This bill revises the Mental Hygiene Law provisions governing the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), replacing older references to the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and broadening the statutory framing from alcohol and substance abuse to “addictive disorder” and “addiction disorder” language. It expressly includes people who have or are at risk of an addictive disorder, and it adds compulsive gambling to the definition of addictive disorder for purposes of OASAS planning, prevention, treatment, and training responsibilities. The bill also updates terminology throughout the section to reflect addiction-focused services, recovery supports, harm reduction, and trauma-informed, patient-centered care.
A major component of the bill is the creation of a defined “addiction professional” designation and a related licensing/credentialing framework. OASAS would be authorized to issue licenses, credentials, certificates, or authorizations for addiction professionals, establish minimum qualifications, set fees, and suspend or revoke credentials for good cause. Existing credential holders, including alcoholism and substance abuse counselors, prevention specialists, problem gambling counselors, and recovery peer advocates, would be deemed addiction professionals consistent with their experience and education. The bill also directs the commissioner to establish an addiction professionals board to advise on the credentialing process.
The bill further updates OASAS duties in several service areas. It would maintain and revise lists of certified agencies and professionals for court-related evaluations and motor vehicle-related assessments, with authority to charge annual inclusion fees. It expands oversight of addiction services in correctional facilities, requiring monitoring, best-practice guidelines, and annual reporting on treatment adequacy, screening, participation, completion, and barriers to completion. It also continues and modernizes OASAS responsibilities related to veterans’ services, school-based problem gambling materials, opioid and heroin awareness campaigns, youth substance misuse education, quarterly reporting on opioid-response initiatives, and SBIRT training materials for health care providers.
The bill’s impact on state law is primarily administrative and regulatory: it amends the Mental Hygiene Law to rename and reframe OASAS responsibilities, broaden the populations and conditions covered, and formalize a new professional credentialing structure. It would affect OASAS, credentialed counselors and related professionals, treatment providers, correctional facilities, schools, health care providers, and agencies involved in addiction, gambling, and recovery services. It also creates or updates reporting, training, and fee-setting authority, while preserving existing services and credentials under the new terminology.
No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge sentiment. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears generally supportive of expanding and modernizing addiction services and professional standards, with an emphasis on inclusion, harm reduction, and continuity for existing credential holders. The main potential point of contention is the breadth of the definitional shift—from substance abuse to addictive disorder—and the new licensing and fee authority, which could raise questions about regulatory scope, implementation costs, and how existing credentials transition into the new framework.
The bill amends Mental Hygiene Law section 19.07 to rename the responsible agency’s scope from alcoholism and substance abuse services to addiction services and supports, broaden covered conditions to include people who have or are at risk of an addictive disorder, and add compulsive gambling within the statutory framework. It creates a formal “addiction professional” designation, authorizes OASAS to issue and regulate licenses/credentials/certificates/authorizations, establish minimum qualifications and fees, and discipline credential holders. It also updates OASAS duties regarding correctional-facility treatment oversight, veterans’ services, school materials, opioid education, SBIRT training, and related reporting and list-maintenance functions.
No committee discussion or vote history was provided, so there is no recorded legislative sentiment from debate or roll call. On its face, the bill reflects a policy direction favoring modernization of addiction terminology, expansion of service coverage, and stronger professional standards. The text suggests a generally supportive posture toward treatment access, recovery supports, and harm reduction, while preserving continuity for existing credentialed professionals.
The most likely areas of contention are the expansion of OASAS authority and the shift to broader “addictive disorder” terminology, including the explicit incorporation of compulsive gambling. Stakeholders may differ on whether the new definition is appropriately inclusive or overly expansive, and on whether the credentialing and fee-setting provisions could create additional regulatory burdens for providers. Another possible point of concern is the transition of existing credentials into the new “addiction professional” category, though the bill attempts to preserve current holders’ status.