A view of the Pennsylvania state Capitol building from State Street in Harrisburg. (Tim Lambert/Pennsylvania Capital-Star).
Pennsylvania would recognize counseling credentials from other states under bills moving in both chambers of the state legislature.
In the state Senate, SB604 provides for the commonwealth to join more than three dozen other states as part of the Counseling Compact Commission.
“At the end of the day, this is not just about expanding care,” said sponsor Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton). “This is about keeping our talent right here in Pennsylvania. Without this flexibility, counselors may look across the border for jobs in other states that have already joined the compact. This helps keep us competitive and keeps Pennsylvania on a level playing field.”
The Senate sent the measure to the House Thursday. The bill’s companion HB668 passed the House in June.
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Five Republicans opposed the Senate measure because they think the setup gives the compact commission that oversees multi-state licensing of providers – which includes representatives from all member states – too much power.
One concern: the compact’s rules are automatically binding and supersede member states’ laws, at least initially. Member states’ legislatures can get rid of a rule if a majority passes laws to do so within four years.
Boscola noted the compact rules only would apply to counselors who’ve voluntarily obtained a multi-state certification.
The group would work like the others for nurses, doctors and physical therapists to which the commonwealth already belongs, she said.
“If this bill simply provided reciprocity and assurance of proper accreditation and licensing between states for licensed professional counselors, I would have supported it,” said state Sen. Dawn Keefer, (R-York/Cumberland), in an emailed statement.
Keefer said Pennsylvania already provides limited reciprocity for counselors licensed in other states.
“If these processes are cumbersome or difficult, let’s fix them,” she said. “But creating an independent, national bureaucracy for professionals to navigate and taxpayers to fund is not the solution.”
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Enabling legislation is identical in each of the member states, because it has to be, according to Jesse Monoski, executive director of the state Senate Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure Committee.
The commission expects to start taking applications for multi-state licenses this fall, Monoski said.
As for other interstate compacts for nurses, physicians and physical therapists, problems with the state’s background check system had prevented Pennsylvania-based professionals from getting multi-state credentials for years.
Just within the past couple weeks, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced “full integration” of the existing multi-state compacts. The Department of State and Governor’s Office haven’t provided information in response to requests for details about how prior issues were addressed.