Bill
S 242
Expands MA lactation care by licensing lactation counselors and advanced consultants, broadening scope, exemptions, and regulatory oversight.
Note on materials provided
- The packet you supplied contains conflicting metadata. The bill header at the top names S. 242 as directing minority/women-owned business certification for tribes, but the full bill text that follows is a Massachusetts Senate bill titled “An Act to expand access to lactation care and services.” This summary focuses on the actual bill text provided (lactation care), which appears to be a Massachusetts state bill filed as Senate Docket No. 1438 / Senate No. 242 (Dylan A. Fernandes). If you intended the tribal business-certification measure, please supply that bill text for an accurate summary.
Purpose and intent
- The bill seeks to broaden professional categories and licensure for lactation service providers in Massachusetts — adding and defining “lactation counselors” and “advanced lactation consultants,” aligning state law with credentials issued by the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice (ALPP), and updating multiple statutory cross‑references so those practitioners are included in licensing, scope and exemptions. The stated intent is to expand access to lactation care and services.
Key provisions and changes
- Adds new defined terms to Chapter 112 (Section 23A) and Chapter 13 (Section 11A):
- “Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice (ALPP)” — the credentialing body that issues Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC), Advanced Lactation Consultant (ALC) and Advanced Nurse Lactation Consultant (ANLC) credentials.
- “Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC)” / “lactation counselor” — persons holding ALPP CLC certification.
- “Advanced Lactation Consultant (ALC)” and “Advanced Nurse Lactation Consultant (ANLC)” — ALPP advanced credential holders.
- Clarifies that “advanced lactation consultant” does not refer to International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) licensed under separate sections.
- Expands numerous statutory references that previously referred only to “lactation consultants” to include “lactation counselors” and “advanced lactation consultants,” ensuring these categories are covered for licensing, scope of practice, and regulatory oversight (amendments to Sections 23B, 23C, 23D, 23E).
- Rewrites exemption/subsection language (Section 23E) to explicitly include lactation counselors and advanced lactation consultants among professionals with certain practice exemptions (e.g., federal employees, students in training, limited temporary practice by out‑of‑state licensees).
- Modifies the licensure statute (Section 23J½) structure by adding subsectioning and begins to set licensure applicant criteria; the provided text is truncated and the full list of qualifications is not present in the material supplied.
Who is affected
- Lactation professionals: ALPP‑credentialed CLCs, ALCs and ANLCs (current and prospective) — will be newly defined and brought into Massachusetts licensing/regulatory framework.
- IBCLCs and existing licensed lactation consultants — statute clarifies distinctions between credential types.
- New parents and infants — potential increase in access to regulated lactation support services.
- Employers and health care facilities — will need to recognize and potentially credential/hire under updated licensure categories.
- Massachusetts Board(s) and regulatory bodies — required to incorporate new license types and update rules, forms, fees, oversight.
Procedural/timeline status (from provided record)
- Filed/Introduced: Docket filed 1/16/2025; introduced in Senate (dates in packet vary: 1/24/2025 referenced).
- Referred to relevant committees: Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure (and other referrals appear in the packet — some conflicting).
- Hearing scheduled (per packet): 09/08/2025, 10:00 AM–1:00 PM (A‑2).
- Current status label in the packet: “REFERRED TO PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS” (this appears inconsistent with other committee referrals and should be verified with the legislature’s official docket).
Limitations / outstanding items
- The bill text provided is truncated in the licensure criteria section (Section 23J½). Full licensure requirements (education, supervised practice hours, examinations, application procedure, fees, grandfathering provisions, and effective dates) are not visible, so the summary cannot state precise qualification standards or timelines.
- Metadata conflicts (title vs. text, sponsors, committee referrals) should be clarified by checking the official Massachusetts legislative website (Senate Docket No. 1438 / Senate No. 242) or the bill sponsor’s office for the definitive version.
If you want, I can:
- Retrieve and summarize the complete enacted text (if available), or
- Prepare a short comparison showing how this bill changes current Chapter 112 licensing law (once you confirm which final text to use).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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