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Utah Senate narrows path for chiropractors to offer acupuncture after amendment, bill passes
Summary
After a contentious floor debate about training standards, the Utah Senate amended and passed SB249 to clarify chiropractic practice and require review of acupuncture training for chiropractors while retaining a 200-hour training threshold in statute.
The Utah Senate on Feb. 23, 2004, amended and passed Senate Bill 249, a measure defining the practice of chiropractic physicians that drew extended debate over whether chiropractors should be allowed to perform acupuncture after 200 hours of additional training.
The chamber adopted an amendment offered by Senator Gladwell to ensure the Occupational and Professional Licensure Committee reviews whether the 200-hour training requirement for chiropractors who perform acupuncture is sufficient and to allow further study during the interim. “A purpose of this amendment is … to ensure that there is ample opportunity, through the review by the Occupational and Professional Licensure Committee, to determine whether or not the adequacy of acupuncture training is sufficient under the current rules,” Gladwell said on the floor.
Opponents warned the standard was too low. Senator Maine said 200 hours translates to about 25 eight-hour days and argued that acupuncture, which requires precise anatomical knowledge, ‘‘one or two millimeters’’ of error can cause injury. “200 hours is not enough,” Maine told colleagues.
Supporters, including the bill’s floor sponsor Senator Butters, said the Division of Professional Licensing (as discussed on the floor) has allowed such limited practice by rule for years without a history of customer complaints and noted 29 states permit chiropractors to perform acupuncture under varying training standards. “We rechecked the 29 states that allow chiropractors to perform acupuncture… the average is 50, and no state allowing it has more than 200,” Butters said.
The Senate recorded the final roll-call on SB249 as 20 aye, 8 nay, 1 absent; the bill was amended on the floor and will be referred to the House for further consideration.
The amendment and the floor debate mark a compromise: the statutory text retains the 200‑hour threshold while directing a professional-review process to study safety and training adequacy. The Occupational and Professional Licensure Committee is expected to carry out the review during the interim as specified by the adopted amendment.
What happens next: SB249, as amended, is to be forwarded to the House for its consideration; the committee review could prompt technical or substantive changes during the next interim session.
