Will the Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health Licensure Dissolve in 2025?
On Monday May 12th, Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health Licensure Vice-Chair, Dr. Johnie Fredman, wrote a plea in a post on the Oklahoma Providers for Privacy Facebook page, calling for clinicians to reach out to their Oklahoma legislators about the removal of Senate Bill 397 from the 2025 Oklahoma Legislature Agenda. SB397 would have extended the sunset date of the Board of Behavioral Health from July 1st, 2025 to July 1st, 2028. If the Board of Behavioral Health Licensure were to sunset, the Board would have one year to wrap up operations and close unless the Oklahoma Legislators extend the sunset date in the 2026 legislative session.
Though the May 12th Facebook post by Dr. Fredman warned that if SB397 did not pass the Board of Behavioral Health Licensure would cease operations as of June 30th, 2025, at this time the Board will remain operational until at least June 30th, 2026. Nevertheless, Oklahoma clinicians commenting on Dr. Fredman’s post and beyond voiced concerns about the future of the Board, along with the future of their licenses to practice. Being that Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt had recently vetoed the sunset extension of the Board of Cosmetology, many questioned what would happen if the Board were to ultimately sunset in 2026.
The Oklahoma Counseling Institute Staff reached out to the office of Representative Mike Osburn, who initiated the removal of SB397 from the 2025 agenda, and met with him via Zoom on May 23rd to discuss his rationale for removing the bill and to inquire about the future of the Board of Behavioral Health. According to Osburn, though it is not uncommon to hold off on voting on such bills until the year the boards sunset, reportedly it was recent inaction by members of the Board of Behavioral Health Licensure that had led him to pull the bill.
According to Osburn, students from the University of Central Oklahoma were denied the ability to sit for their licensing exam, reportedly due to the Board not accepting their curriculum. Osburn stated that the University of Central Oklahoma, along with he and Senator Adam Pugh, had attempted to contact leadership of the Board of Behavioral Health Licensure to have a discussion on the rationale, but that their requests for a meeting with Board members were not granted. Osburn stated, “in an effort to try to get everyone to the table, we pulled this bill back off the agenda.”
When asked about where the breakdown in communication between the University, the Board, and the legislators had originated, Osburn stated he did not know. Osburn called into question the Board’s decision-making power when it comes to gatekeeping mental health clinicians. He stated that being that there is a shortage of mental health providers in the state, the Board should not be denying candidates based on education, but should allow anyone who passes a licensing test the ability to practice.
Representative Osburn stated, “In my opinion, that’s not the Board’s decision. That’s what the exam’s for.” He followed up, stating, “regardless of the path you got to take there, you should be able to test and if you pass the test, you’re a counselor.” Currently, the Board of Behavioral Health Licensure requires applicants to hold at minimum a master’s degree with specific graduate course work requirements and to have obtained at least 300 hours of clinical internship in order to be considered for licensure candidacy to become a Licensed Professional Counselor or Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
When asked about the chances of the sunset extension either not passing or being vetoed next legislative session, Osburn stated he believed there was no chance that the bill would not be signed into law next year. However, when asked what he believed would occur if the sunset extension was not passed and the Board of Behavioral Health Licensure did dissolve, Osburn stated he believed that clinicians would still be able to maintain their licenses to practice and that the duties of the Board may be transferred to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, like the Board of Cosmetology. Osburn further clarified, stating, “if for whatever reason the licensing board should happen to go away, that doesn’t mean the licenses aren’t still valid.”
Osburn reported that he believed Governor Stitt was attempting to allow boards to sunset in order to consolidate licenses. Osburn stated that he, along with what he believes are a majority of his colleagues, do not agree with the Governor’s vetoes. However, Osburn expressed confidence in his and his colleagues’ ability to override vetoes, when necessary.
This legislative session ended as of May 30th. After numerous protests and calls for action, the Governor and legislature reached an agreement to extend the Board of Cosmetology for one more year, until June of 2026. Follow the Oklahoma Counseling Institute on Facebook or contact us to sign up for our email blasts for more updates on this and other topics concerning the mental health field in Oklahoma.