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Senate committee advances bill to let Arkansas optometrists perform limited office procedures after hours of testimony
Summary
After several hours of testimony from optometrists, ophthalmologists and patients, the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee voted to pass House Bill 12-51, a measure that would allow certified optometrists to perform five specified office-based procedures; the vote followed contention over training, diagnostic risk and oversight.
The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee passed House Bill 12-51 after more than six hours of testimony that split practicing ophthalmologists, optometrists and patients.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dave Wallace (Dist. 22), told the committee the measure would "allow a patient to walk into the clinic ... have the procedure, and at the end, he can pick up his keys and drive home," framing the change as a narrow expansion of office-based care designed to improve access in rural counties.
Supporters said the measure covers five specific procedures — listed in the bill language as select post‑cataract capsulotomy procedures, certain glaucoma laser treatments, periocular injections that do not penetrate the globe, limited removal of low‑risk eyelid lesions, and removal of benign skin tags — and would explicitly prohibit intraocular surgery or the use of general anesthesia. Sponsor testimony said practitioners must be certified and that outcomes would be reported to the Board…
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