Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 127 of the acts of 1999 is hereby amended by striking out section 215 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 215. Notwithstanding chapter 111J of the General Laws to the contrary and subject to such rules and regulations as the department of public health may prescribe, an applicant practicing in the commonwealth as an alcohol and drug counselor on the effective date of this act and who applies for licensure within 1 year after the effective date of the regulations promulgated pursuant to this act, shall be exempt from the licensure requirements for either a licensed alcohol and drug counselor I or II, provided, however, that an applicant for an alcohol and drug counselor I license shall have: (1) a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor certification or a certified clinical supervisor certification or a certified addiction specialist certification or a Certified Employee Assistance Professional certification or a certified alcoholism counselor certification; or (2) bonafide supervisory clinical or administrative responsibility as an executive director, program director or clinical director of a substance abuse program, as such program is defined by the department of public health; or (3) bonafide clinical or administrative responsibility as a supervisor in a substance abuse program, as such program is defined by the department of public health and shall have at least 10,000 hours of substance abuse clinical experience and 2,000 hours of supervisory experience documented by the program directors who supervised the clinical and supervisory experience; or (4) a master's degree in behavioral sciences and 4,000 hours of substance abuse clinical experience and 270 hours of education related to alcohol and drug counseling as defined by the department of public health; or (5) a bachelor's degree and 6,000 hours of substance abuse clinical experience and 270 hours of education related to alcohol and drug counseling as defined by the department of public health; and provided further, that an applicant for an alcohol and drug counselor II license shall be a substance abuse counselor with at least 6,000 hours of substance abuse counseling experience documented by the program directors who supervised the counseling experience and 180 hours of education related to alcohol and drug counseling as defined by the department of public health.