HB 185 repeals and reenacts Georgia’s Dietetics Practice Act as the “Dietetics and Nutrition Practices Act.” The bill creates a new licensing framework for both licensed dietitians and licensed nutritionists, defines the scope of each profession, and distinguishes between the practice of dietetics and the practice of nutrition. Under the bill, licensed dietitians may provide medical nutrition therapy for complex and noncomplex medical conditions, while licensed nutritionists are limited to medical nutrition therapy for noncomplex conditions and low-acuity outpatient settings. The measure also defines protected titles, sets education, supervised practice, examination, renewal, and disciplinary requirements, and authorizes provisional licenses and criminal background checks.
The bill also establishes the Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Dietitians and Licensed Nutritionists, expands its authority, and directs it to administer licensing, discipline, rules, ethics, and consumer complaint functions. It adds detailed exemptions for certain health professionals, government employees, supervisees, religious practitioners, health coaches, and others who provide nonmedical nutrition information or services outside the scope of medical nutrition therapy. The bill further authorizes telehealth practice and creates a qualified supervisor framework for supervised practice experiences.
A major feature of HB 185 is Georgia’s entry into the Dietitian Licensure Compact, which is designed to improve interstate portability for licensed dietitians. The compact allows qualified dietitians to obtain compact privileges in other member states, while preserving each state’s authority over licensure, discipline, and state-specific practice laws. The compact also creates a multistate commission, data system, rulemaking process, and enforcement structure, and it includes provisions for military spouses, adverse-action reporting, and interstate investigations.
The bill amends multiple other titles of the Georgia Code to update cross-references and include licensed dietitians and licensed nutritionists in various healthcare-provider definitions, malpractice, insurance, and public-health provisions. It also supersedes conflicting state laws to the extent they conflict with the compact or the new chapter. The act takes effect upon gubernatorial approval or becoming law without approval.
Overall, the bill appears to have broad legislative support, passing the House 171-2, the Senate substitute 40-2, and the House agreement to the Senate substitute 153-8. The voting history suggests strong bipartisan approval. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded committee debate to identify specific objections, but the structure of the bill indicates the main policy issues likely involve scope-of-practice boundaries, title protection, interstate practice, and the extent to which nutritionists may provide services without a dietitian license.
HB 185 substantially rewrites Georgia law governing dietetics and nutrition by replacing the existing Dietetics Practice Act with a broader licensing and regulatory scheme. It creates new statutory definitions, licensing standards, disciplinary authority, protected titles, exemptions, and supervision requirements, while also updating numerous cross-references in the civil practice, health, insurance, professions, and torts titles to recognize licensed dietitians and licensed nutritionists. The bill also authorizes background checks, provisional licensure, telehealth practice, and a new board structure, and it supersedes conflicting laws where necessary to implement the new chapter and compact.
The bill’s voting record shows strong support in both chambers, with only a small number of dissenting votes at each stage. That pattern suggests the measure was generally viewed favorably as a professional-regulation and public-health bill, especially because it modernizes licensure standards and expands interstate practice options. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no direct record of floor or committee debate, but the final votes indicate broad acceptance of the bill’s overall framework.
The most likely points of contention are the bill’s scope-of-practice distinctions and the creation of a separate licensed nutritionist category alongside licensed dietitians. The bill carefully limits nutritionists to noncomplex medical conditions and low-acuity settings, while reserving more advanced medical nutrition therapy for dietitians, which may reflect concerns about patient safety and professional boundaries. Another possible area of debate is the compact’s interstate portability provisions, including how much authority Georgia cedes to compact rules versus retaining state control, as well as the bill’s exemptions for nonlicensed practitioners providing general nutrition advice or wellness coaching.