Lynette's Law for Maryland HB60 Criminal Law – Professional Counselors and Therapists – Conduct (Lynette’s Law) FOR the purpose of prohibiting a certain professional counselor or therapist from engaging in a sexual act, sexual contact, or vaginal intercourse with a person who is receiving counseling from the professional counselor or therapist or received counseling from the professional counselor or therapist within a certain period of time; prohibiting a certain professional counselor or therapist from knowingly, and with intent to deceive, making a false statement concerning the person’s criminal record on an employment application; providing for a certain statute of limitations for the prosecution of a violation of this Act; defining certain terms; and generally relating to the conduct of professional counselors and therapists. Check it out here: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/hb/hb0060f.pdf
We are still fighting to get this law passed and recently we heard rumors that a public official who wants to help LL wants to do a * study* on therapist abuse. We are adamantly opposed to a study for the following reasons: 1) HB60 passed the house unanimously and was killed by Frosh's drawer veto. 2) This same type of legislation failed in 96/97 and instead was turned into a task force which is no longer in existence. 3) A study is not needed because all the information can be found a) the task force report, b) three years of sunset reviews, c) the public disciplinary actions on DHMH website, d) the terminology of "mentally defective individual " meaning anyone with a mental disorder is already in the criminal code under 2nd degree rape. We won't be placated with a study!! Who is with me?? Maryland needs Lynette's Law! The needed information already exists. Clients need to be protected NOW! This "study" will only cost money that we've already spent studying it before. I guess their friends need more money, so they will write another 180 page report that does nothing. Action is needed, not a study.
Protect the victims of the-rapist abuse and get Maryland up to where other states are. This is crazy, Maryland are you that dam dumb that you don't know what is best for your people? Come on already. Pass the law and force the Boards to report things like this.
