Committee advances optometry scope bill after compromise that excludes lasers

The committee adopted a strike‑all amendment to House Bill 4,103 and passed the amended bill unanimously after testimony from optometrists and ophthalmologists who described a negotiated compromise.

Sponsor remarks explained the amendment keeps three laser procedures out of the bill while allowing optometrists to perform a number of non‑surgical practice expansions. Jondra McNeely of the South Carolina Optometry Association said the compromise "will be a huge win for our patients because we'll be able to provide more care and this high quality care to our patients," and cited national trends in laser privileges as background for continued discussion.

Dr. Michael Zohlman (optometry) said optometrists agreed to exclude specific laser procedures — capsulotomy, SLT and LPI — in this version to allow further discussion later while advancing other scope updates. Dr. Wade Reardon (South Carolina Society of Ophthalmology) told the subcommittee patient safety and heterogeneous training standards informed ophthalmology’s caution and support for a narrower set of changes. Committee members praised the cross‑profession negotiation and moved to adopt the strike‑all amendment; the amendment and amended bill were approved by voice/hand-raise and recorded as unanimous.

The measure will proceed with the amendment adopted; sponsors and DNR were not involved in implementation on this bill, but lawmakers indicated they may continue technical cleanup before floor consideration.