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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2025 - 2026
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 2, 2024 11:23 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa M. Boscola and Sen. Judith L. Schwank |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Authorizing Pennsylvania to Join the National Counseling Compact |
| We will be reintroducing legislation which would authorize the Commonwealth to join the National Counseling Compact. This compact is an occupational licensure agreement based on the mutual recognition of both education and practices for counselors across multiple states. Thirty-Seven states already have enacted compact laws, including our neighbors in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, and West Virginia. The compact works by permitting a practitioner's home state license to be mutually recognized by other compact member states based on a set of criteria laid out within the language of the compact. This model also provides counselors and their patients to have more opportunity as to where and how they provide treatment. Post-pandemic, it is well known the importance of prioritizing the physical and mental health of Pennsylvanians of all ages. By joining the National Counseling Compact, we are widening the spectrum of professional health services in order to support and provide relief in our communities. Moreover, our state has passed legislation to join multiple health-related compacts including physicians, nurses, physical therapists and psychologists. The needs for these compacts has been made clearly evident by the pandemic, and the growth of these occupational medical license compacts has proven to be essential to community, state, regional and national healthcare needs. Please join us in sponsoring this important piece of legislation. Prior co-sponsors of this proposal included Senators: PHILLIPS-HILL, FONTANA, CAPPELLETTI, COMITTA, COSTA, STEFANO, PENNYCUICK, and BROWN. |