An ethics rule that would allow counselors to cite their conscience to avoid treating a current or prospective client was referred back to a subcommittee on Friday.
Without discussion, Arkansas Legislative Council referred the rule back to its Rules and Regulations Subcommittee. Earlier in the meeting, lawmakers voted to cancel the Legislative Council meeting next month and give the subcommittees the power to make decisions without the council's final approval.
That means the Rules and Regulations Subcommittee could vote to give final approval to the rule at its next meeting. It could also choose to refer it to the next Legislative Council meeting, Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, co-chairman of the subcommittee, told reporters.
"It could go several different ways," he said.
The conscience clause -- which was endorsed by the state Board of Examiners in Counseling earlier this year -- said no counselor will be sanctioned for referring away a client because of conscientious objections of the counselor stemming from any "ethical, moral or religious principle."
Tennessee passed a law earlier this year that prohibited the sanctioning of counselors for refusing service to those who posed an affront to their religious or moral values -- a law that has been criticized for being discriminatory against gays. In contrast, Arkansas counselors would be required to seek their own counseling about their objections and be compelled to find a way to overcome those objections before referring the client to another provider.
When asked if the subcommittee planned to make changes, Davis said, "Probably not. That's really up to the board of counselors. As you know, they wrote the rule. We're just reviewing and approving. We didn't suggest any language for the rule. It came from them," he said. "This will give them more time to reconsider input that they've gotten, and if they want to make changes, then certainly we'd be open to that. That's really their call."
Davis said members of the Legislature outside of the subcommittee had raised questions.
House Minority Leader Michael John Gray, D-Augusta, said some Democrats "had some real concerns with the process."
"It seems sneaky," he said. "It just seems sneaky that this showed up."
The rule would allow discrimination, according to the head of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Rita Sklar.
"This rule is about using religion to discriminate, plain and simple, to discriminate and to put a client in harm's way, both of which are in opposition to the mandate of mental health professionals," Sklar wrote in an email. "If your personal views about gender identity, for instance, are so strong that you can't possibly treat a suicidal transgender student, you should not be treating that child. But you should not see this rule as I think it will be seen: a green light to turn away someone in need that you disapprove of, just because of your religious beliefs."
Given the killing of 49 people in a gay Orlando nightclub earlier this week, Davis said there were questions about timing.
The Board of Examiners in Counseling head, Michael Loos, said Tuesday that the proposed state rule was a step to find a middle ground between the new national standards and a law like Tennessee's.
"We don't want to attack the [American Counseling Association's] code of ethics at all. That guides our professional conduct. We also don't want to adversely affect state laws about freedom of religious practice and beliefs," Loos said. "You can't treat a discriminatory issue by being discriminating."
The next Rules and Regulations Subcommittee meeting will be held in July, but Davis said a date had not been set.
On another matter, the Legislative Council reviewed a request to purchase property at 1610-1614 W. Third St., which is known as the Capitol Place Building. It's across the street from the Capitol grounds.
The state Department of Finance and Administration received an appropriation to buy the properties during the recent fiscal session, department spokesman Jake Bleed said.
The building is owned by Capitol Place Building LLC, which wants $1.2 million for the properties, according to the department. John S. Bailey is listed as the manager of Capitol Place Building LLC, according to records from the secretary of state's office.
In April, the Joint Budget Committee co-chairman, Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, said the Building Authority Division is interested in buying property near the Capitol for a building "that would house, as I understand it, the Insurance Department, Securities [Department] and the Bank Department." The Building Authority Division is part of the finance department.
In an interview Friday, Bleed said plans had not yet been made.
"Our intent is to develop the property into a multi-agency building," he said.
The last of the leases for existing tenants will end around July 1, 2017.
"That will give us time to get some design professionals together and begin looking at how the property can be most efficiently used," Bleed said.
Metro on 06/18/2016