Licenses and limited X-ray machine operator permits to engage in the practice of radiography, creating a radiography examining board, granting rule-making authority, and requiring the exercise of rule-making authority

What it does

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill regulates the practice of radiography, defined in the bill as the imaging of anatomical structures by application of X-rays to the human body using knowledge in certain technical fields for the purpose of medical diagnosis. Under the bill, no person may practice radiography except a person who holds a license or who holds a limited X-ray machine operator permit (limited permit), but the bill contains an exception for the quantitative assessment of bone mass using single or dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (bone densitometry). A limited permit authorizes the holder to perform radiography of one or more of four portions of the body specified in the bill. A license or limited permit is granted by a seven-member Radiography Examining Board (board), created in the bill. The license or limited permit requirement does not apply to a physician, chiropractor, dentist, dental hygienist, or podiatrist, to a person who is directly supervised by a chiropractor and who has completed a training program approved by the Chiropractic Examining Board, or to a person who is directly supervised by a podiatrist and who has completed a training program approved by the Podiatrists Affiliated Credentialing Board. The bill prohibits the use of diagnostic X-ray equipment on humans for diagnostic purposes without a prescription or order by a physician, dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor, advanced practice nurse prescriber, or physician assistant.

Under the bill, the board may grant a license or limited permit to a person who is at least 18 years of age, holds a high school diploma or equivalent, pays a fee, passes an examination, and completes specified educational requirements. To obtain a license, a person must complete an approved course of study in radiography. To obtain a limited permit, a person must complete an appropriate course of study.

Who's behind it

7 senators are its authors⁠. 5 are Democrats and 2 are Republicans.

16 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DORL
• Fiscal Estimate From DORL (Corrected)