Legislative update: deregulation reaches the national level
Arizona faces deregulation of its optician license while the NAOO asks the FTC to investigate every state opticianry licensure law. Why involvement in your state organization matters.
If you are receiving this update you may have chosen Opticianry as your endeavor to provide for your family. To not take notice of the challenges being faced concerning deregulation is to risk changes that will significantly impact your ability to continue to provide for them at an adequate level. I encourage you to take the time to read this in its entirety, check out the links and get involved.
As many of you have heard, there are significant legislative actions being taken both nationally and at the state level concerning Opticianry. The TDOA is always diligently working to stay aware of these changes and the possible impact they could have on your license. Currently, as I type this update, Arizona is facing deregulation of their Optician License (Arizona HB2407).
The battle to deregulate is not a new one. Licensure and regulation has been under constant scrutiny for many years. Many of you remember in the recent past TN Opticians faced similar circumstances in our own state. The current battlefield over deregulation is expanding to the national level. On October 3, 2017, an organization known as the NAOO (National Association of Optometrists and Opticians) submitted a letter of inquiry to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) requesting this agency investigate — for the purpose of regulatory relief — all state Opticianry Licensure Laws where such laws exist. This letter can and should be reviewed by all Opticians.
While this inquiry addresses license mobility, which in itself sounds like a reasonable objective, many look at this as an attempt by large corporations to obtain a “cheap labor force”. Opinions are given that suggest there is not a necessity of State Licensing Boards to protect the health and welfare of their citizens.
Deregulation of any State could cause a “domino effect” which would lead to many other states choosing deregulation of their state boards. Under the present administration, streamlining of government regulation is happening in many facets including health care. To take the “Ostrich approach” and bury one's head in the sand is exactly what big business desires you to do.
As a Tennessee Licensed Optician, you may ask what can I do to help prevent this from coming to reality in my state? This is where I take the opportunity to stress the importance of involvement in your state organization. The TDOA represents you as an optician in the state of Tennessee. We employ a legislative representative to both keep us informed and make our interests known to those in the government making decisions which affect opticianry as well as the health and welfare of the public.
We provide the continuing education that assists in the effort to prove that knowledge of how to deal with visual deficiencies is necessary to protect the public from harm and legitimize our profession. Come to the regular meetings, the board meetings, come to the CE hours, donate to the PAC fund — just get involved in protecting your license.
Outside of becoming a member of the TDOA I want to encourage each of you to attend the State Board meetings. The schedule for these meetings is posted at tn.gov. If you don't have time to attend a meeting, view the live stream provided on the same website either in real time or after the meeting. There are currently proposed changes to your rules and regulations being discussed. You may or may not agree with these changes. This is the time to make your opinion known.
I will leave you with the old sailor adage: “He who fails to heed the helm will soon heed the rocks.”