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House committee holds bill that would create in‑state acupuncture licensure pathway amid safety questions
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Summary
A House Business, Labor and Commerce committee hearing on HB 202 explored creating an alternative in‑state licensure pathway for acupuncturists to keep training and jobs in Utah. Practitioners urged retaining national education standards; the committee voted to hold the bill for more work.
Representative Chevrier asked the House Business, Labor and Commerce Standing Committee on HB 202 to allow Utah to train and license acupuncturists in‑state rather than requiring practitioners to leave the state for multi‑year programs.
The bill, Chevrier said, would open an alternative pathway for licensure so massage therapists, parents and others who cannot relocate can add acupuncture to their practices, create local jobs and expand patient access while relying on the Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing to review curricula.
Jamie Mohabali, a licensed acupuncturist practicing in Utah, told the committee HB 202 aims to "create jobs, create workforce access, [and] allow fair competition" while keeping safety protections in place. Mohabali said there are no accredited acupuncture schools in Utah and that an in‑state pathway would reduce the barriers that now force candidates to move out of state for three to four years of training.
Multiple committee members pressed sponsors for details on educational hours, curriculum approval and whether DOPL and the Office of Professional Licensure Review (OPLER) had reviewed the proposal. Representative Thurston said he worried the bill could "set the bar too high" or, conversely, unintentionally create another barrier; sponsors and the practitioner replied the bill mirrors active proposals in the field intended to reduce unnecessary coursework while preserving anatomy, needling safety and infection‑control training.
Practicing acupuncturists and educators during public comment urged caution. Tuesday Wasserman, who identified herself as a former director of an acupuncture program and a staff member of the national testing organization NCCAOM (now referred to in testimony as NCBAHM), told the committee that "licensure across the country requires graduating from an ACAOM‑accredited school" and that national certification includes supervised clinical hours and testing modules on safety and biomedicine. Taihao Lu, a Salt Lake City acupuncturist and former DOPL board member, urged keeping the national board's hours and supervised clinical training to maintain competency.
Sharon Lockhart, a Utah practitioner, said the hours in the bill were "less than one‑third of the national suggestion" and urged the committee to preserve national education standards to protect public safety.
Jeff Shumway, director of OPLER, told the committee the state's licensure interest is to set a minimum safety bar focused on two issues: clean needling (infection control) and needle depth (avoiding organ puncture). He said those are the key safety elements the state should regulate and that it is reasonable to ask whether those elements can be taught in a shorter program than current national requirements.
After debate over rule‑making authority, curriculum approval and the proper number of hours, Chair Malloy moved to hold HB 202 to allow sponsors to work with DOPL and OPLER and to refine the bill language. The motion to hold passed, with Representative Thurston recorded as voting no.
The committee did not take further substantive action on the bill; sponsors said they would continue discussions with licensing authorities and stakeholders before returning with revised language or data on how the proposed hours compare to other states.
