A Coconut Creek lawmaker has introduced a new bill aimed at regulating and restricting the use of artificial intelligence in certain licensed clinical practices in Florida.
Democratic Rep. Christine Hunschofsky filed a measure (HB 281) that would restricting AI in licensed psychological, clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, and mental health counseling practices.[1]
The use of AI[2] would be prohibited for psychologists, school psychologists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, and registered interns to use in their practice.
It would, however, be permitted to carry out certain tasks, including appointment scheduling and reminders, drafting general nontherapeutic communications, billing and insurance processing, and operational data analysis.
It could further be used for session recording or to provide transcripts, but only if written permission and informed consent[3] has been obtained at least 24 hours before the session begins.
In the bill, AI is defined as “any machine-based system that varies in level of autonomy and that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs … that can influence physical or virtual environments.”
The definition encompasses systems that generate content, make decisions, provide predictions or offer recommendations.
If passed, the bill would take effect on July 1, 2026.
According to the American Psychological Association, AI is increasingly being used in mental health care settings, from streamlining administrative tasks and making workflows more efficient, to aiding in clinical decision making.[4]
AI could also play a part in aiding early detection[5] of individuals who may be at risk of developing mental health concerns through pattern recognition in data, such as analyzing medical records to identify the need for early intervention.
The association adds that while AI can be a useful tool for professionals, there are still ethical questions being raised about its use, particularly around algorithmic bias, obtaining informed consent from patients, and how safely sensitive data is handled and protected.
References
- ^ HB 281 (www.flsenate.gov)
- ^ use of AI (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ informed consent (www.hhs.gov)
- ^ American Psychological Association (www.apa.org)
- ^ early detection (mhanational.org)