New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVI, Issue 19 / October 7, 2025

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RULE HEARING AND BOARD MEETING

The New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board and the Regulation and Licensing Department will hold a rule hearing on Friday, November 7, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. Immediately following the rule hearing, the Board will convene a regular board meeting to consider adoption of rules and take care of regular business. The hearing and board meeting will be held at the Regulation and Licensing Department, located at 2550 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, NM in Hearing Room 1.

The hearing and subsequent Counseling and Therapy Practice board meeting may also be accessed virtually via Microsoft Teams.

Meeting Link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting

Meeting ID: 274 855 495 514 9

Passcode: WF2wb2Y7

Dial in by phone

+1 505-312-4308 United States, Albuquerque

Phone conference ID: 808 181 43#

The purpose of the rule hearing is to consider the initiation of rulemaking for the following rule:

Rule 16.27.17 NMAC – Fees

On Tuesday, October 7, 2025, copies of the proposed rules may be obtained through the New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board website at: https://www.rld.nm.gov/boards-and-commissions/individual-boards-and-commissions/counseling-and-therapy-practice/statutes-rules-and-rule-hearings/ or by contacting the Board Administrator, Ruth Romero, at counseling.board@rld.nm.gov or (505) 476-4622.

The New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board and the Regulation and Licensing Department will begin accepting written public comment regarding the proposed rule changes beginning Tuesday, October 7, 2025, 8:00 a.m. and ending Friday, November 7, 2025, 9:00 a.m. Written comments may be submitted either by email to counseling.board@rld.nm.gov or by postal mail to the following address:

New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department

Attn: New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board

P.O. Box 25101

Santa Fe, NM 87504

Written comments received during the public comment period (October 7, 2025 – November 7, 2025) will be posted to the website page listed above. Public comment will also be accepted during the rule hearing and may be submitted in writing or presented orally by those attending in-person. The members of the New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board will not engage in substantive discussion of public comments during the rule hearing but will consider all public comments during the regular board meeting immediately following the conclusion of the rule hearing.

The agenda for the New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board regular meeting which will begin immediately after the public rule hearing, will be posted and available at least 72 hours before the meeting on the Board website at: https://www.rld.nm.gov/boards-and-commissions/individual-boards-and-commissions/counseling-and-therapy-practice/board-information. Copies of the agenda may also be obtained by contacting Ruth Romero, Board Administrator.

For inclement weather: If New Mexico state offices are placed on a two-hour delay due to inclement weather, the rule hearing will be pushed back two hours from the noticed hearing time. If New Mexico state offices are closed due to inclement weather, the rule hearing will be rescheduled as soon as possible.

An individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing, please contact Ruth Romero, Board Administrator at counseling.board@rld.nm.gov or (505) 476-4622 at least 7 days prior to the rules hearing and regular board meeting. Public documents, including the proposed rules, meeting agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible formats.

Statutory Authority:

The proposed rule changes are authorized by the Counseling and Therapy Practice Act, Sections 61-9A-1 through 61-9A-30 NMSA 1978, which provides explicit authority for the board to promulgate rules to protect public health and safety and carry out the provisions of the Act. The rulemaking and public rule hearing is governed by the State Rules Act, Sections 14-4-1 through 14-4-11 NMSA 1978, and the Default Procedural Rule for Rulemaking promulgated by the New Mexico Department of Justice, Parts 1.24.25.1 through 1.24.25.16 NMAC.

Purpose of the Proposed Rules: The proposed rule change is intended to address changes to the Counseling and Therapy Practice Act, to add a $10.00 fee for initial licenses and $10.00 per year for all renewals to pay for the ongoing cost of utilizing Salesforce/NM-Plus system. More generally, the proposed rule changes are intended to provide greater clarity in existing regulatory and statutory requirements, ensure continued high levels of professionalism among licensees and certificate holders, and to generally satisfy the Board’s statutory obligation to promote, preserve and protect the public health, safety and welfare.

Summary of Proposed Changes:

Rule 16.27.17 NMAC – Fees – Changes to this rule will allow for a ten dollar ($10) administrative fee for electronic processing for initial applications and for renewals per year to fund the ongoing maintenance and licensing of the NM-Plus system.