciplinary actions; and 6) establishing and collecting fees (A.R.S. § 32-3253).
Fees charged by the Board for licensure and license renewal are limited to $500 and may not increase by more than $25 each year. The fees established by the Board must produce monies that approximate the cost of maintaining the Board. The Board must waive the application fee for independent level licensure for any applicant who has paid the fee for an initial or renewal associate level license and applies for an independent level license within 90 days of payment of the fee (A.R.S. § 32-3272).
H.B. 2473 requires waiver of a fee that would otherwise be deposited in the Board of Behavioral Health Examiners Fund, of which 10 percent is deposited into the state General Fund (state GF) (A.R.S. § 32-3254). For this reason, there may be a fiscal impact to the state GF.
Provisions
1. Requires the Board to waive the renewal fee for an associate level license if the licensee has submitted a renewal application and the licensee's application for independent licensure is pending at the time of renewal.
2. Makes technical changes.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
RA 2/7/24 DP 6-0-0-0
3rd Read 2/20/24 56-1-2-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 1, 2024
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