TAMFT Legislative Update: BHEC Requests Attorney General Clarification

TAMFT Legislative Update: BHEC Requests Attorney General Clarification on Authority to Adopt Code of Conduct Rules

By way of a quick update on an important action taken late Monday by the Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), please see the anticipated Attorney General’s opinion request linked here, seeking legal clarification in connection with proposed rules changes to a social worker’s “Code of Conduct” affecting their anti-discrimination rules as promulgated by the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners alongside their licensure statute.

TAMFT has been actively involved from the beginning in a wide array of BHEC policy issues, including the delivery of this testimony on the social worker’s anti-discrimination code of conduct matter. TAMFT continues to adhere to the belief that discrimination in any form is unethical and should play no part in the delivery of quality mental health care. 

As you may know, an attorney general opinion request is made by an authorized requestor, such as the head of the BHEC, seeking a written interpretation of existing law. It is important to note that attorney general opinions cannot create new provisions in the law or correct unintended, undesirable effects of the law, nor can they resolve factual disputes. At the heart of the request is the extent of BHEC’s authority to propose and adopt code of conduct rules, which also carries some potential impacts upon the independence of the Texas State Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists (TSBEMFT). As you can see from the opinion request, TAMFT is listed as an affected and interested group.

TAMFT will continue to actively engage on this and on other legislative issues of interest, through direct advocacy, keeping our members informed and taking actions that retain the high standards of care and ethical practices of licensees and to those we provide services to. We will be contacting the other mental health associations, including the Texas Counseling Association, Texas Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, Texas Chapter, the Texas Association of School Psychologists and the Texas Association of Psychological Association, to stress the legislative intent behind the retention of independent licensure boards when the BHEC was established.

Share this post:

Comments on "TAMFT Legislative Update: BHEC Requests Attorney General Clarification"

Comments 0-5 of 0

Please login to comment