An Act To Prohibit the Provision of Conversion Therapy to Minors by Certain Licensed Professionals
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1025
Committee Amendment CA_A_H213 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. ;1,, to H.P. 755, L.D. 1025, Bill, "An Act To 
Prohibit the Provision of Conversion Therapy to Minors by Certain Licensed 
Professionals" 
Amend the bill in section 1 in subsection 2-A in the 2nd to last line (page 1, line 6 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "within the last 5 years" 
Amend the bill in section 2 in subsection 3 in the 3rd line (page 1, line 12 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: "within the last 5 years" 
Amend the bill in section 4 in §59-C by striking out all of subsection 1 (page 1, lines 
to 36 and page 2, lines 1 to 10 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'1. Conversion therapy. "Conversion therapy" means any practice or treatment that 
seeks or claims to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including. 
but not limited to, any effort to change gender expression or to eliminate or reduce sexual 
or romantic attractions, feelings or behavior toward others based on the individual's 
gender. "Conversion therapy" does not include the following: 
A. 
Any practice or treatment that assists an individual undergoing a gender 
transition; 
B. Any practice or treatment that provides acceptance, support and understanding to 
an individual as long as the practice or treatment does not seek or claim to change the 
individual's sexual orientation or gender identity: and 
C. Any practice or treatment that facilitates an individual's coping, social support or 
identity exploration and development, including any therapeutic treatment such as 
talk therapy that is neutral with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity that 
does not seek or claim to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity 
and that seeks to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices, as 
long as the counseling does not seek or claim to change the individual's sexual 
orientation or gender identity.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 37 and inserting the following: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. 4,, to H.P. 755, L.D. 1025 
'Sec. 37. Legislative findings; legislative intent. 
1. Legislative findings. The Legislature finds that: 
A. Conversion therapy is a practice or treatment, including but not limited to talk 
therapy, that seeks or claims to change a person's sexual orientation or gender 
identity. It is also referred to by other names, such as sexual orientation change 
efforts, gender identity change efforts, reparative therapy and reintegrative therapy; 
B. A wide range of the major health and mental health associations in the United 
States recognize being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and having same-sex 
sexual attractions as nonnal variants of human sexuality and gender identity, rather 
than an illness or developmental disorder; 
C. The medical and social science consensus is that conversion therapy is a harmful 
and ineffective practice or treatment. 
Conversion therapy is based on the false 
premise that being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is a mental illness or disorder 
and is caused by a developmental deficiency, trauma, abuse or unmet emotional 
needs and that conversion therapy can alter a person's sexual orientation or gender 
identity; 
D. There is no competent and reliable scientific evidence supporting claims that 
conversion therapy can change an individual's sexual orientation; rather, there is 
substantial competent and reliable scientific evidence, including recently published 
research on young adults who experienced conversion therapy as children, that 
conversion therapy is ineffective and can and often does result in significant health 
and safety risks to consumers of those services, including suicidality, depression, 
guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, shame, social withdrawal and difficulties, substance 
use disorder and loss of religious faith as well as reduced educational and vocational 
development and economic losses; 
E. In 2015, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance 
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration developed an expert consensus 
about how to address distress and conflicts about sexual orientation and gender 
identity in minors and concluded that conversion therapy for minors is not an 
appropriate treatment because it can be harmful and creates poor psychosocial 
outcomes, such as heightened psychological distress, compromised overall well-
being and increased health disparities. Additionally, the Substance Abuse and Mental 
Health Services Administration concluded that conversion therapy is coercive in 
directing the child to conform to any gender expression or sexual orientation, or 
directing the parents to place pressure for specific gender expressions, gender 
identities and sexual orientations, and that doing so is inappropriate and reinforces 
harmful gender and sexual orientation stereotypes; 
F. The nation's leading medical and mental health professional organizations, 
including the American School Counselor Association, the American Psychiatric 
Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Association of 
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychoanalytic Association, the 
American Counseling Association Governing Council, the American Medical 
Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family 
Physicians, the National Association of Social Workers, the Pan American Health 
Organization and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, have 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 755, L.D. 1025 
concluded that conversion therapy is ineffective in changing sexual orientation or 
gender identity and poses safety and health risks; and 
G. The State has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological 
well-being of minors, including the State's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 
youth and those youth seeking to examine or understand their sexual orientation or 
gender identity, from the advertising, offering and administering of conversion 
therapy and in protecting its minors from the serious health and safety harms that 
conversion therapy can cause. 
2. Legislative intent. It is the intent of the Legislature to protect the public health 
and the safety of all youth of the State, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 
youth and those youth seeking to examine or understand their sexual orientation or 
gender identity, by prohibiting the advertising, offering and administering of therapy 
designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, also known as 
conversion therapy, to individuals under 18 years of age in the State.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the majority report of the committee. The amendment clarifies the 
definition of "conversion therapy." The bill provides that evidence that a certified school 
psychologist or guidance counselor has advertised, offered or administered conversion 
therapy to a child within the last 5 years is grounds for discipline; the amendment retains 
this provision but removes the 5-year limitation. The amendment also removes a similar 
5-year limitation added by the bill to the current law that provides that evidence that an 
applicant for such a certification has injured the health or welfare of a child through abuse 
or exploitation is grounds for a denial of the certification. The amendment also adds an 
additional finding and makes other clarifying changes to the legislative findings and 
intent section. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/28/19 feac:.. 
LD 1025 
LR 111(02) 
An Act To Prohibit the Provision of Conversion Therapy to Minors by Certain Licensed Professionals 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment {f { fJ- J)_ / Jj 
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Minor savings - General Fund 
Additional costs to the regulatory boards either within or affiliated with the Department of Professional and Financial 
Regulation that are impacted by this legislation can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. Any savings to 
the Department of Health and Human Services to adopt the changes are expected to be minor. 
LROll 1(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1