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Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Remove Barriers to Workforce Development in Alcohol and Drug Counseling’
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 3 to 5 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 3. 32 MRSA §6214-D, sub-§1, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 347, §16 and affected by §25, is amended to read:
 
D. Meet one of the following educational requirements:
 
(1) A high school diploma or its equivalent, course work as defined by board rule and a minimum of 6,000 hours of documented supervised practice in alcohol and drug counseling orComplete 2,000 hours if the applicant holds a validof documented supervised practice in alcohol and drug counseling as a certified alcohol and drug counselor certification;
 
(2) AnPossess an associate or bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in clinically based behavioral sciences or addiction counseling or a related field as defined by board rule, course work as defined by board rule and complete a minimum of 4,000 hours of documented supervised practice in alcohol and drug counseling, except that an applicant who holds a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university that meets the requirements of this subparagraph and who has completed at least 18 credit hours of course work in addiction counseling need only complete a minimum of 2,000 hours of documented supervised practice in alcohol and drug counseling; or
 
(3)  A Possess a master's degree from an accredited college or university in clinically based behavioral sciences or addiction counseling or a related field as defined by board rule, course work as defined by board rule and a minimum of 2,000 hours of documented supervised practice in alcohol and drug counseling, except that an applicant who holds a master's degree from an accredited college or university that meets the requirements of this subparagraph and who has completed at least 12 credit hours of course work in addiction counseling need only complete a minimum of 1,500 hours of documented supervised practice in alcohol and drug counseling.
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
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SUMMARY
This amendment removes the provisions of the bill directing the Department of Health and Human Services to increase certain MaineCare reimbursement rates and directing the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, State Board of Alcohol and Drug Counselors to change the processes for licensing applications and examinations.
The amendment also restores the requirements in current law that an applicant for licensure as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor must complete 4,000 hours of practice in alcohol and drug counseling if the applicant possesses an associate or bachelor's degree from an approved program or must complete 2,000 hours of practice in alcohol and drug counseling if the applicant possesses a master's degree from an approved program. The amendment creates exceptions reducing the clinical practice hour requirements for applicants who complete a specified number of credit hours in addiction counseling course work in the course of obtaining a bachelor's degree or master's degree from an approved program.