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Committee advances overhaul of Georgia's Dietetics Practice Act, passes bill
Summary
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee voted to advance House Bill 185, a multi-decade update to Georgia's Dietetics Practice Act that narrows licensure to medical nutrition therapy, creates clearer exemptions for nonmedical advice, and authorizes interstate licensure portability via a compact.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee voted to advance House Bill 185 on a committee substitute, a bill Representative Earhart described as a 32-year overhaul of Georgia's Dietetics Practice Act to modernize licensure and the scope of practice.
Representative Earhart told the panel the measure clarifies that licensure is required for practitioners who diagnose and prescribe therapeutic diets as medical nutrition therapy (MNT) while expanding exemptions so nonmedical nutrition advice (for example from personal trainers or youth coaches) does not require a license. The bill also adds pathways to licensure for additional qualified nutrition professionals and authorizes Georgia to participate in an interstate licensure compact to improve license portability.
The bill's supporters said the current law is overly broad and confusing; Robin Stegall of the Georgia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics testified the bill aligns education, supervised-practice requirements and scope with contemporary MNT standards, and that the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) is the primary accreditor for dietetics programs. "This bill tightens who can provide medical nutrition therapy while allowing people who give general healthy-eating advice to practice without a medical license," Stegall said.
Committee members asked for clarifications about who would require a license, how the compact would work, and whether the board composition would change. Representative Earhart said Georgia law would continue to set the state's scope of practice and that the compact would allow practitioners licensed in member states to practice in Georgia if the originating state's standards are "equal or higher." He also said the substitute adds one additional member to the licensure board.
Chairman Brass moved the committee substitute and Senator Summers seconded the motion. The committee approved the bill by a show-of-hands vote; the chair recorded one opposing vote and declared the measure passed out of committee on that basis.
The bill passed the committee on a committee substitute; committee discussion and the voice vote were recorded in committee minutes. Further floor scheduling and subsequent steps were not specified on the record at the hearing.
