08 LC 36
0459
House
Bill 942
By:
Representatives Marin of the
96th,
Floyd of the
99th,
and Thomas of the
100th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 10A of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to professional counselors, social workers, and marriage and family
therapists, so as to provide for temporary permits for foreign-born
professional counselors for whom English is a second language to practice as
professional counselors; to establish a time limit for such temporary permits;
to require persons issued temporary permits to practice as professional
counselors only under direction and supervision; to limit the practice of
persons issued temporary permits; to establish a date for repeal; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
10A of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
professional counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists, is
amended by revising Code Section 43-10A-9, relating to examinations, as
follows:
"43-10A-9.
(a)
The board shall provide for the conduct of examinations for licensure in each
specialty at least twice a year. Examinations may be written, oral,
experiential, or any combination thereof and shall deal with such theoretical
and applied fields as prescribed by the board. The examinee´s name shall
not be disclosed to any person grading the examination until that grading is
complete.
(b)
A foreign-born resident of this state shall be eligible for a temporary permit
to practice as a professional counselor if he or she:
(1)
Possesses a license to practice as a professional counselor in a foreign country
and has practiced professionally in such country;
(2)
Speaks and writes English as a second language; and
(3)
Meets the education, experience, and training requirements in Code Section
43-10A-11.
Such
temporary permit shall be valid for two years or until a license is issued,
whichever comes first, and shall not be renewable. A person issued a temporary
permit shall practice only under direction and under the supervision of a
supervisor as defined in paragraph (16) of Code Section 43-10A-3 and shall limit
his or her practice primarily to persons with whom he or she shares a language
fluency."
SECTION
2.
The
subsection (a) designation and subsection (b) of Code Section 43-10A-9 enacted
by Section 1 of this Act shall be repealed on December 31, 2012.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.