ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Forty-ninth Legislature, First Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2207
behavior analysts
Purpose
Specifies additional requirements for the
licensure and regulation of behavior analysts by the Board of Psychologist
Examiners.
Background
Laws 2008, Chapter 288, established a licensure and
regulatory framework for behavior analysts under the Board of Psychologist
Examiners (Board). The legislation required a person who wishes to practice as a
behavior analyst to be licensed by the Board beginning January 1, 2010.
Additionally, the legislation outlined the educational and experience
requirements of licensees and enumerated the duties of the Board, including the
licensing and regulating of behavior analysts, prescribing fees, conducting
investigations of complaints and taking disciplinary action. Finally, the law
designated acts of unprofessional conduct and established grounds for
disciplinary action.
Behavior analysis is defined as the design, implementation and evaluation of systematic
environmental modifications by a behavior analyst to produce socially
significant improvements in human behavior (A.R.S. § 32-2091).
The fiscal impact as a result of this legislation is
undetermined at this time.
Provisions
1.
Allows the Board to accept, expend and account for gifts, grants,
devises and other contributions, money or property from any public or private
source, including the federal government.
2.
Requires the Board to deposit monies received from gifts, grants,
devises and other contributions, money or property from any public or private
source in designated special funds. Specifies that these monies are exempt
from lapsing.
3.
Separates the accounting of monies in the Board of Psychologist Examiners
Fund (Fund) according to the monies received for psychologist licensing and
regulation and monies received for behavior analyst licensing and regulation.
4.
Specifies that monies in the Fund may only be used for licensing and
regulating the profession from which or on whose behalf the monies were
received.
5.
Directs the Board to establish a separate account in the Fund for any
monies transferred or received in the Fund for the licensing and regulation of
behavior analysts.
6.
Delays by one year the implementation of the requirement for behavior
analysts to be licensed, from January 1, 2010, to January 1, 2011.
7.
Allows the Board to issue a reciprocal license to a behavior analyst who
is licensed or certified as a behavior analyst by another state if the other
state’s license or certificate requirements are substantially equivalent to
those required in Arizona.
8.
Authorizes the Board to prescribe fees by rule for temporary licenses or
permanent license renewal or reinstatement.
9.
Prohibits the Board from considering a complaint against a judicially
appointed behavior analyst arising out of a court-ordered evaluation to present
a charge of unprofessional conduct, unless the court ordering the evaluation
finds a substantial basis to refer the complaint for consideration by the
Board.
10. Establishes
representing oneself as a psychologist or permitting others to do so, if the
behavior analyst is not also licensed as a psychologist, as an act of
unprofessional conduct.
11. Defines
the term incompetent as a behavior analyst to mean that a person
licensed as a behavior analyst lacks the knowledge or skills of a behavior
analyst to a degree that is likely to endanger the health of a client.
12. Modifies
the definition of health care institution to exclude a person authorized
to transact disability or group and blanket disability insurance or a person
issued a health care services organization certificate.
13. Contains
a conditional delayed repeal clause, stating that licensing and regulation of
behavior analysts under the Board is repealed on July 1, 2010, unless the Board
receives at least $36,000 for the start-up costs of behavior analyst licensing
and regulation and the monies received for these purposes are not transferred
to the state General Fund before that date or before the Board can begin to
license and regulate behavior analysts.
14. Requires
the Board to notify in writing the Director of the Arizona Legislative Council
of the date on which the condition is met or not met.
15. Extends
the Board’s exemption from rule making requirements for purposes of licensing
and regulating behavior analysts, from two years to three years.
16. Becomes
effective on the general effective date.
House
Action
HHS 2/11/09
DPA 8-1-0-0
APPROP 2/18/09
DP 9-2-0-2
3rd
Read 6/10/09 55-2-3-0
Prepared
by Senate Research
June
22, 2009
ER/jas
