TEMP. LIMITED LICENSE IN PSYCHOLOGY S.B. 634:
SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 634 (as introduced 10-17-17)
Sponsor: Senator Wayne Schmidt
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to provide that a temporary limited license in psychology (LLP) would be valid for 24 months and could be renewed either for one additional 24-month term, if the licensee were obtaining postdoctoral experience, or for three additional 24-month terms if the LLP were granted to an individual who was enrolled in a doctoral degree program.
Under the Code, the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, in consultation with the Michigan Board of Psychology, must promulgate rules requiring an individual, in order to be granted a limited license in psychology, to have been granted a doctoral degree in psychology, or a doctoral degree in a closely related field, from a doctoral program that meets certain requirements, and to have at least one year of postdoctoral experience in the practice of psychology in an organized health care setting or other arrangement, as established by the Board.
The Board must grant an LLP to an individual granted a master's degree in psychology from a regionally accredited college, or university, or Board-approved institution, if the individual has education, training, and experience appropriate to the practice of psychology, as established by the Board.
The Board must grant a temporary LLP to an individual who meets the requirements to be granted an LLP for the purpose of obtaining the required year of postdoctoral experience. Under the bill, beginning December 31, 2017, a temporary LLP that was granted for this purpose would be valid for 24 months and could be renewed for one additional 24-month term. If the Board granted a temporary LLP to an individual before December 31, 2017, the temporary LLP could be renewed for one additional 24-month term.
The bill also would require the Board to grant a temporary LLP to an individual enrolled in a doctoral program that met the requirements specified in the Code. Beginning December 31, 2017, a temporary LLP that was granted under this provision would be valid for 24 months and could be renewed for three additional 24-month terms. If an individual enrolled in a doctoral program were granted a temporary LLP by the Board before December 31, 2017, his or her temporary LLP could be renewed for three additional 24-month terms.
(A doctoral program in psychology must be offered by a regionally accredited or other college, university, or Board-approved institution, and include education and training appropriate to the practice of psychology; and must have obtained the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards' national register designation, been accredited by the American Psychological Association or the Canadian Psychological Association, or obtained a similar designation from or been accredited by a Board-approved entity.)