An Act to Regulate the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Providing
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 2082
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
Sponsors: KUHN, PIERCE
Amends: 22 MRSA §1730-B

Legislative Document
No. 2082
H.P. 1397
House of Representatives, January 7, 2026
An Act to Regulate the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Providing 
Certain Mental Health Services
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203.
Reference to the Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services 
suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative KUHN of Falmouth.
Cosponsored by Senator PIERCE of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §1730-B is enacted to read:
§1730-B.  Use of artificial intelligence to assist in providing administrative support 
and supplementary support in therapy or psychotherapy
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Administrative support" means tasks performed to assist a licensed professional 
in the delivery of therapy or psychotherapy services that do not involve therapeutic 
communication.  "Administrative support" includes, but is not limited to: 
(1) Managing appointment scheduling and reminders; 
(2) Processing billing and insurance claims; and 
(3) Drafting general communications related to therapy logistics that do not include 
therapeutic communication. 
B.  "Artificial intelligence" means a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit 
objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs, such as 
predictions, content, recommendations or decisions, that can influence physical or 
virtual environments. 
C.  "Consent" means a clear, explicit and affirmative act by an individual that: 
unambiguously communicates the individual's express, informed, voluntary, specific 
and unambiguous written agreement, including a written agreement provided by 
electronic means; and is revocable by the individual. 
"Consent" does not include an agreement that is obtained by: 
(1) The acceptance of a general or broad terms-of-use agreement or a similar 
document that contains descriptions of artificial intelligence along with unrelated 
information; 
(2) An individual's hovering over, muting, pausing or closing a given piece of 
electronic content; or
(3) An agreement obtained through the use of deceptive actions. 
D.  "Department" means the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. 
E.  "Licensed professional" means an individual who holds a valid license or certificate 
issued to practice psychotherapy or behavioral health therapy, including: 
(1) A licensed clinical psychologist as defined in Title 34-B, section 3801, 
subsection 3; 
(2) A licensed clinical social worker as defined in Title 32, section 7001-A, 
subsection 6; 
(3) A licensed social worker as defined in Title 32, section 7001-A, subsection 8; 
(4) A licensed professional counselor as defined in Title 32, section 18553, 
subsection 15; 
(5) A licensed clinical professional counselor as defined in Title 32, section 13851, 
subsection 2; 
(6) A licensed marriage and family therapist as defined in Title 32, section 13851, 
subsection 7; 
(7) A certified alcohol and drug counselor as defined in Title 32, section 6203-A, 
subsection 5 or a licensed alcohol and drug counselor as defined in Title 32, section 
6203-A, subsection 9 authorized to provide therapy or psychotherapy services; 
(8) A professional music therapist; 
(9) A licensed advanced practice registered nurse as defined in Title 32, section 
2102, subsection 5-A; 
(10) A certified intentional peer support specialist; 
(11) A recovery coach; 
(12) A psychiatrist.  For the purposes of this subparagraph, "psychiatrist" means a 
physician licensed to practice medicine under Title 32, chapter 48, subchapter 2 
who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders; and
(13) Any other professional authorized by this State to provide therapy or 
psychotherapy services, except for a physician. 
F.  "Supplementary support" means tasks performed to assist a licensed professional, 
in the delivery of therapy or psychotherapy services, that do not involve therapeutic 
communication and that are not administrative support.  "Supplementary support" 
includes, but is not limited to: 
(1) Preparing and maintaining client records, including therapy notes; 
(2) Analyzing anonymized data to track client progress or identify trends, subject 
to review by a licensed professional; and
(3) Identifying and organizing external resources or referrals for client use. 
G.  "Therapeutic communication" means any verbal, nonverbal or written interaction, 
conducted in a clinical or professional setting, that is intended to diagnose, treat or 
address a client's mental, emotional or behavioral health concerns.  "Therapeutic 
communication" includes, but is not limited to: 
(1) Direct interactions with clients for the purpose of understanding their thoughts, 
emotions or experiences; 
(2) Providing guidance, therapeutic strategies or interventions designed to achieve 
mental health outcomes; 
(3) Offering emotional support, reassurance or empathy in response to 
psychological or emotional distress; 
(4) Collaborating with clients to develop or modify therapeutic goals or treatment 
plans; and
(5) Offering behavioral feedback intended to promote psychological growth or 
address mental health conditions. 
H.  "Therapy or psychotherapy services" means services provided to diagnose, treat or 
improve an individual's mental health or behavioral health.
2.  Permitted use of artificial intelligence.  A licensed professional may use artificial 
intelligence to assist in providing administrative support or supplementary support in 
therapy or psychotherapy services only if the licensed professional maintains full 
responsibility for all interactions, outputs and data use associated with the use of artificial 
intelligence and satisfies the requirements of subsection 3. 
3.  Requirements of use.  A licensed professional may use artificial intelligence to 
assist in providing supplementary support in therapy or psychotherapy services when the 
client's therapeutic session is recorded or transcribed only if: 
A.  The client or the client's legally authorized representative is informed in writing of 
the following: 
(1) That artificial intelligence will be used; 
(2) The specific purpose of the artificial intelligence tool or system that will be 
used; and
(3) How session data collected by artificial intelligence will be stored, retained, 
used for training and deleted upon termination of therapy or psychotherapy 
services; and
B.  The client or the client's legally authorized representative provides consent to the 
use of artificial intelligence. 
4.  Prohibition of use. A person may not provide, advertise or otherwise offer therapy 
or psychotherapy services, including through the use of Internet-based artificial 
intelligence, to the public unless the therapy or psychotherapy services are provided by a 
licensed professional. A licensed professional may use artificial intelligence only to the 
extent the use meets the requirements of subsection 3.  A licensed professional may not 
allow artificial intelligence to: 
A.  Make independent therapeutic decisions;
B.  Directly interact with clients in any form of therapeutic communication; or
C.  Generate therapeutic recommendations or treatment plans without review and 
approval by the licensed professional.
5.  Disclosure of records and communications.  All records kept by a licensed 
professional and all communications between an individual seeking therapy or 
psychotherapy services and a licensed professional or between a client and a licensed 
professional are confidential and may not be disclosed except as required under law. 
6.  Enforcement and penalties.  A person found in violation of this section shall pay 
a civil penalty to the department in an amount not to exceed $10,000 per violation, as 
determined by the department.  The penalty must be assessed based on the degree of harm 
and the circumstances of the violation.  The civil penalty must be assessed by the 
department after a hearing is held in accordance with the Maine Administrative Procedure 
Act.  A person found in violation of this section shall pay the civil penalty within 60 days 
after the date of an order by the department. 
The department has authority to investigate any actual, alleged or suspected violation of 
this section.
7.  Exceptions.  This section does not apply to: 
A.  An artificial intelligence-based intervention that is used solely within a research 
project approved by an institutional review board, as defined in Title 22, section 
1711-C, subsection 6, paragraph G, and conducted in compliance with all applicable 
federal protections for human subjects in research; and
B.  An artificial intelligence-based intervention that is authorized or reimbursed under 
a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human 
Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including demonstration 
waivers or innovation models, and conducted in compliance with all federal laws and 
regulations. 
SUMMARY
This bill allows certain licensed professionals to use artificial intelligence to assist in 
providing administrative support or supplementary support in therapy or psychotherapy 
services.  The bill provides requirements for the use of artificial intelligence as well as 
prohibitions on its use.  The bill also provides for the enforcement of the provisions and 
penalties for violations.