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HB 5074

Health occupations: mental health care professionals; number of renewals of temporary or limited licenses; modify. Amends secs. 16903, 18111, 18223, 18233 & 18509 of 1978 PA 368 (MCL 333.16903 et seq.) & adds secs. 18111a & 18227.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Jay DeBoyer and 7 co-sponsors

Establishes a 3-year renewal cycle for limited mental-health licenses (counselors and marriage & family therapists) and creates a hardship tolling process to pause renewals.

referred to second reading
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Bill Summary · HB 5074

Summary — HB 5074 (House Bill)

Status: Introduced March 13, 2025; bill electronically reproduced September 26, 2025. Referred to Committee on Health Policy (introduced by Rep. Jamie Thompson). Companion: SB 2079.

Purpose

HB 5074 amends portions of Michigan’s Public Health Code (1978 PA 368) to change how temporary/limited licenses for certain mental‑health professions are structured and renewed, and to create a statutory mechanism to temporarily toll (pause) the limited‑license renewal cycle for counsel‑or/therapist licensees who demonstrate hardship.

Sections changed / added

  • Amends: MCL 333.16903, 333.18111, 333.18223, 333.18233, 333.18509 (sections 16903, 18111, 18223, 18233, 18509 of the Public Health Code).
  • Adds: sections 18111a and 18227. (Note: full text for some added/changed sections was truncated in the provided excerpt.)

Key provisions and changes

  • Marriage & family therapists (sec. 16903)

    • Clarifies permitted professional titles and restricted terms.
    • Continues authorization for the board to grant a “limited license” to candidates completing experience requirements.
    • Current statutory limit on renewal of a limited license (as previously enacted) is updated: the department must promulgate rules within 5 years prescribing a 3‑year license cycle for limited licenses that may be renewed for one additional 3‑year term (effectively two 3‑year cycles, i.e., up to 6 years).

  • Professional counselors (sec. 18111 and new 18111a)

    • Authorizes limited licenses for counseling candidates who meet degree and program standards and requires supervised practice.
    • Requires the department, in consultation with the counseling board, to adopt rules (within 5 years) establishing a 3‑year license cycle for limited licenses; the bill text indicates such limited licenses may be renewed for “3 additional 3‑year terms” (i.e., multiple renewals — see note below).
    • Adds section 18111a establishing a process to toll (pause) a 3‑year license cycle for licensees demonstrating hardship. Key features of 18111a from the excerpt:
    • Tolling may begin no earlier than 5 years after promulgation of the 3‑year rule.
    • Applicants must submit a department form and documentation describing the hardship, causes, measures taken, supervised hours completed and remaining, supervisors’ and employers’ contact information, exam attempts/dates, prior tolling requests, requested duration, and other necessary info.
    • The department may approve up to 3 tolling requests per licensee per license cycle; each approved toll must be at least 1 month. (The provided text was truncated before all limits/conditions were shown.)

  • Other amended sections (18223, 18233, 18509) and the new section 18227 appear intended to align limited‑license renewal/tolling rules across relevant mental health professions, but the specific changes to those sections were not included in the excerpt.

Who is affected

  • Primary: individuals holding or seeking limited/temporary licenses in mental‑health fields (notably marriage & family therapists and professional counselors), their supervisors, employers, and boards responsible for licensure.
  • Secondary: clients and health systems that rely on provisionally licensed mental‑health providers; Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) for rulemaking and administrative processing.

Procedural / timing elements

  • The department must promulgate implementing rules under Michigan rulemaking statutes within 5 years of the bill’s amendatory act for the 3‑year license cycles.
  • Tolling provisions become available beginning no later than 5 years after those rules are adopted.
  • The bill is at the introduction/committee referral stage (referred to Health Policy as of 09/26/2025).

Potential impacts

  • Provides regulated pathways to extend supervised practice time (and for counselors, potentially multiple renewals) and introduces a formal hardship tolling mechanism to accommodate interruptions (e.g., illness, caregiving, military service, exam delays).
  • May increase administrative workload for the department and boards (rulemaking, review of tolling applications).
  • Could affect timing of transition to independent licensure for supervisees and influence workforce retention by giving more flexibility to complete supervised hours.

Note: Some statutory text in the provided document was truncated (including full language for sections 18227 and portions of the tolling limits). The summary reflects only material present in the excerpt.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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