SB425 - Makes revisions relating to health professions. (BDR 40-353)

S.B. 425 - *SB425* SENATE BILL NO. 425–COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (ON BEHALF OF THE JOINT INTERIM STANDING COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES) MARCH 24, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services SUMMARY—Makes revisions relating to health professions. (BDR 40-353) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No. Effect on the State: Yes. ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to health care; establishing the State Office of Health Care Workforce and Licensing in the Division of Public and Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services; providing for the appointment of and prescribing the duties of the Director of the Office; creating the Account for the State Office of Health Care Workforce and Licensing; transferring authority over certain programs to the Office; authorizing certain entities to consult with and request the assistance of the Director; creating the Board of Behavioral Health Professionals within the Office; prescribing certain requirements governing the operation of the Board; establishing and authorizing the establishment of certain advisory committees; eliminating the licensing boards that regulate certain behavioral health professions and transferring the responsibility for regulating those professions to the Board; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law requires the Division of Public and Behavioral Health of the 1 Department of Health and Human Services to perform certain duties relating to the 2 administration of public health and behavioral health in this State, including 3 – 2 – - *SB425* licensing and regulating certain health care facilities. (NRS 433.233-433.424, 4 439.150-439.263, chapter 449 of NRS, NRS 458.025-458.131) Section 6 of this 5 bill: (1) establishes the State Office of Health Care Workforce and Licensing within 6 the Division; and (2) requires the Administrator of the Division to appoint the 7 Director of the Office. Sections 2, 4 and 5 of this bill define certain terms relating 8 to the Office, and sections 3 and 10 of this bill establish the applicability of those 9 definitions. Section 7 of this bill requires the Director to perform certain duties 10 relating to the health care workforce in this State. Section 8 of this bill authorizes 11 the Director of the Office to accept gifts, grants and donations. Section 9 of this bill 12 establishes the Account for the State Office of Health Care Workforce and 13 Licensing to support the activities of the Office. 14 Existing law requires the Director of the Department to collect certain 15 information relating to demographics and practice conditions of providers of health 16 care and maintain a database of such information. (NRS 439A.116) Existing law 17 also requires the Department to: (1) collect certain additional information from 18 physicians concerning their employment; and (2) annually publish a report based on 19 such data. (NRS 439A.124) Existing law additionally establishes the Physician 20 Visa Waiver Program to facilitate the employment of certain foreign physicians in 21 this State. (NRS 439A.170) Sections 7, 11-15, 17-20, 85-101, 106, 110, 115, 121 22 and 128 of this bill transfer the authority to oversee and implement those programs 23 from the Director of the Department and the Department to the Director of the 24 Office and the Office. Section 145 of this bill eliminates certain unnecessary 25 definitions, and section 16 of this bill makes a conforming change to eliminate a 26 reference to those definitions. 27 Existing law establishes the Office of Science, Innovation and Technology in 28 the Office of the Governor. (NRS 223.600) Existing law requires the Office of 29 Science, Innovation and Technology to establish the Graduate Medical Education 30 Grant Program for the purpose of awarding grants to institutions seeking to create, 31 expand or retain accredited programs for residency training and postdoctoral 32 fellowships for physicians. (NRS 223.637) Existing law: (1) establishes the 33 Advisory Council on Graduate Medical Education within the Office of Science, 34 Innovation and Technology; and (2) requires the Council to make recommendations 35 to the Office concerning applications for grants pursuant to the Grant Program. 36 (NRS 223.633, 223.635) Sections 7 and 26-32 of this bill transfer oversight of the 37 Advisory Council and the responsibility for carrying out the Grant Program to 38 the State Office of Health Care Workforce and Licensing. Section 32 also revises 39 the recipients of an existing report concerning the Grant Program to additionally 40 include the Director of the Department and the Administrator. 41 Existing law establishes: (1) the Student Loan Repayment for Providers of 42 Health Care in Underserved Communities Program, which is administered by the 43 State Treasurer; and (2) various programs within the University of Nevada to 44 improve the health care workforce of this State. (NRS 226.450-226.466, 396.900- 45 396.908) Sections 33 and 44-49 of this bill authorize the State Treasurer and the 46 various entities within the University that are responsible for implementing those 47 programs to consult with and request the assistance of the Director of the Office. 48 Upon receiving such a request, section 7 requires the Director to engage in such 49 consultation and, within the limits of available resources, provide such assistance. 50 Existing law provides for the regulation of: (1) psychologists by the Board of 51 Psychological Examiners; (2) marriage and family therapists and clinical 52 professional counselors by the Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family 53 Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors; (3) social workers by the Board of 54 Examiners for Social Workers; (4) alcohol and drug counselors and problem 55 gambling counselors by the Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug and Gambling 56 Counselors; and (5) behavior analysts, assistant behavior analysts and 57 registered behavior technicians by the Board of Applied Behavior Analysis. 58 – 3 – - *SB425* (Chapters 641-641D of NRS) Section 146 of this bill eliminates those licensing 59 boards, and section 63 of this bill creates the Board of Behavioral Health 60 Professionals within the Office to replace the licensing boards eliminated by 61 section 146. Sections 43, 102, 108, 111, 116 and 123 of this bill transfer the 62 responsibility for regulating psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical 63 professional counselors, social workers, alcohol and drug counselors, problem 64 gambling counselors, behavior analysts, assistant behavior analysts and registered 65 behavior technicians to the Board. Section 70 of this bill requires the Board to 66 submit to the Legislature and each regional behavioral health policy board a report 67 currently submitted by certain licensing boards eliminated by section 146 that 68 contains information concerning investigations, disciplinary actions and 69 applications for licensure. (NRS 641.145, 641A.183, 641B.165, 641C.230) 70 Sections 60-62 of this bill define certain terms relating to the Board, and 71 section 59 of this bill establishes the applicability of those definitions. Sections 63- 72 67 of this bill prescribe various requirements concerning the procedures, officers, 73 training, compensation and records of the Board. Section 68 of this bill requires the 74 Director of the Office to manage the finances of the Board, and sections 69, 113 75 and 119 of this bill authorize the Director to maintain offices, employ persons and 76 enter into contracts on behalf of the Board. Section 25 of this bill exempts the 77 Board from certain requirements relating to financial records and legislative audits 78 that normally apply to professional licensing boards because the Board will not be 79 responsible for its own finances. Sections 38-42 of this bill instead subject the 80 actions taken by the Director pursuant to sections 68 and 69 to requirements 81 governing state employment and budgeting that apply to state agencies generally. 82 Sections 71-76 of this bill establish three advisory committees to advise the Board 83 and assist the Board with certain duties. Section 77 of this bill establishes 84 provisions governing the appointment and procedure of those advisory committees. 85 Section 78 of this bill authorizes the Director to establish additional permanent or 86 temporary committees to advise the Board concerning any aspect of its duties. 87 Sections 21, 22, 24, 34, 35, 37, 43, 50-57, 79-84, 104, 109, 113, 126, 127 and 88 129 of this bill make various conforming changes to ensure that: (1) the Board 89 assumes the powers and duties of the licensing boards eliminated by section 146 90 and is otherwise treated similarly to those licensing boards; and (2) the legal status 91 of behavioral health professionals is not changed by this bill. Sections 23, 36, 37, 92 104, 109, 113, 114, 118, 120, 122, 125 and 146 of this bill make additional 93 conforming changes to remove: (1) references to the eliminated boards from 94 sections that are not applicable to the Board; and (2) provisions that are duplicative 95 of sections 63-70 or are no longer applicable. Sections 103, 105, 107, 112, 117 and 96 124 of this bill make conforming changes to clarify the applicability of certain 97 provisions of existing law. Section 130 of this bill requires the Director to: (1) 98 collaborate with the Board when performing certain duties relating to the health 99 care workforce; and (2) provide support to the Board. 