00 HOUSE BILL NO. 157 01 "An Act relating to licensure of dietitians and nutritionists; and providing for an 02 effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 08 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 05 CHAPTER 38. DIETITIANS AND NUTRITIONISTS. 06 Sec. 08.38.010. LICENSE REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided in 07 AS 08.38.080 or (b) of this section, an individual may not, unless licensed as a 08 dietitian or nutritionist by the department, 09 (1) engage in dietetics or nutrition practice; 10 (2) use the title "dietitian," "licensed dietitian," "nutritionist," "licensed 11 nutritionist," or an occupational title using the word "dietitian" or "nutritionist"; 12 (3) advertise or otherwise hold out as a dietitian or nutritionist. 13 (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, an individual who is registered by the 14 Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association may use the 01 title "registered dietitian" and the designation "R.D." 02 (c) An individual who violates (a)(1) of this section is guilty of a class B 03 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by a definite term of 04 imprisonment of not more than one year, or by both. 05 (d) An individual who obtains or attempts to obtain a dietitian or nutritionist 06 license by dishonest or fraudulent means or who forges, counterfeits, or fraudulently 07 alters a dietitian's or nutritionist's license, is punishable by a fine of not more than 08 $500, by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both. 09 Sec. 08.38.020. DIETITIAN LICENSURE. The department shall issue a 10 dietitian license to an individual who applies on a form provided by the department 11 and submits evidence satisfactory to the department of either 12 (1) being a registered dietitian; or 13 (2) meeting the following qualifications: 14 (A) having a baccalaureate or postgraduate degree from a 15 United States regionally accredited college or university with a major in 16 dietetics, human nutrition, nutrition education, food and nutrition, or food 17 service management; 18 (B) having completed a documented supervised preprofessional 19 practice experience component in dietetic practice of at least 900 hours under 20 the supervision of a registered dietitian, a licensed nutrition professional, or an 21 individual with a doctoral degree conferred by a United States regionally 22 accredited college or university with a major course of study in human 23 nutrition, nutrition education, food and nutrition, dietetics, or food systems 24 management; this supervised practice experience must be completed in the 25 United States or its territories, and supervisors of this experience who obtained 26 their doctoral outside the United States and its territories must have their 27 degrees conferred by a United States regionally accredited college or university; 28 and 29 (C) having successfully completed the registration examination 30 for dietitians administered by the commission. 31 Sec. 08.38.030. NUTRITIONIST LICENSURE. The department shall issue 01 a nutritionist license to an individual who applies on a form provided by the 02 department and submits evidence satisfactory to the department that the individual 03 either 04 (1) has qualified as a diplomate of the American Board of Nutrition in 05 Springfield, Virginia; or 06 (2) meets the following qualifications: 07 (A) has received a master's or doctoral degree from an 08 accredited or approved college or university with a major in human nutrition, 09 public health nutrition, clinical nutrition, nutrition education, community 10 nutrition, or food and nutrition; and 11 (B) has completed a documented supervised preprofessional 12 practice experience component in dietetic practice of at least 900 hours under 13 the supervision of a registered dietitian, a licensed nutrition professional, or an 14 individual with a doctoral degree conferred by a United States regionally 15 accredited college or university with a major course of study in human 16 nutrition, nutrition education, food and nutrition, dietetics or food systems 17 management; supervised practice experience under this paragraph must be 18 completed in the United States or its territories, and the supervisors used under 19 this paragraph who obtained their doctoral degree outside the United States and 20 its territories must have their degrees validated as equivalent to the doctoral 21 degree conferred by a United States regionally accredited college or university. 22 Sec. 08.38.040. GROUNDS FOR SUSPENSION, REVOCATION, OR 23 REFUSAL TO ISSUE A LICENSE. The department may, after a hearing, impose a 24 disciplinary sanction authorized under AS 08.01.075 on an individual licensed under 25 this chapter when the department finds that the licensee 26 (1) secured a license through deceit, fraud, or intentional 27 misrepresentation; 28 (2) engaged in deceit, fraud, or intentional misrepresentation in the 29 course of providing professional services or engaging in professional activities; 30 (3) advertised professional services in a false or misleading manner; 31 (4) has been convicted of a felony or of another crime that affects the 01 licensee's ability to continue to practice competently and safely; 02 (5) failed to comply with this chapter, with a regulation adopted under 03 this chapter, or with an order of the department; 04 (6) continued to practice after becoming unfit due to 05 (A) professional incompetence; 06 (B) addiction or severe dependency on alcohol or a drug that 07 impairs the licensee's ability to practice safely; 08 (C) physical or mental disability; or 09 (7) engaged in lewd or immoral conduct in connection with the delivery 10 of professional service to patients. 11 Sec. 08.38.050. RECIPROCITY. The department may issue a license to an 12 applicant who is licensed as a dietitian or nutritionist in another state or the District 13 of Columbia if, in the judgment of the department, the standards for licensure in the 14 other jurisdiction are not less stringent than the requirements in this chapter. 