HB 452 Summary

• Replaces terminology "chemical dependency" with "substance use disorder" throughout Ohio's chemical dependency professional licensing regulations to align with current medical and psychiatric standards.

• Modifies the Chemical Dependency Professionals Board composition, reducing the requirement for two chemical dependency counselor III representatives to one, and adjusts quorum requirements from seven to six voting members.

• Updates educational requirements for various license levels to allow greater flexibility, including permitting bachelor's degrees in any field (with specialized substance use disorder coursework) for certain counselor positions and allowing "master's degree or higher" instead of just master's degrees.

• Enacts new section 4758.201 to exempt certain board rules regarding course requirements, graduated fines, and program endorsements from the standard regulatory review process under section 121.95.

• Updates insurance coverage requirements in section 3923.29 to recognize substance use disorder counseling terminology and includes various technical and conforming changes throughout Chapter 4758 of the Revised Code.