June 2019 email campaign to
Licensure Committee Members
HB 932’s status: Our bill has been referred to the House of Representatives Licensure Committee.
Current legislative objective
We need:
Who needs to act to support HB 932: All professional art therapists, art therapy students, family , friends, and supporters of art therapy and creative arts therapy.
Action target date: June 3-June 14
Your supportive action: Letter writing campaign to Licensure Committee Members
NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT! We need your help so show the 25 members of the licensure committee that we have large numbers of concerned art therapists. Did you know that there are over 650 Art therapists in PA!? Lawmakers need to know that a profession is organized and enthusiastic about their legislation. Here is where you are CRITICAL to our cause:
We need you to send THREE or more emails to legislators using the provided template on this page. (See if your dearest loved ones and friends might also make the same 2-3 emails to support our profession.)
Here is a simple way to organize our emailing plan. You will be assigned 2-3 state Representatives to call based on the LAST DIGIT OF YOUR MOST-USED PHONE NUMBER. (For example, if your phone number is (555) 555-5559, then you’ll call the Reps with the number 9 next to their names below! Simple!) Click your assigned Rep’s name below to follow the link to their contact information. On the left margin of the webpage, click on an envelope icon to email the Rep. You will see the letter template and an attachment below this list of Committee Members.
§ 1 - Mako, Zachary,
§ 1 - Emrick, Joe,
§ 1 - Barrar, Stephen
§ 2 - Brown, Rosemary M.
§ 2 - Culver, Lynda Schlegel
§ 2 - Day, Gary
§ 3 - Gillespie, Keith
§ 3 - Lawrence, John A.
§ 3 - Mehaffie, Thomas L., III
§ 4 - Mentzer, Steven C.
§ 4 - Polinchock, F. Todd
§ 5 - Sonney, Curtis G.
§ 5 - Thomas, Wendi
§ 6 - Toohil, Tarah
§ 6 - Bullock, Donna
§ 7 - Davidson, Margo L.
§ 7 - Davis, Tina M.
§ 8 - Flynn, Marty
§ 8 - Kortz, William C., II
§ 9 - Markosek, Brandon J.
§ 9 - Mullins, Kyle J.
§ 0 - Ravenstahl, Adam
§ 0 - Schlossberg, Michael H.
Current legislative objective
We need:
- To persuade the members of the Licensure Committee to take up our bill for discussion and a vote.
- The Committee to vote to graduate HB 932 out of committee and into the full House of Representatives to be considered.
Who needs to act to support HB 932: All professional art therapists, art therapy students, family , friends, and supporters of art therapy and creative arts therapy.
Action target date: June 3-June 14
Your supportive action: Letter writing campaign to Licensure Committee Members
NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT! We need your help so show the 25 members of the licensure committee that we have large numbers of concerned art therapists. Did you know that there are over 650 Art therapists in PA!? Lawmakers need to know that a profession is organized and enthusiastic about their legislation. Here is where you are CRITICAL to our cause:
We need you to send THREE or more emails to legislators using the provided template on this page. (See if your dearest loved ones and friends might also make the same 2-3 emails to support our profession.)
Here is a simple way to organize our emailing plan. You will be assigned 2-3 state Representatives to call based on the LAST DIGIT OF YOUR MOST-USED PHONE NUMBER. (For example, if your phone number is (555) 555-5559, then you’ll call the Reps with the number 9 next to their names below! Simple!) Click your assigned Rep’s name below to follow the link to their contact information. On the left margin of the webpage, click on an envelope icon to email the Rep. You will see the letter template and an attachment below this list of Committee Members.
§ 1 - Mako, Zachary,
§ 1 - Emrick, Joe,
§ 1 - Barrar, Stephen
§ 2 - Brown, Rosemary M.
§ 2 - Culver, Lynda Schlegel
§ 2 - Day, Gary
§ 3 - Gillespie, Keith
§ 3 - Lawrence, John A.
§ 3 - Mehaffie, Thomas L., III
§ 4 - Mentzer, Steven C.
§ 4 - Polinchock, F. Todd
§ 5 - Sonney, Curtis G.
§ 5 - Thomas, Wendi
§ 6 - Toohil, Tarah
§ 6 - Bullock, Donna
§ 7 - Davidson, Margo L.
§ 7 - Davis, Tina M.
§ 8 - Flynn, Marty
§ 8 - Kortz, William C., II
§ 9 - Markosek, Brandon J.
§ 9 - Mullins, Kyle J.