100 Section 137 of this bill requires the Division to: (1) develop a plan for 101 transferring the duties of the licensing boards eliminated by section 146 to the 102 Board; (2) present and adopt the plan at separate public meetings; and (3) notify 103 the Governor, the Legislature and the licensing boards eliminated by section 146 of 104 the date of the planned transition at least 90 days before that date. 105 – 4 – - *SB425* THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 439A of NRS is hereby amended by 1 adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 9, inclusive, 2 of this act. 3 Sec. 2. “Office” means the State Office of Health Care 4 Workforce and Licensing established in the Division by section 6 5 of this act. 6 Sec. 3. As used in NRS 223.631 to 223.639, inclusive, and 7 sections 3 to 9, inclusive, of this act, unless the context otherwise 8 requires, the words and terms defined in sections 4 and 5 of this 9 act have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections. 10 Sec. 4. “Administrator” means the Administrator of the 11 Division. 12 Sec. 5. “Division” means the Division of Public and 13 Behavioral Health of the Department. 14 Sec. 6. 1. The State Office of Health Care Workforce and 15 Licensing is hereby established in the Division. 16 2. The Administrator shall appoint the Director of the Office. 17 The Director of the Office must not hold a license, certificate or 18 registration issued pursuant to chapter 641, 641A, 641B, 641C or 19 641D of NRS. 20 3. The Director of the Office may not apply for any license, 21 certificate or registration pursuant to chapter 641, 641A, 641B, 22 641C or 641D of NRS while serving as Director of the Office or 23 for 5 years after leaving that office. Any application submitted in 24 violation of this section and any license, certificate or registration 25 issued upon the approval of such an application are void. 26 4. The Director of the Office shall devote his or her entire 27 time and attention to the business of the Office and shall not 28 engage in any other gainful employment or occupation. 29 5. The Director of the Office is in the unclassified service of 30 the State and serves at the pleasure of the Administrator. 31 Sec. 7. The Director of the Office shall: 32 1. Advise the Director of the Department and the 33 Administrator on matters relating to the health care workforce in 34 this State. 35 2. Work in coordination with the Department and the 36 Division to establish criteria and goals for the development and 37 diversification of the health care workforce in this State. 38 3. As directed by the Administrator, identify, recommend and 39 carry out policies related to the health care workforce in this State. 40 4. Report periodically to the Administrator concerning the 41 administration of the policies and programs of the Office. 42 – 5 – - *SB425* 5. Provide support to the Advisory Council on Graduate 1 Medical Education created by NRS 223.633 and implement the 2 Graduate Medical Education Grant Program established pursuant 3 to NRS 223.637. 4 6. Recommend to the Legislature the enactment, amendment 5 or repeal of statutes as necessary to: 6 (a) Support an adequate health care workforce to meet the 7 demand of consumers for behavioral health services and other 8 health services; 9 (b) Prevent harm to the health, safety and financial welfare of 10 the public; and 11 (c) Remove requirements relating to providers of health care 12 that are no longer needed to protect the public or are not effective 13 at improving the delivery of behavioral health services and other 14 health services. 15 7. Administer such grants as are provided by legislative 16 appropriation. 17 8. Consult with and, within the limits of available resources, 18 provide assistance to the State Treasurer, the Board of Regents of 19 the University of Nevada, the University of Nevada School of 20 Medicine, the Nevada Office of Rural Health, the Area Health 21 Education Center Program and the Medical Education Council of 22 Nevada when requested pursuant to NRS 226.464, 396.898, 23 396.902, 396.905, 396.906, 396.907 or 396.908. 24 9. Carry out: 25 (a) The programs established by NRS 439A.111 to 439A.126, 26 inclusive, for collecting information from certain providers of 27 health care; and 28 (b) The Physician Visa Waiver Program established by NRS 29 439A.130 to 439A.185, inclusive. 30 Sec. 8. The Director of the Office may: 31 1. Accept any gift, donation, bequest or devise; and 32 2. Apply for and accept any grant, loan or other source of 33 money, 34  to assist the Director in carrying out his or her duties. 35 Sec. 9. [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]