15 Sec. 08.38.080. EXEMPTIONS. The requirements of this chapter do not apply 16 to 17 (1) a person pursuing a degree in dietetics or nutrition at an accredited 18 college or university who is practicing under the supervision of a licensed dietitian or 19 licensed nutritionist and in accordance with accepted scientific knowledge and 20 standards of practice, provided that the person is designated by a title that clearly 21 indicates the person's status as a student or trainee; 22 (2) a person in the process of fulfilling the professional experience 23 requirements in dietetics or nutrition necessary for licensure who is practicing under 24 the supervision of a licensed dietitian or licensed nutritionist and in accordance with 25 accepted scientific knowledge and standards of practice, provided that the person is 26 designated by a title that clearly indicates the person's status as a trainee; 27 (3) a person licensed to practice medicine, nursing, optometry, 28 psychology, pharmacy, dentistry, chiropractic or naturopathic medicine, when nutrition 29 practice is incidental to the practice of the person's profession and the person does not 30 hold out as being a dietitian or nutritionist unless licensed as a dietitian or nutritionist; 31 (4) a person, including a registered dietetic technician, or other 01 paraprofessional working in a program administered by a licensed dietitian or licensed 02 nutritionist, if the person's activities are within the scope of the person's education and 03 training and in accordance with accepted scientific knowledge and standards of practice 04 in nutrition or dietetics and the person does not hold out as being a dietitian or 05 nutritionist unless licensed as a dietitian or nutritionist; 06 (5) a person who provides weight control services, provided the 07 nutrition program has been reviewed by, consultation is available from, and no 08 program change can be initiated without the prior approval of either a licensed dietitian 09 under this chapter, a licensed dietitian in another state that has licensure requirements 10 that are substantially equivalent to the requirements contained in this chapter, or a 11 registered dietitian; 12 (6) a home economist with a baccalaureate or graduate degree from an 13 accredited college or university, if the person's activities are within the scope of the 14 person's education and training and in accordance with accepted scientific knowledge 15 and standards of practice and the person does not hold out as being a dietitian or 16 nutritionist unless licensed as a dietitian or nutritionist; 17 (7) a person employed by a federal, state, or municipal agency, school 18 district, regionally accredited institution of higher education, or nonprofit agency, if the 19 person's activities are within the scope of the person's employment and the person 20 does not hold out as being a dietitian or nutritionist unless licensed as a dietitian or 21 nutritionist; 22 (8) a person who furnishes nutrition information on food, food 23 materials, or dietary supplements or engages in the explanation to customers about 24 foods or food products in connection with the marketing and distribution of those 25 products, provided that the person does not hold out as being a dietitian or nutritionist 26 unless licensed as a dietitian or nutritionist; 27 (9) a person who is recognized in the community as a provider of 28 nutritional advice, including a medicine man or a medicine woman, and who advises 29 people according to or based on traditional practices, provided the person does not 30 hold out as being a dietitian or nutritionist unless licensed as a dietitian or nutritionist; 31 (10) an animal nutritionist whose activities are limited to the nutritional 01 care of animals; animal nutritionists may use the title "nutritionist" as long as they 02 provide nutrition services only to animals; 03 (11) a person who provides nutrition services to family members 04 without remuneration; 05 (12) a person involved in dietary or nutritional counseling under a 06 research study supervised by an institution of higher learning or a state agency that has 07 been approved by an institutional review board to ensure the informed consent and 08 safety of study participants; or 09 (13) the practice of the tenets of a religion, sect, or denomination, 10 provided that a member of the religion, sect, or denomination may not use the title 11 "dietitian" or "nutritionist" unless licensed to do so. 12 Sec. 08.38.100. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter, 13 (1) "accredited college or university" means a college or university 14 accredited by the regional accrediting agencies recognized by the Council on 15 Post-Secondary Accreditation and the United States Department of Education at the 16 time the degree was conferred; 17 (2) "association" means the American Dietetic Association; 18 (3) "commission" means the Commission on Dietetic Registration that 19 is a member of the National Commission on Health Certifying Agencies and that 20 establishes national standards of competence for individuals participating in the health 21 care delivery system; 22 (4) "dietetics or nutrition practice" means the integration and 23 application of scientific principles of food, nutrition, biochemistry, physiology, food 24 management, and behavioral and social sciences to achieve and maintain human health 25 through the provision of nutrition care services; 26 (5) "nutritional assessment" means the evaluation of the nutritional 27 needs of individuals or groups based on appropriate biochemical, anthropometric, 28 physical, and dietary data to determine nutrient needs and recommend appropriate 29 nutritional care; 30 (6) "nutrition care services" means 31 (A) assessment of the nutritional needs of individuals or groups; 01 (B) establishment of priorities, goals, and objectives to meet 02 nutritional needs; 03 (C) provision of nutrition counseling for both normal and 04 therapeutic needs; 05 (D) development, implementation, and management of nutrition 06 care services; or 07 (E) evaluation, adjustment, and maintenance of appropriate 08 standards of quality in nutrition care; 09 (7) "nutrition counseling" means advising and assisting individuals or 10 groups on appropriate nutritional intake by integrating information from the nutritional 11 assessment with the information on food and other sources of nutrients and meal 12 preparation consistent with cultural background and socioeconomic status; 13 (8) "nutritionist" means an individual who engages in dietetics or 14 nutrition practice and uses the title "nutritionist"; 15 (9) "registered dietitian" means an individual who engages in dietetics 16 or nutrition practice and is registered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration of 17 the American Dietetic Association. 18 * Sec. 2. AS 08.01.010 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 19 (36) regulation of dietitians and nutritionists under AS 08.38. 20 * Sec. 3. Except as provided in sec. 4 of this Act, this Act takes effect immediately under 21 AS 01.10.070(c). 22 * Sec. 4. AS 08.38.010, enacted by sec. 1 of this Act, takes effect January 1, 1996.