AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4 and Title 63, relative to professions.
SB 128 creates a statutory framework in Tennessee for “animal chiropractic,” defined as the evaluation and treatment of a non-human’s vertebral or extremity joint dysfunction through spinal, joint, musculoskeletal manipulative therapy, and soft tissue therapy. The bill expressly excludes surgery, medication administration or dispensing, and other forms of veterinary medicine outside that limited scope. It also directs the Tennessee Board of Chiropractic Examiners to adopt rules governing the practice, certification standards, and facility health and sanitation requirements.
The bill allows a chiropractic physician to seek board certification to perform animal chiropractic by showing proof of the required education, including a certificate from the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association or a board-approved equivalent. The board must also publish a public list of certified chiropractors in good standing. In addition, the bill increases continuing education requirements for chiropractors certified in animal chiropractic, requiring six extra hours annually in that subject area on top of the general continuing education requirement.
SB 128 also regulates advertising. It makes it a violation for a person or business to advertise chiropractic care, services, or therapy unless those services are provided by or under the direction of a licensed chiropractic physician. At the same time, it preserves a narrow exception for licensed veterinarians who hold current animal chiropractic certification from recognized veterinary chiropractic associations to advertise that they are certified to provide animal chiropractic. The bill also clarifies that other licensed or certified professionals may continue practicing within their own scope, so long as they do not hold themselves out as chiropractic providers.
The bill’s impact is to amend Tennessee law in Title 63 governing professions and chiropractic practice, while also affecting veterinary professionals who seek animal chiropractic certification. It creates a formal certification and oversight structure for animal chiropractic, sets educational and continuing education standards, and adds advertising restrictions intended to prevent misrepresentation of chiropractic services. The act takes effect immediately for rulemaking purposes and for all other purposes on January 1, 2026.
Overall, the bill appears to have been generally supported, as reflected by passage in committee and on the floor, though not unanimously. The committee vote was 6-1, and the floor votes were 28-2 in one chamber stage and 65-24 on final passage, indicating some bipartisan support but also meaningful opposition. The main point of contention appears to be the regulation of who may advertise or provide animal chiropractic services, particularly the boundary between chiropractic and veterinary practice, and whether the new certification and advertising rules are appropriately restrictive or protective.
SB 128 amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 63 to define and regulate animal chiropractic, authorize board certification for chiropractic physicians, require additional continuing education, and impose advertising limits. It also requires the Board of Chiropractic Examiners to promulgate rules and maintain a public list of certified providers, while preserving a limited advertising exception for certain licensed veterinarians certified in animal chiropractic. The bill affects chiropractors, veterinarians, and businesses advertising chiropractic-related services, and it becomes fully effective January 1, 2026, with immediate effect only for rulemaking.
The bill appears to have been generally favorable in the legislature, with clear majority support in committee and on the floor. The vote margins suggest the measure was accepted as a professional-regulation bill rather than a highly controversial one, but the nontrivial number of nay votes indicates some concern about the scope of regulation and the overlap between chiropractic and veterinary practice. No committee transcript was provided, so the recorded votes are the main indicator of sentiment.
The likely areas of contention are the bill’s creation of a formal animal chiropractic certification regime, the requirement that chiropractors obtain specific animal chiropractic education, and the restrictions on advertising chiropractic services. Opponents may have been concerned that the bill could blur or police the boundary between chiropractic and veterinary medicine, or that it could limit how non-chiropractor professionals describe their services. Supporters likely viewed the bill as a consumer-protection and professional-standards measure that clarifies who may lawfully perform and advertise animal chiropractic in Tennessee.