1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health; transferring oversight authority
1.3 	for the Office of Mental Health Practice; requiring a
1.4 	report; appropriating money; amending Minnesota
1.5 	Statutes 2004, sections 148B.60; 148B.61; Laws 2003,
1.6 	chapter 118, section 29, as amended.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 148B.60, is
1.9 	amended to read:
1.10 	148B.60 DEFINITIONS.
1.11 		Subdivision 1.Terms. As used in sections 148B.60 to
1.12 	148B.71, the following terms have the meanings given them in
1.13 	this section.
1.14 		Subd. 2.Office of mental health practice or office.
 1.15 	"Office of Mental Health Practice" or "office" means the Office
1.16 	of Mental Health Practice established authorized in section
1.17 	148B.61.
1.18 		Subd. 3.Unlicensed mental health practitioner or
1.19 	practitioner. "Unlicensed mental health practitioner" or
1.20 	"practitioner" means a person who provides or purports to
1.21 	provide, for remuneration, mental health services as defined in
1.22 	subdivision 4.  It does not include persons licensed by the
1.23 	Board of Medical Practice under chapter 147 or registered by the
1.24 	Board of Medical Practice under chapter 147A; the Board of
1.25 	Nursing under sections 148.171 to 148.285; the Board of
1.26 	Psychology under sections 148.88 to 148.98; the Board of Social
2.1 	Work under sections 148B.18 to 148B.289; the Board of Marriage
2.2 	and Family Therapy under sections 148B.29 to 148B.39; the Board
2.3 	of Behavioral Health and Therapy under sections 148B.50 to
2.4 	148B.593 and chapter 148C; or another licensing board if the
2.5 	person is practicing within the scope of the license; members of
2.6 	the clergy who are providing pastoral services in the context of
2.7 	performing and fulfilling the salaried duties and obligations
2.8 	required of a member of the clergy by a religious congregation;
2.9 	American Indian medicine men and women; licensed attorneys;
2.10 	probation officers; licensed school counselors employed by a
2.11 	school district while acting within the scope of employment as
2.12 	school counselors; registered licensed occupational therapists;
2.13 	or licensed occupational therapy assistants.  For the purposes
2.14 	of complaint investigation or disciplinary action relating to an
2.15 	individual practitioner, the term includes:
2.16 	(1) persons employed by a program licensed by the
2.17 	commissioner of human services who are acting as mental health
2.18 	practitioners within the scope of their employment;
2.19 	(2) persons employed by a program licensed by the
2.20 	commissioner of human services who are providing chemical
2.21 	dependency counseling services; persons who are providing
2.22 	chemical dependency counseling services in private practice; and
2.23 	(3) clergy who are providing mental health services that
2.24 	are equivalent to those defined in subdivision 4.
2.25 		Subd. 4.Mental health services. "Mental health
2.26 	services" means psychotherapy, behavioral health care, spiritual
2.27 	counseling, hypnosis when not for entertainment,and the
2.28 	professional assessment, treatment, or counseling of another
2.29 	person for a cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social, or mental
2.30 	condition, symptom, or dysfunction, including intrapersonal or
2.31 	interpersonal dysfunctions.  The term does not include pastoral
2.32 	services provided by members of the clergy to members of a
2.33 	religious congregation in the context of performing and
2.34 	fulfilling the salaried duties and obligations required of a
2.35 	member of the clergy by that religious congregation.
2.36 		Subd. 5.Mental health client or client. "Mental health
3.1 	client" or "client" means a person who receives or pays for the
3.2 	services of a mental health practitioner.
3.3 		Subd. 5a.Mental-health-related licensing
3.4 	boards. "Mental-health-related licensing boards" means the
3.5 	Boards of Medical Practice, Nursing, Psychology, Social Work,
3.6 	Marriage and Family Therapy, and Behavioral Health and Therapy.
3.7 		Subd. 7.Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the
3.8 	commissioner of health or the commissioner's designee.
3.9 		Subd. 7a.Committee. "Committee" means the Office of
3.10 	Mental Health Practices Committee, consisting of one person
3.11 	appointed by each of the following licensing boards:  the Board
3.12 	of Medical Practice; the Board of Nursing; the Board of
3.13 	Psychology; the Board of Social Work; the Board of Marriage and
3.14 	Family Therapy; and the Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy.
3.15 		Subd. 8.Disciplinary action. "Disciplinary action"
3.16 	means an adverse action taken by the commissioner against an
3.17 	unlicensed mental health practitioner relating to the person's
3.18 	right to provide mental health services.

