2023 Senate Bill 349

House Fiscal Agency Analysis

Senate Bill 348 would amend the Mental Health Code to prohibit a mental health professional from engaging in conversion therapy with a minor. A mental health professional that did so would be subject to disciplinary action and licensing sanctions. Senate Bill 349 would amend the Mental Health Code to define "conversion therapy" as any practice or treatment by a mental health professional that seeks to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behavior or gender expression or to reduce or eliminate sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward an individual of the same gender. The term would not include counseling that provided assistance to an individual undergoing a gender transition, counseling that provided acceptance, support, or understanding of an individual or facilitates an individual's coping, social support, or identity exploration and development, including sexual orientation-neutral intervention to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices, as long as the counseling did not seek to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity.