NAMFT’s LB 257 Becomes Law
LB 257, our NAMFT bill has passed the final reading and the Governor signed it into law on May 20, 2025.
We have reached the finish line. It is Senator Dan Quick’s priority bill. He introduced the bill for NAMFT.
What does the passage of this bill mean?
Nebraska has successfully joined the systemic national movement to make our MFT license portable, i.e., when an MFT license is in good standing then the holder can practice across state lines.
License portability is the ability to take an individual’s qualifications for licensure in one state and apply them for licensure in another state. Our national Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) has developed a model of MFT license portability to promote more objectivity in assessing qualifications and standardization between states in our increasing mobile society. The model NAMFT LB 257 espouses is a “full endorsement” model.
As previously communicated to NAMFT members, starting 2023 till present, approximately half of our 50 states have adopted this model portability law or modified their portability/reciprocity laws.
The full text of this law is available at Section 1. 38-2125 (3) The department, with the recommendation of the board, shall, based on licensure in another jurisdiction, issue a mental health practitioner license or an independent mental health practitioner license to a marriage and family therapist who:
(a) has a valid, independent, and unrestricted license and is in good standing as a marriage and family therapist in another state or territory,
(b) completes an application and pays all applicable fees, and
(c) has passed the Nebraska jurisprudence examination Same language at Section 2. 38-2130
The Nebraska Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (NAMFT) on our own has successfully achieved passage of a bill without lobbyist. There was 1993 the passage of LMFT under LMHP, and then 2007 the passage of LIMFT under LIMHP, all with lobbyists and partnerships with other professional associations. And we were solely instrumental in landmark bills such as LIMHP sitting on Mental Health Commitment Boards, Parity bill so that telehealth service reimbursement is the same as in-person service by private insurances, etc., etc., but none as tremendous as a bill just for LMFT.
Thanks to our power of collective action!
Anne Buettner
Legislative Chair