This act creates a new board of governors for licensed social workers in a new chapter 18.320 RCW, establishes its membership, appointment terms, quorum and voting rules, duties, and rulemaking and disciplinary authority. The board is designated the disciplining authority for social workers and may adopt rules on education, supervised experience, examinations, continuing competency, ethics, and professional liability insurance. The secretary of health retains administrative responsibilities for fees, forms, records, staff, and limited hearings and will continue regulatory authority until the board is fully constituted and has completed initial rulemaking; timelines require gubernatorial appointments and staged rulemaking and transfer of authority within specified periods. The law adds licensure procedures and new associate license categories (licensed social worker associate; advanced licensed social worker associate; independent clinical licensed social work associate), sets examination and endorsement/reciprocity standards, and authorizes the board to schedule exams and set reexamination rules. Associates may not practice independently for a fee and may practice under approved direct supervision for up to 120 days after a completed application; renewal and continuing education requirements (including required ethics hours beginning with second renewal) are specified. The act also creates a co-occurring disorder specialist training/enhancement (60 hours plus supervised experience) with scope-limited SUD counseling authority and authorizes a University of Washington psilocybin therapy pilot for specified populations under defined conditions. The bill amends many related statutes and procedures: it revises disciplinary authority lists and advisory committees for mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists, updates confidentiality and privilege rules (including peer supporter, sexual assault advocate, and domestic violence advocate privileges and limited disclosure exceptions), mandates periodic suicide assessment/treatment/management training for numerous Title 18 professionals, and amends juvenile sex-offender disposition procedures to specify examinations, treatment, supervision, reporting, and school-attendance restrictions. It also permits certain health professionals to form professional corporations and limited liability partnerships without altering the application of the uniform disciplinary act. Several referenced sections and cross-references are incomplete or not provided in the extracted text (for example Sec. 7 and the section 9 reference), and many listed RCW amendments and effective dates are summarized but some specific amendment texts are not included here. Sections 2–18 take effect July 1, 2026; sections 19–47 take effect July 1, 2027 or later, contingent on the social work board adopting rules and assuming regulatory authority.

If enacted, the bill creates a new, governor‑appointed board of governors to oversee social worker licensing and discipline in Washington and moves many social work regulatory duties out of the department’s older framework. Practically, that means social workers and the supervisors who oversee them will face a new rulemaking authority that will set education and supervised‑experience standards, continuing competency and ethics requirements, and could require professional liability insurance; the Department of Health will continue day‑to‑day regulation and must support the new board until the board adopts rules and takes full authority under set timelines. The measure also creates three associate license categories (social worker associate, advanced associate, independent clinical associate) and allows an applicant to practice under direct supervision for up to 120 days after a completed application (beginning October 1, 2025), increases required client disclosures, tightens confidentiality exceptions, and schedules when the board must be appointed, meet, and finish initial rulemaking (board formation deadlines tied to a July 1, 2026 start and a full authority transition by 36 months). Those most affected are licensed social workers, social work associates and their approved supervisors, the Department of Health, and employers such as hospitals and community behavioral health programs. Social workers may see new or different licensing rules, potential new fees or insurance costs, clearer supervised practice pathways for associates, and added continuing education mandates (including ethics); supervisors and employers will absorb more oversight and training duties (for example, required ED civil‑commitment training for social workers by mid‑2026). The Department of Health must provide staffing, records, hearings on certain appeals, and annual fiscal reports while the board stands up. Important implementation details—exact fee levels, the text of some sections, and parts of the transition rules—are left to future board or department rules or are missing from the available text, so the timing and precise cost or scope changes for individuals and agencies remain uncertain.