§ 0 - Ravenstahl, Adam
§ 0 - Schlossberg, Michael H.
| faq_sheet-_pa_license_bill_faq_for_legislators.pdf |
Please highlight and copy this template now. You will paste the template into the email portal for your assigned representatives (below). The "faq_sheet" attachment above goes to Representatives who have regular-looking email portals. Reps who have state email portals don't allow attachments. In that case, delete the last line about attaching a FAQ page.
Email Subject: Discuss HB932 Art Therapy Licensure in Committee
Dear Representative __________,
I am an art therapist [or a concerned Pennsylvania citizen] writing regarding House Bill 932. I request that you and the House Licensure Committee move to discuss HB 932 and bring it to a vote.
[writer: please add your own personal paragraph about what art therapy means to you, your clients or your family. Make it as personal and emotional as possible.]
HB 932 protects vulnerable Pennsylvania mental health consumers from potential harm. Current LPC law creates confusion for consumers and mental health professionals. It doesn’t differentiate Art Therapy education, practice, and ethics from that of Professional Counselors, and offers no title protection or penalties for inappropriate practice of Art Therapy. The Pennsylvania Art Therapy Licensure Committee proposed an amendment to the current Professional Counseling License law, creating an independent Art Therapy license to regulate the profession.
The legislation does not expand government or add costs to the state budget; therefore, there should be minimal collateral costs in exchange for the significant public benefit. Art Therapists already qualify for the (LPC) Professional Counseling license, so HB 932 does not create a brand-new license; it is a necessary lateral move for clarity and public protection.
Additionally, I want to emphasize that Art Therapists don’t advocate the creation of a new, expensive licensure board to administer the license. HB 932 is cost effective because the Art Therapy license will still be regulated by the State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors. We expect that it will raise revenue via income tax and increased license fee income for the state. It should also decrease costs for PA mental health consumers because they will more readily identify and access quality art therapy services they seek and avoid untrained and under-trained professionals misrepresenting themselves as art therapists.
HB 932 establishes Art Therapy educational standards, ethics, title protection and a civil penalty for people who advertise or engage in the independent practice of art therapy without a license. It also protects the public from unqualified individuals holding themselves out as art therapists. A penalty of up to $10,000 may be assessed to someone who harms the public by misrepresenting themselves as an art therapist without the training or license.
I am attaching/enclosing a document with answers to Legislators’ Frequently Asked Questions.
Thank you in advance for your support of House Bill 932!
Sincerely,
___[your name & credentials]_____
___[your address/contact info]_____
Email Subject: Discuss HB932 Art Therapy Licensure in Committee
Dear Representative __________,
I am an art therapist [or a concerned Pennsylvania citizen] writing regarding House Bill 932. I request that you and the House Licensure Committee move to discuss HB 932 and bring it to a vote.
[writer: please add your own personal paragraph about what art therapy means to you, your clients or your family. Make it as personal and emotional as possible.]
HB 932 protects vulnerable Pennsylvania mental health consumers from potential harm. Current LPC law creates confusion for consumers and mental health professionals. It doesn’t differentiate Art Therapy education, practice, and ethics from that of Professional Counselors, and offers no title protection or penalties for inappropriate practice of Art Therapy. The Pennsylvania Art Therapy Licensure Committee proposed an amendment to the current Professional Counseling License law, creating an independent Art Therapy license to regulate the profession.
The legislation does not expand government or add costs to the state budget; therefore, there should be minimal collateral costs in exchange for the significant public benefit. Art Therapists already qualify for the (LPC) Professional Counseling license, so HB 932 does not create a brand-new license; it is a necessary lateral move for clarity and public protection.
Additionally, I want to emphasize that Art Therapists don’t advocate the creation of a new, expensive licensure board to administer the license. HB 932 is cost effective because the Art Therapy license will still be regulated by the State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors. We expect that it will raise revenue via income tax and increased license fee income for the state. It should also decrease costs for PA mental health consumers because they will more readily identify and access quality art therapy services they seek and avoid untrained and under-trained professionals misrepresenting themselves as art therapists.
HB 932 establishes Art Therapy educational standards, ethics, title protection and a civil penalty for people who advertise or engage in the independent practice of art therapy without a license. It also protects the public from unqualified individuals holding themselves out as art therapists. A penalty of up to $10,000 may be assessed to someone who harms the public by misrepresenting themselves as an art therapist without the training or license.
I am attaching/enclosing a document with answers to Legislators’ Frequently Asked Questions.
Thank you in advance for your support of House Bill 932!
Sincerely,
___[your name & credentials]_____
___[your address/contact info]_____