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 Bill Text - AB-1598 Behavioral sciences.

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 |Add To My Favorites |Track Bill | Version: 06/10/26 - Amended Senate
 04/15/26 - Amended Assembly
 03/18/26 - Amended Assembly
 01/16/26 - Introduced

 AB-1598 Behavioral sciences.(2025-2026)

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 Date Published: 06/10/2026 09:00 PM

AB1598:v96#DOCUMENTBill Start

 Amended
 IN 
 Senate
 June 10, 2026

 Amended
 IN 
 Assembly
 April 15, 2026

 Amended
 IN 
 Assembly
 March 18, 2026

 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

 Assembly Bill

No. 1598

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk-Silva

January 16, 2026

An act to amend Sections 4980.01, 4980.397, 4980.399, 4980.40, 4980.41, 4980.43, 4980.48, 4980.50, 4984.01, 4984.7, 4984.72, 4989.20, 4989.68, 4992.05, 4992.09, 4992.1, 4996.1, 4996.3, 4996.4, 4996.13, 4996.15, 4996.18, 4996.23, 4996.28, 4999.22, 4999.36, 4999.46, 4999.50, 4999.52, 4999.53, 4999.55, 4999.64, 4999.100, and 4999.120 of, and to repeal Sections 4980.398, 4992.07,
 4980.398 and 4992.07 of, and to repeal and add Sections 4980.44 and 4999.46.1 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1598, as amended, Quirk-Silva.
 Behavioral sciences.

Existing law establishes the Board of Behavioral Sciences within the Department of Consumer Affairs and requires the board to regulate licensees and registrants under the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act (LMFTA), the Educational Psychologist Practice Act (EPPA), the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act (CSWPA), and the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act (LPCCA). Existing law makes a violation of those acts a crime.

The LMFTA, the CSWPA, and the LPCCA each contain varying provisions limiting their application to the practice of certain medical and other behavioral science professionals, attorneys, and certain religious personnel, including priests, rabbis, and ministers of the gospel of any religious denomination.

This bill would revise and recast those provisions to, among other
 things, exempt a religious official of any denomination, including those specified above and imams, when providing faith-based counseling services as part of their regular professional duties for an established and legally recognizable faith-based entity if certain criteria are met. The bill would also exempt attorneys and physicians who provide counseling services as part of their professional practice from the LMFTA and the LPCCA.

Existing law establishes examination and experiential requirements under the LMFTA, the EPPA, the CSWPA, and the LPCCA to qualify for licensure or registration under those acts and requires an applicant for licensure or registration to have passed certain examinations or obtain specified experience within a certain timeline for it to be accepted by the board. In this regard, existing law generally requires the applicant to gain the required experience no more than 6 years before the board receives the application. For licensed
 educational psychologists, the EPPA authorizes the board to accept a passing score on a written examination administered by the board for a period of 7 years from the date the examination was taken. Under the LMFTA, the CSWPA, and the LPCCA, registrants and applicants for licensure, registration, or a subsequent registration number are required to pass a California law and ethics examination. The LMFTA, the CSWPA, and the LPCCA require an applicant for licensure to pass a clinical examination within 7 years from the initial attempt, unless the applicant obtains a passing score on the current version of the California law and ethics examination.

This bill, instead, would require applicants for licensure under the LMFTA, the EPPA, the CSWPA, and the LPCCA, to obtain the relevant experience and to pass the relevant examination within 7 years preceding the date on which the board receives the application. The bill would require those applicants and registrants under the
 LMFTA, the CSWPA, and the LPCCA who submit applications to the board on and after January 1, 2030, to have passed the California law and ethics examination no more than 7 years before the board receives the application, as specified.

Existing law authorizes an associate marriage and family therapist registration, an associate clinical social worker registration, or an associate professional clinical counselor registration to be renewed a maximum of 5 times and prohib