Representative Insists He Supports Licensure and Is Not Seeking to Restructure the OBBHL

Representative Mike Osburn Answers Questions About Bill to End Board Independence

On February 2, 2026, Representative Josh Cantrell (R–Oklahoma House District 49) introduced House Bill 3888 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. If enacted, HB 3888 would eliminate the independence of the Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health and the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors by placing both boards under the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health.

The measure appeared to fit within a broader legislative effort to restructure Oklahoma boards and professional licensing. That approach was outlined in the 2024 State of Oklahoma Efficiency in Licensing Task Force Report. Among recommendations by the task force was to improve efficiency by closing or consolidating boards and eliminating or combining licenses with similar professions.

Among many in Oklahoma’s mental health community, HB 3888 was viewed as the latest challenge to the independence of the Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health Licensure.

Concern over the board’s future had already been building in late 2025 and early 2026. During that period, Oklahoma Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, and Licensed Behavioral Practitioners spent months awaiting the fate of the Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health Licensure after Representative Mike Osburn (R–Oklahoma House District 81) removed Senate Bill 397 from the legislative agenda which would have extended the board’s sunset. According to Representative Osburn, he removed the measure because of a conflict between the board and “several university programs.”

The issue was reportedly resolved, and SB 397 passed early in the 2026 legislative session, extending the sunset of the Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health Licensure.

Any relief proved short-lived. Soon afterward, HB 3888 was introduced and assigned to the House Rules Committee, which is chaired by Representative Osburn. The bill ultimately died in committee after it was not heard before the March 5, 2026, deadline.

In a series of email exchanges between March 11 and March 19, 2026, the Oklahoma Counseling Institute asked Representative Osburn about his views on the Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health and mental health licensure in Oklahoma.

OCI asked whether he believed the Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health Licensure, the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors, or other Oklahoma mental health boards — including OBLCSW for social workers and OBEP for psychologists — should remain independent boards?

Osburn, who served on the Efficiency in Licensing Task Force, responded: “I am not familiar enough with those boards to have an opinion on whether they should exist separately or together. I would defer to you and other licensed mental health professionals on what they would prefer.”

Asked whether he believes mental health counselors should be licensed in Oklahoma, Osburn replied emphatically: “I 100% believe mental health professionals should be licensed in the state of Oklahoma.”

When asked whether he supported HB 3888, which would have moved the Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health Licensure and the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors under the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health, Osburn said he had been unaware of the bill until OCI brought it to his attention.

OCI also asked whether his last-minute amendment to House Bill 3320 could help pave the way for ending the independence of those boards. Osburn responded: “Legislators have always had the ability to file any bill they want and that includes bills to eliminate state agencies, boards and commissions. That ability exists whether there is a sunset law or not.”

Osburn also expressed dismay with the possibility that he may have a negative reputation by some in the mental health community. “The narrative that I am somehow ‘against’ mental health professionals is silly and honestly perplexing,” he wrote. “I have friends and family members in all of those professions and I have never heard anything like that from them.”

The Oklahoma Counseling Institute contacted Bradley Horn, chair of the Government Relations Committee of the Oklahoma Counseling Association. Horn stated “The Oklahoma Counseling Association, with our Government Relations Committee and lobbyist, are closely monitoring HB 3320.”

The Oklahoma Counseling Institute thanks Representative Mike Osburn for his participation in the email interview. 

 The Oklahoma Counseling Institute will continue to monitor Oklahoma legislation which may affect Oklahoma mental health boards and licensure.

To follow legislation in Oklahoma, go to https://www.oklahomacounselinginstitute.org/legislation