1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to health
occupations; regulating use of artificial intelligence in
1.3 psychotherapy services;
providing for civil penalties;proposing coding for new
1.4 law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 214.
1.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. [214.165]
REGULATING USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN
1.7 PSYCHOTHERAPY
SERVICES.
1.8 Subdivision
1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the terms
defined in this
1.9 subdivision have the
meanings given.
1.10 (b) "Administrative
or supplementary support" means tasks performed to assist a licensed
1.11 professional in the
delivery of therapy or psychotherapy services that do not involve
1.12 therapeutic
communication. Administrative or supplementary support includes but is not
1.13 limited to:
1.14 (1) preparing and
maintaining client records, including but not limited to therapy notes;
1.15 (2) managing appointment
scheduling and reminders, performed by the licensed
1.16 professional, by an
employee of the licensed professional, or by a business associate
1.17 according to a business
associate agreement. For purposes of this clause, "business associate"
1.18 has the meaning given in
Code of Federal Regulations, title 45, section 160.103;
1.19 (3) processing billing
and insurance claims;
1.20 (4) analyzing anonymized
data to track client progress or identify trends for review by
1.21 a licensed professional;
1.22 (5) identifying and
organizing external resources or referrals for client use; and
2.1 (6) drafting general
communications related to therapy logistics that do not include
2.2 therapeutic advice.
2.3 (c) "Ambient
listening" means the ability of a device to hear and process sounds and
2.4 transcribe
conversations.
2.5 (d) "Artificial
intelligence system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit
2.6 or implicit objective,
calculates from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs,
2.7 including but not
limited to content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can
2.8 influence physical or
virtual environments. Artificial intelligence system includes but is not
2.9 limited to a chatbot.
2.10 (e) "Licensed
professional" means an individual who holds a valid license issued in
2.11 Minnesota to provide
therapy or psychotherapy services, including but not limited to:
2.12 (1) a licensed
psychologist providing clinical services under sections 148.88 to 148.981;
2.13 (2) a licensed social
worker, graduate social worker, independent social worker, or
2.14 independent clinical
social worker under chapter 148E;
2.15 (3) a licensed
professional counselor or licensed professional clinical counselor under
2.16 sections 148B.50 to
148B.75;
2.17 (4) a licensed marriage
and family therapist under sections 148B.06 to 148B.392;
2.18 (5) a licensed alcohol
and drug counselor authorized to provide therapy or psychotherapy
2.19 services under chapter
148F;
2.20 (6) a licensed
behavioral analyst under sections 148.9981 to 148.9995;
2.21 (7) a licensed physician
under chapter 147; and
2.22 (8) any other health
professional authorized in Minnesota to provide therapy or
2.23 psychotherapy services.
2.24 (f) "Peer
support" means services provided by individuals with lived experience of
2.25 mental health conditions
or recovery from substance use that are intended to offer
2.26 encouragement,
understanding, and guidance without clinical intervention.
2.27 (g) "Religious
counseling" means counseling provided by clergy members, pastoral
2.28 counselors, or other
religious leaders acting within the scope of their religious duties if the
2.29 services are explicitly
faith based and are not represented as clinical mental health, therapy,
2.30 or psychotherapy
services.
3.1 (h) "Therapeutic
communication" means any verbal, nonverbal, or written interaction
3.2 conducted in a clinical
or professional setting that is intended to diagnose, treat, or address
3.3 an individual's
mental, emotional, or behavioral health concerns. Therapeutic communication
3.4 includes but is not
limited to:
3.5 (1) directly
interacting with clients for the purpose of understanding or reflecting the
3.6 client's thoughts,
emotions, or experiences;
3.7 (2) providing
guidance, therapeutic strategies, or interventions designed to achieve
3.8 mental health
outcomes;
3.9 (3) offering emotional
support, reassurance, or empathy in response to psychological or
3.10 emotional distress;
3.11 (4) collaborating with
clients to develop or modify therapeutic goals or treatment plans;
3.12 and
3.13 (5) offering behavioral
feedback intended to promote psychological growth or address
3.14 mental health
conditions.
3.15 (i) "Therapy or
psychotherapy services" means services provided to diagnose, treat, or
3.16 improve an individual's
mental health or behavioral health. Therapy or psychotherapy
3.17 services include but are
not limited to psychological or psychosocial assessment services.
3.18 Subd. 2.Prohibited
uses of artificial intelligence. (a) An individual, corporation, or
3.19 entity must not provide,
advertise, or otherwise offer therapy or psychotherapy services to
3.20 the public in Minnesota
unless the therapy or psychotherapy services are conducted by an
3.21 individual who is a
licensed professional.
3.22 (b) A licensed
professional must not use artificial intelligence systems to:
3.23 (1) make independent
therapeutic decisions;
3.24 (2) directly interact
with clients in any form of therapeutic communication;
3.25 (3) generate therapeutic
recommendations or treatment plans without review and approval
3.26 by the licensed professional;
or
3.27 (4) provide
psychological or psychosocial assessment services.
