Tennessee Licensing Board Repeal

On April 28, 2023, Governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 1191 and House Bill 1388 into law, which terminates the Tennessee Radiologic Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board of Examiners and negates the requirement that all persons performing radiologic imaging, radiography or radiation therapy procedures in hospitals, outpatient diagnostic centers, recuperation centers, physicians’ offices or any other setting for human patients must be licensed by the board. 

The law amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 63, Chapter 6 and authorizes the Board of Medical Examiners to establish and issue limited and full x-ray certifications, including minimum educational requirements, standards and application fees. The law also prohibits a person from performing x-ray procedures in a physician's office without being licensed as a physician or certified by the BME and prohibits a certified x-ray operator from performing x-ray procedures without an order from a physician or osteopathic physician, or under the supervision of a physician or osteopathic physician.

Tennessee’s radiologic technologist law was amended in 2016 to establish the Tennessee Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board of Examiners and expand licensure requirements for radiologic technologists working in all health care settings. Legislators promoting SB 1191 and HB 1388 gave the rationale that the TMIRTB had failed to promulgate rules in the past six years and was running in a deficit. Unfortunately, legislators chose to ignore many of the nuances of this situation.

Tennessee patients deserve high-quality and safe care across health care settings and plans to rectify the problem of the dissolution of the TMIRTB are under discussion.

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Tennessee Action Items

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            2023 State Legislature
            Out of Session

Tennessee Resources

You can familiarize yourself with Tennessee laws and legislative process, guidelines for the rule-making process and helpful resources provided by clicking on the links under each heading.

Legislature
Tennessee General Assembly

Helpful Resources
Legislative Drafting Guide
 
State Government — How a Bill Becomes a Law
How a Bill Becomes a Law

Regulations/Rules
Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures Act

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