Substitute SB 615 is a bill to amend the Dietetics Practice Act that passed the House on
April 12, 2016. A similar bill by the same number passed the Senate last year, but did not
pass the House. That bill, also called SB 615, is still "alive" on the Senate side. These two
versions of the bill will go to a joint House-Senate conference committee. A compromise
will be reached between the two versions. The compromise bill will then need to pass
both the full House and Senate before being sent to the governor.
SB 615, if passed, would add misleading language to Oklahoma’s current dietetics law.
The language (called exemption language) reads:
"Nothing in the Licensed Dietitian Act shall be construed to prevent or restrict the
practice, services or activities of…”
This is followed by a list of those not required to have a license to practice. In reality, no
one needs a license to do nutrition advising in Oklahoma, so why is this language in
the bill? The language suggests that those not named in the listed exemptions do need a
license to practice.
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Those left out of the exemptions from needing a license to practice nutrition are:
nutritionists (non-RD), naturopathic doctors, acupuncturists, traditional
midwives, personal trainers, traditional healers, health and wellness coaches,
homeopaths and others who are not licensed health care providers.
Ask legislators to remove the exemption language as it has no practical meaning in the
dietetics law–it does not make it illegal for anyone to practice but it sounds like it does.
The “exemption language” creates a threatening tone by giving the impression that
people not in the exemptions may be violating the law by practicing nutrition.
It also creates a potential step towards a law in the future to prohibit practice by those not
named in the exemptions. If SB 615 passes with the exemption language in the bill, it
would be easy in a future year to pass a bill to strike the part of the dietetics law that
currently makes it legal for all to practice nutrition if they do not call themselves licensed
dietitians.
Tell legislators:
• Please oppose SB 615 unless exemption language is removed
• Let them know if you are a practitioner or a client of a person whose profession is
not covered in the exemptions
• Exemption language misleads that practice by some is illegal. This scares people
away from practicing and therefore threatens jobs
• Taking the exemptions out will not affect the dietitian’s law
OPPOSE SB 615 UNLESS THE EXEMPTION LANGUAGE IS REMOVED!