HB3471 Summary

• Extends the repeal date of the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act from January 1, 2018 to January 1, 2028 under the Regulatory Sunset Act.

• Revises definitions, exemptions, and procedural requirements including adding "email address of record" provisions and clarifying qualifications for clinical social worker and licensed social worker licenses.

• Modifies disciplinary authority by allowing the Department to consider Board recommendations on matters like continuing education requirements and expanding grounds for discipline to include failures to report adult abuse under the Adult Protective Services Act.

• Restructures hearing procedures to allow the Secretary to appoint hearing officers and streamlines the Board's advisory role while maintaining disciplinary hearing processes with notice and opportunity for licensees to respond.

• Takes effect immediately upon becoming law with various technical amendments to align terminology, timelines, and procedural provisions throughout the Act.