New Mexico
Register / Volume XXXV, Issue 9 / May 7, 2024
NOTICE OF PUBLIC RULE HEARING AND BOARD MEETING
The New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board will
hold a rule hearing on Friday, June 7, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., immediately followed
by a meeting of the board to consider any public comment and adoption of the
proposed rules listed below.
Public participation is welcomed, and comments may be
submitted in writing during the public comment period, or in person during the
public rule hearing. The hearing and subsequent meeting will take place at the
Regulation and Licensing Department, Toney Anaya, located at 2550 Cerrillos
Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The hearing and subsequent meeting may also be
accessed virtually via Microsoft Teams.
Meeting
Link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting
Meeting ID: 273 695 579 204 Passcode: qz6R2w
or
Join by Phone: +1-505-312-4308
Phone Access Code: 768 851 482#
The purpose of the rule hearing is to consider
proposed amendments to the following board rules:
16.27.3 NMAC Application Procedures,
Initial Licenses, and License Period;
16.27.17 NMAC Fees;
16.27.18 NMAC Code of Ethics;
Copies of the proposed rule may be obtained through
the board website or contacting the Board Administrator through the information
below:
https://www.rld.nm.gov/boards-and-commissions/individual-boards-and-commissions/counseling-and-therapy-practice/board-information/ct-board-meetings/
Jen Rodgers, Sr. Board Administrator
(505) 476-4607 Board Administrator Direct Line
Counseling.board@rld.nm.gov
Written comment will be accepted during the public
comment period, up until Friday, June 7, 2024, and may be submitted either by
email or by postal mail to the following addresses:
counseling.board@rld.nm.gov
Attn: New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board
P.O. Box 25101
Santa Fe, NM 87504
Written comments received during the public comment
period prior to the public rule hearing will be posted to the board website
page linked above. Public comment will also be accepted during the rule hearing
and may be submitted in writing or presented orally by those attending both
in-person and virtually. The board will not enter into substantive discussion
of public comments during the rule hearing, but will
consider and deliberate any public comment during the board meeting immediately
following the conclusion of the public rule hearing.
The agenda for the board meeting, which will begin
immediately after the public rule hearing, will available no less than 72 hours
prior to the meeting, and available on the Board website linked above or by
contacting the Board Administrator.
An individual with a disability who is
in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or
other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing,
please contact the Board Administrator.
Statutory Authority:
The proposed
rule changes are authorized by the Counseling and Therapy Practice Act,
Sections 61-9A-1 through 61-9A-30 NMSA 1978, which provides explicit authority
for the board to promulgate rules to protect public health and safety and carry
out the provisions of the Act.
The rulemaking
and public rule hearing is governed by the State Rules Act, Sections 14-4-1
through 14-4-11 NMSA 1978, and the Default Procedural Rule for Rulemaking
promulgated by the New Mexico Department of Justice, Parts 1.24.25.1 through
1.24.25.16 NMAC.
Purpose of Proposed Rules:
The proposed
rule changes are intended to clarify the rules for Inactive licenses,
continuing education requirements, record retention requirements, and honest
advertising. More generally, the proposed rules are intended to provide greater
clarity in existing regulatory and statutory requirements, ensure continued
high levels of professionalism among licensees and certificate holders, and to
generally satisfy the Boards statutory obligation to promote, preserve and
protect the public health, safety and welfare.
Summary of
Proposed Changes:
16.27.3 NMAC Application Procedures, Initial
Licenses, and License Period;
This change will clarify that Inactive licensees do
not have a continuing education requirement but do have a fee and must renew
their license every other year. It will
also allow newly licensed individuals (licensees who have held a license less
than two years) to only have to complete half of the
continuing education requirements of those whose license was held for two years
or more.
16.27.17 NMAC Fees;
This repeal and replace of the rule will allow the
board to collect inactive license fees every two years.
16.27.18 NMAC Code of Ethics;
This change will establish that all
licensees must have a record retention and succession plan and to ensure that
licensees advertise their licenses truthfully.