This bill amends RCW 18.225.060 to establish a nine-member Washington state mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers advisory committee. The committee is composed of two licensed mental health counselors, two licensed marriage and family therapists, one licensed independent clinical social worker, one member who must be either a licensed advanced social worker or a licensed independent clinical social worker, and three consumer members who represent the public and may not be licensed mental health care providers. The bill sets appointment and service rules: initial staggering of three one-year, three two-year, and three three-year terms, with subsequent appointments for three-year terms and a limit of two consecutive terms per person. Members must be Washington residents; professional members must have been actively engaged in their profession for five years immediately before appointment; consumer members must be unaffiliated with the licensed professions. Members may not hold a governing office or board position in a professional association for these fields or be employed by the state of Washington. The secretary is directed to appoint members (the specific secretary or department is not identified in the text provided). Committee members are immune from civil or criminal suit for acts performed in good faith in connection with department disciplinary proceedings or other official acts. The committee will elect a chair and vice chair, and members are to be compensated and reimbursed for travel under the cited RCW provisions. This is an organizational and procedural change to existing law creating an advisory committee, specifying membership, qualifications, appointment procedures, term limits, compensation, and immunity. The extracted text does not identify which department or secretary is responsible for appointments, does not provide statutory definitions for the listed license categories, and does not include an effective date or explain how this change interacts with other sections of the chapter.

If enacted, the bill creates a nine-member advisory committee made up of specific numbers of licensed mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers plus three public consumer members, and it requires professional members to have five years of recent practice, live in Washington, and not hold governing roles in professional associations or be state employees. For affected professionals this means a new, formal advisory role in the system that is limited to experienced practitioners who are not association leaders or state workers; consumer voices are formally included but must be unaffiliated with the professions. Staggered three-year terms with a two-term limit, election of a chair and vice chair, appointment by the secretary, and statutory immunity for members are intended to provide continuity, protect members from personal liability for official acts, and centralize appointments, although the specific department or secretary responsible is not identified in the provided text. Practically, the state will incur modest new costs for member compensation and travel reimbursements under existing RCW rules, and recruiting may be narrower because many experienced practitioners who hold association leadership or state jobs are ineligible. The committee’s involvement with department disciplinary proceedings is indicated by the immunity provision, so professionals can expect an organized group to influence or participate in disciplinary matters, but the exact duties, which office appoints members, and implementation timing are not specified in the extracted facts.