3.19 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 148B.61, is
3.20 	amended to read:
3.21 	148B.61 OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE.
3.22 		Subdivision 1.creation authority. (a) The Office of
3.23 	Mental Health Practice is created in the Department of Health 
3.24 	transferred to the mental-health-related licensing boards and
3.25 	authorized to investigate complaints and take and enforce
3.26 	disciplinary actions against all unlicensed mental health
3.27 	practitioners for violations of prohibited conduct, as defined
3.28 	in section 148B.68.
3.29 	(b) The office shall publish a complaint telephone number,
3.30 	provide an informational Web site, and also serve as a referral
3.31 	point and clearinghouse on complaints against mental health
3.32 	services and both licensed and unlicensed mental health
3.33 	professionals, through the dissemination of practitioners.  The
3.34 	office shall disseminate objective information to consumers and 
3.35 	through the development and performance of public education
3.36 	activities, including outreach, regarding the provision of
4.1 	mental health services and both licensed and unlicensed mental
4.2 	health professionals who provide these services.
4.3 		Subd. 2.Rulemaking. The commissioner of health shall
4.4 	adopt rules necessary to implement, administer, or enforce
4.5 	provisions of sections 148B.60 to 148B.71 pursuant to chapter
4.6 	14.  The commissioner may not adopt rules that restrict or
4.7 	prohibit persons from providing mental health services on the
4.8 	basis of education, training, experience, or supervision.
4.9 		Subd. 4.Management, report, and sunset of the
4.10 	office. (a) The committee shall:
4.11 	(1) designate one board to provide administrative
4.12 	management of the program;
4.13 	(2) set the program budget; and 
4.14 	(3) ensure that the program's direction is in accord with
4.15 	its authority.
4.16 	(b) If the participating boards change which board is
4.17 	designated to provide administrative management of the program,
4.18 	any appropriation remaining for the program shall transfer to
4.19 	the newly designated board on the effective date of the change.
4.20 	The participating boards must inform the appropriate legislative
4.21 	committees and the commissioner of finance of any change in the
4.22 	designated board and the amount of any appropriation transferred
4.23 	under this provision.
4.24 	(c) The designated board shall hire the office employees
4.25 	and pay expenses of the program from funds appropriated for that
4.26 	purpose.
4.27 	(d) After July 1, 2008, the committee shall prepare and
4.28 	submit a report to the legislature by January 15, 2009,
4.29 	evaluating the activity of the office and making recommendations
4.30 	concerning the regulation of unlicensed mental health
4.31 	practitioners.  In the absence of legislative action to continue
4.32 	the office, the committee and the office expire on June 30, 2009.

4.33 	Sec. 3. Laws 2003, chapter 118, section 29, as amended by
4.34 	Laws 2004, chapter 279, article 5, section 10, is amended to
4.35 	read:
4.36 	Sec. 29REPEALER.
 5.1 	(a) Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 148B.60; 148B.61;
5.2 	148B.63; 148B.64; 148B.65; 148B.66; 148B.67; 148B.68; 148B.69;
5.3 	148B.70; and 148B.71, are repealed.

5.4 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This paragraph is effective July 1,
5.5 	2005 2009.
5.6 	(b) Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 148C.01, subdivision
5.7 	6, is repealed.

5.8 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This paragraph is effective July 1, 2005.

5.9 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATION.
 5.10 	$....... is appropriated from the state government special
5.11 	revenue fund to the mental-health-related licensing boards as
5.12 	nonrecovery funds.

5.13 	Sec. 5. REVISOR INSTRUCTION.
 5.14 	The revisor of statutes shall insert "committee" or
5.15 	"committee's" wherever "commissioner of health" or
5.16 	"commissioner's" appears in Minnesota Statutes, sections 148B.60
5.17 	to 148B.71.

5.18 	Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 5.19 	This act is effective July 1, 2005.