Copyright © 2024 Texas Counseling Association. A branch of the American Counseling Association. Website powered by MemberLeap.
Counseling Awareness Month begins tomorrow! We want to especially thank the Texas Counseling Association community for continuing to provide accessible, inclusive, ethical, and effective services that strengthen the mental health and well-being of Texans. We would also like to thank Governor Abbott for honoring counselors’ work and signing the Counseling Awareness Month Proclamation. This month brings TCA members an opportunity to speak up and make our voices heard to support good legislation and oppose legislation that is not so good. With some major issues catching steam, there are plenty of ways to get involved!
The House will begin floor debate next week on HB 1, the Appropriations Bill. We anticipate a lively and robust floor debate. As we reported previously, HB 1 does align with SB 1 to increase funding for the Mental Health Professionals Loan Repayment Program; HB 1 also removes all funding from institutions of higher education for diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives.
Reminder: If you ever want to watch proceedings in committees or on the floor of the House or Senate, you can find all video feeds for the Senate here and for the House here. You can also go back and watch archived videos of hearings and floor sessions that have already happened. The video tends to get posted very quickly after a hearing ends.
ACTION ALERTS: TCA Bills on the Move
HB 2557 by Rep. Brad Buckley, which would authorize Texas to join the Interstate Counseling Compact, has been set for a hearing in the House Human Services Committee at 8 a.m. Tuesday. This is a very important bill for TCA members because it would allow LPCs in Texas to see clients in other states participating in the Compact (currently 19 other states have joined the Compact), it would streamline licensing, and it would create continuity of care. Please refer to this one-page summary for more information and talking points on why this bill is so important. Contact the members of the Human Services Committee and submit written comments virtually to urge them to vote this bill out of committee. Directions on submitting virtual comments on at the bottom of the hearing notice. Now is the time to seize on this momentum.
HB 1879 by Rep. Darby (R-San Angelo) was heard in the House Human Services Committee and left pending. As filed, HB 1879 adds LPC-Associates, LMFT-Associates and LMSWs under supervision to become LCSWs to the list of approved Medicaid providers. While TCA supports HB 1879, we hope to make it even better. TCA testified on the bill and is encouraging Rep. Darby to submit a committee substitute that would create pay parity by adding language to require Medicaid to reimburse LPCs, LCSWs, and LMFTs at 100% of the rate that psychologists are paid for providing the same service using the same billing codes. Unfortunately, the Texas Psychological Association is expressing opposition to creating pay parity. TCA needs your help to persuade Rep. Darby and the members of the House Human Services Committee that this amendment will help increase access to care by growing the number of providers who can accept Medicaid. PLEASE CALL Rep. Darby at (512)463-0331 AND your representative on the House Human Services Committee and ask them to support pay parity for LPCs by adopting a committee substitute to HB 1879 which would require Medicaid to reimburse LPCs, LCSWs, and LMFTs at 100% of the rate paid to psychologists.
SB 798 by Sen. Mayes Middleton was voted out the Senate Education Committee. This is the bill that would remove classroom teaching experience as a requirement for school counselor certification. TCA is working to amend this bill on the Senate floor to add requirements in lieu of classroom teaching experience. Most states that do not require classroom teaching experience do require either a Masters in School Counseling, year-long supervision, or additional coursework specific to school counseling to become certified as a school counselor. We have prepared an updated position paper on this legislation and we ask you to contact your Texas State Senator and ask them to support a floor amendment that would require other types of training related to being a school counselor if classroom experience is no longer required.
Other Bills in Committees Next Week
HB 400 by Rep. Stephanie Klick will be heard in the House Higher Education Committee at 10 am Monday. This bill would direct the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create incentive programs allowing institutions of higher education to provide incentive funding and stipends to faculty working to increase mental health professionals in targeted, underserved communities.
HB 667 by Rep. Johnson would create a license for music therapists. It will be heard by the House Public Health Committee at 9 a.m. Monday.
HB 2361 by Rep. Four Price would allow LMHAs and school districts to hire LMSWs and LPC-Associates to deliver mental health services if other providers are unavailable. It will be heard during a meeting of the House Select Committee on Youth Health & Safety that will begin Monday at 2:30 p.m. or upon adjournment of the House.
HB 3642 by Rep. James Talarico would allow school districts to spend their School Safety Allotment on professional development on classroom behavior management. It will also be heard during a meeting of the House Select Committee on Youth Health & Safety that will begin Monday at 2:30 p.m. or upon adjournment of the House.
What Happened This Week
HB 2929 by Rep. J.M. Lozano has been voted out by the House Public Education Committee and is headed to the Calendars Committee, which schedules bills for debate by the full House of Representatives. This bill would remove the 25% cap on school counselors’ professional development in core content areas.
HB 1167 by Rep. Ramon Romero has been voted out of the House Human Services Committee. This bill would make it easier for well-qualified LPCs, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists and Social Workers from other states to move here and obtain a Texas license. It would also change "temporary license" to "LPC Associate" in statute. An identical bill, Senate Bill 47 by Sen. Zaffirini, has been referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee but has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. For more information, please refer to our position paper on these bills.
HB 1157 by Rep. Lozano, which would excuse student absences for meetings with mental health providers, has been reported out of committee and recommended for the Local and Consent Calendar. The bills on this calendar are generally considered either noncontroversial or local in nature and often move through the House with little debate. The Local and Consent Calendars Committee will decide whether to schedule the bill for debate by the full House. You can find our position paper on the bill here.
Finally, there has been movement on several bills this week that do not align with TCA's Public Policy Priorities:
Next Advocacy Day is April 11
Please join us at the Capitol on April 11 for our next TCA Advocacy Day. Representative Janie Lopez will be recognizing us in the House. You don’t want to miss that! You can sign up here. We hope to see you there.
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact jan@txca.org.
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