This substitute amendment provides for licensure and regulation of behavior
analysts. Under the substitute amendment, no person may engage in the practice
of behavior analysis unless the person has been granted a license by the Department
of Regulation and Licensing (department). The substitute amendment defines the
practice of behavior analysis as the design, implementation, and evaluation of
systematic instructional and environmental modifications to produce socially
significant improvements in human behavior, including the empirical identification
of functional relations between behavior and environmental factors, including
interventions based on scientific research and the direct observation and
measurement of behavior and environment. The practice of behavior analysis does
not include psychological testing, neuropsychology, psychotherapy, cognitive
therapy, sex therapy, marriage counseling, psychoanalysis, hypnotherapy, and
long-term counseling as treatment modalities. The substitute amendment provides
that the licensure requirement may not be applied to restrict the practice of behavior
analysis within the scope of practice of a licensed professional who is not a behavior
analyst, if the professional does not represent that he or she is a behavior analyst.
An unlicensed person who practices behavior analysis is subject to a fine up to $250,
up to three months in jail, or both.

The department must grant a license to an applicant who submits an
application, an initial credential, and evidence that the applicant is certified as a
behavior analyst by the private organization Behavior Analyst Certification Board,
Inc. (board), except that the department may not grant a license to an applicant who
has been convicted of certain crimes specified in the substitute amendment. The
substitute amendment authorizes the department to promulgate rules regarding the
practice of behavior analysis, including rules authorizing the issuance of temporary
permits to practice behavior analysis, but any rules must be consistent with
standards established by the board. The department may not promulgate rules that
impose additional educational requirements; that require a behavior analyst to
practice under supervision by, or in collaboration with, another health care provider;
that require a behavior analyst to enter into an agreement with another health care
provider; or that limit the location where a behavior analyst may practice.

The substitute amendment requires a behavior analyst to provide to a client a
summary of the behavior analyst's experience and training and a copy of any rules
promulgated by the department. The substitute amendment also authorizes the
department to discipline a behavior analyst who engages in unprofessional conduct
or who commits any other infraction identified in the substitute amendment.

Under current law, health insurance policies and self-insured governmental
and school district health plans are required to cover a specified amount of
intensive-level services and nonintensive-level services provided to an insured for

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the treatment of autism, Asperger's syndrome, and pervasive developmental
disorder not otherwise specified as long as the treatment is prescribed by a physician
and provided by any of the following providers who are qualified to provide
intensive-level services or nonintensive-level services: a psychiatrist; a
psychologist; a social worker who is certified or licensed to practice psychotherapy;
a paraprofessional working under the supervision of any of those three types of
providers; a professional working under the supervision of an outpatient mental
health clinic; a speech-language pathologist; or an occupational therapist. The
substitute amendment provides that the coverage must also apply to services
provided by a behavior analyst who is licensed to practice behavior analysis by the
department or by a paraprofessional working under the supervision of such a
behavior analyst, if the behavior analyst or paraprofessional is qualified to provide
intensive-level services or nonintensive-level services.