3.28 Subd. 3.Permitted
uses of artificial intelligence. A licensed professional may use
3.29 artificial intelligence
systems to assist in providing administrative or supplementary support
3.30 in therapy or
psychotherapy services if the licensed professional maintains full
responsibility
3.31 for all interactions,
outputs, and data use associated with the system.
4.1 Subd.
4.Public protections. (a) If a licensed professional uses a
chatbot to communicate
4.2 with a client as part
of administrative or supplementary support, the chatbot must immediately
4.3 communicate to the
client that the chatbot is not a human being and that the client should
4.4 consult with a family
member, friend, or licensed professional if the client communicates
4.5 one or more of the
following to the chatbot:
4.6 (1) thoughts or
feelings related to the client's mental health;
4.7 (2) symptoms the
client is experiencing, if the symptoms could be those of a mental
4.8 illness;
4.9 (3) a mental health
diagnosis or condition; or
4.10 (4) thoughts of
self-harm or harm to others.
4.11 (b) A licensed
professional must not use ambient listening to assist in providing
4.12 administrative or
supplementary support unless the client provides written, informed consent
4.13 to its use. Before a
licensed professional uses ambient listening to assist in providing
4.14 administrative or
supplementary support, the licensed professional must:
4.15 (1) provide the client
with information on and the potential risks of using ambient
4.16 listening, including but
not limited to:
4.17 (i) the purposes for
which the licensed professional would use ambient listening;
4.18 (ii) where data
collected via ambient listening is stored;
4.19 (iii) who has access to
data collected via ambient listening;
4.20 (iv) whether any data
collected via ambient listening is used to train a large language
4.21 model;
4.22 (v) the timing and
method for destruction of data collected via ambient listening;
4.23 (vi) that the licensed
professional will not penalize the client in any manner if the client
4.24 declines to permit
ambient listening; and
4.25 (vii) that the licensed
professional maintains responsibility for proofreading, correcting
4.26 errors, and signing and
dating case notes created via ambient listening; and
4.27 (2) provide the client
with an opportunity to consent or decline to consent to the use of
4.28 ambient listening.
4.29 (c) If a client consents
to the use of ambient listening, both the client and the licensed
4.30 professional must sign
and date the consent form.
5.1 Subd.
5.Enforcement, penalties, and hearings; licensed professionals. (a)
Any
5.2 licensed professional found in violation of this section must pay a
civil penalty to the
5.3 health-related
licensing board responsible for regulating the relevant profession in an amount
5.4 not to exceed $50,000
per violation.
5.5 (b) The health-related
licensing board responsible for regulating the relevant profession
5.6 must determine the
amount of the penalty so as to deprive the licensed professional of any
5.7 economic advantage
gained by reason of the violation, to discourage similar violations, or
5.8 to reimburse the board
for the cost of investigation and proceeding, including but not limited
5.9 to fees paid for
services provided by the Court of Administrative Hearings, legal and
5.10 investigative services
provided by the Office of the Attorney General, court reporters,
5.11 witnesses, reproduction
of records, board members' per diem compensation, board staff
5.12 time, and travel costs
and expenses incurred by board staff and board members.
5.13 (c) The health-related
licensing board responsible for regulating the relevant profession
5.14 must provide the
licensed professional with written notice of the finding of a violation and
5.15 the imposition of a
civil penalty that includes the reasons for the finding, the amount of the
5.16 civil penalty, and the
right to request a hearing under chapter 14. A licensed professional
5.17 must request a contested
case hearing under chapter 14 from the health-related licensing
5.18 board within 30 days of
receiving the notice in this paragraph.
5.19 (d) A licensed
professional found in violation of this section must pay the civil penalty
5.20 within 60 days after
notice of the violation and imposition of civil penalty under paragraph
5.21 (c) or after the date of
an order issued following a contested case hearing under chapter 14,
5.22 whichever is later.
5.23 (e) Each health-related
licensing board responsible for regulating a licensed professional
5.24 under this section has
the authority to investigate any actual, alleged, or suspected violation
5.25 of this section by a
licensed professional; determine whether a licensed professional violated
5.26 this section; and impose
appropriate disciplinary action. Nothing in this section limits the
5.27 duty of a health-related
licensing board to regulate licensed professionals in a manner that
5.28 protects the health,
safety, and welfare of people in Minnesota.
5.29 Subd. 6.Enforcement;
other individuals, entities, corporations. The attorney general
5.30 may enforce this section
under section 8.31 against an individual other than a licensed
5.31 professional, a
corporation, or an entity that violates this section.
5.32 Subd. 7.Exceptions.
This section does not apply to:
5.33 (1) religious
counseling;
6.1 (2) peer support; or
6.2 (3) self-help
materials and educational resources that are available to the public and do
6.3 not purport to offer
therapy or psychotherapy services.
6.4 EFFECTIVE DATE.
This section is effective the day following final enactment.
