SB18 makes a broad set of changes to Kentucky law governing podiatry and related health-care practice. It updates definitions in the podiatry statutes to recognize podiatric assistants, podiatric residents, supervising podiatrists, and physician assistants working under podiatric supervision. The bill also revises licensure, examination, renewal, discipline, advertising, reciprocity, and enforcement provisions for podiatrists, including a new requirement that certain initial applicants after January 1, 2027, complete at least two years of podiatric residency before licensure.
The bill also amends Kentucky’s medical cannabis law to add podiatrists, if authorized to prescribe controlled substances under board regulations, as “medicinal cannabis practitioners” who may provide written certifications for qualifying patients. It sets out application, relationship, examination, telehealth, recordkeeping, and conflict-of-interest rules for those certifications, and directs the relevant licensing boards to promulgate implementing regulations. In addition, the bill expands the definition of “state licensing board” in the cannabis chapter to include the State Board of Podiatry and makes conforming changes to the medical cannabis framework and qualifying-condition process.
Impact
SB18 primarily affects KRS Chapter 311 governing podiatry and KRS Chapter 218B governing medicinal cannabis. It creates a formal regulatory structure for podiatric assistants and podiatric residents, authorizes board oversight of supervising podiatrists and podiatric supervision of physician assistants, and strengthens licensure and disciplinary provisions for podiatrists. It also changes the pathway to initial podiatry licensure by requiring residency training for new applicants after a specified date and updates reciprocity and enforcement provisions.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the recorded votes. It passed the Senate unanimously on third reading, later passed the House overwhelmingly with only one dissenting vote during the veto-override stage, and then passed the Senate again unanimously. The voting pattern suggests strong bipartisan agreement on the bill’s health-professions and regulatory changes.
Contention
No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded floor discussion to identify detailed objections. The only visible point of potential contention is the bill’s expansion of podiatric authority, especially the new role for podiatrists in medicinal cannabis certification and the new supervision framework for physician assistants, which could raise scope-of-practice and regulatory-oversight questions. The near-unanimous votes, however, indicate that any disagreement was limited.
Permits a certified foot care nurse or a certified foot care specialist, to provide certain at-home foot care, including routine foot and nail care including nail clipping.