Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Tennessee General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the chaptered version. The official bill page.
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PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 714
SENATE BILL NO. 2076
By Watson, Massey, Haile, Harshbarger, Lamar, Seal, Jackson, Southerland, Stevens,
Bowling, Crowe, Reeves, Akbari, Yager, Walley, Hatcher
Substituted for: House Bill No. 1952
By Williams, Faison, Marsh, Atchley, Tim Hicks, McKenzie, McCalmon, Helton-Haynes, Mitchell,
Towns, Cepicky, Raper, Reneau, Rudd, Littleton, Sherrell, Hawk, Hulsey, Doggett, Garrett, Shaw,
Travis, Boyd, Sparks, Capley, Chism, Powers, Cochran, Grills, Lynn, Hale, Harris, Hemmer,
Gary Hicks, Haston, Alexander, Kumar, White, Gant, Davis, Bricken, Moody, Stinnett, Renea Jones,
Vital, Love, Wright, Hardaway
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapter 8, relative to optometry.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 63-8-102, is amended by deleting
subdivisions (11) and (12) and substituting:
(11) "Orthoptics" means any ocular exercise for the correction or relief of abnormal
muscles or functions of the eyes;
(12) "Practice of optometry":
(A) Means:
(i) The employment of an objective or subjective method for the
purpose of ascertaining eye health and a defect of vision, muscular anomaly,
or another abnormal condition of the eyelids, eyes, or the eye's adnexa;
(ii) The prescribing of ophthalmic lenses or prisms to remedy or relieve
a defect of vision or muscular anomaly and the prescribing of contact lenses,
including those with prescription power and those without prescription power,
which are worn for cosmetic purposes;
(iii) The use of orthoptics and the adjusting, fitting, or adapting of
lenses, prisms, or eyeglasses to remedy or relieve a defect of vision or a
muscular anomaly;
(iv) The supplying, replacement, or duplication of an ophthalmic lens or
frame; and
(v) The examination, diagnosis, management, prevention, or treatment
of a condition or disease of the eyelid, eye, or the eye's adnexa, which
includes the following:
(a) The administration and prescribing of a pharmaceutical
agent rational to the diagnosis and treatment of a condition or disease
of the eyelid, eye, or the eye's adnexa by any route of administration
approved for such use;
(b) The performance of primary eye care and surgical
procedures rational to the treatment of a condition or disease of the
eyelid, eye, or the eye's adnexa as determined by the board based on
an optometrist's education, training, and experience;
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(c) The performance or ordering of procedures, imaging, and
laboratory tests rational to the diagnosis of a condition or disease of
the eyelid, eye, or eye's adnexa;
(d) The application of light amplification by stimulated
emissions of radiation (LASER) assisted procedures in the diagnosis,
management, and surgical treatment of a condition or disease of the
anterior segment of the eyelids, eyes, or eye's adnexa;
(e) The administration of diphenhydramine, epinephrine, or an
equivalent medication to counteract anaphylaxis or anaphylactic
reaction and the use of anterior chamber paracentesis in an
emergency situation requiring immediate reduction of the pressure
inside the eye;
(f)(1) The use of a local anesthetic in conjunction with the
primary care or surgical treatment of an eyelid lesion or
changes in the eye's adnexa as a result of non-pathological
aging. However, an optometrist shall not use a local anesthetic
for such purposes unless the optometrist has met the
certification requirements as described in § 63-8-112(4) and in
the rules adopted by the board for the administration of a
pharmaceutical agent in the performance of primary eye care
and a surgical procedure; and
(2) Utilizing local anesthesia by injection in performing
the following procedures:
(A) Needle drainage of an eyelid abscess,
hematoma, bulla, and seroma;
(B) Excision of a single epidermal lesion without
characteristics of malignancy, no larger than five
millimeters (5 mm) in size and no deeper than the
dermal layer of the skin;
(C) Incision and curettage of a nonrecurrent
chalazion;
,(D) Simple repair of an eyelid laceration no
larger than two and one-half centimeters (2.5 cm) and
no deeper than the orbicularis muscle and not involving
the eyelid margin or lacrimal drainage structures;
(E) Removal of a foreign body in the eyelid not
involving· lid margin, lacrimal drainage structures, and
extending no deeper than the orbicularis muscle; and
(F) Intramuscular, subcutaneous, and
intradermal pharmaceuticals for the aesthetic mitigation
of non-pathological aging facial tissue; and
(B) Does not include the following procedures, which an optometrist shall not
perform:
(i) Retina laser procedures, laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis
(LASIK), and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK);
(ii) Surgery related to removal of the eye from a living human being;
(iii) Surgery requiring full thickness incision or excision of the cornea or
sclera other than paracentesis in an emergency situation requiring immediate
reduction of the pressure inside the eye;
(iv) Penetrating keratoplasty, also known as a corneal transplant, or
lamellar keratoplasty;
(v) Surgery requiring incision of the iris and ciliary body;
(vi) Surgery requiring incision of the vitreous;
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(vii) lntravitreal injections;
(viii) Surgery requiring incision of the retina;
(ix) Surgical extraction of the crystalline lens;
(x) lncisional or excisional surgery of the extraocular muscles;
(xi) Surgery of the eyelid for an eyelid malignancy, for incisional
cosmetic, or mechanical repair of blepharochalasis, ptosis, and tarsorrhaphy;
(xii) Surgery of the bony orbit;
(xiii) lncisional or excisional surgery of the lacrimal system other than
punctal dilation, lacrimal probing, lacrimal irrigation, placement of punctal
plugs, or other approved therapeutic devices;
(xiv) Surgery requiring full thickness conjunctivoplasty with graft or flap;
(xv) A laser procedure into the vitreous chamber of the eye to treat
vitreous, retinal, or macular disease;
(xvi) The administration of general anesthesia; and
(xvii) Cataract surgery;
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapter 8, Part 1, is amended by adding
the following as new sections:
63-8-129.
An optometrist who uses a local anesthetic, as described in § 63-8-102(12)(A)(v)(f},
shall provide to the board proof of the following:
(1) The optometrist has a current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
certification by an organization approved by the board; and
(2) The optometrist has an automated external defibrillator (AED) present at
all times in the optometrist's office in which the optometrist is administering the local
anesthetic.
63-8-130.
(a) An optometrist may only perform the following surgical procedures utilizing a
LASER: •
(1) Peripheral iridotomy;
(2) Selective laser trabeculoplasty; and
(3) YAG capsulotomy.
(b) An optometrist shall not perform a surgical procedure utilizing a LASER, as
described in subsection (a}, unless the optometrist is certified by the board to perform such
procedure.
(c) To obtain board certification to perform surgical procedures utilizing a LASER, as
described in subsection (a), an optometrist must provide proof satisfactory to the board that
the optometrist has completed the necessary didactic and clinical training in the use of
LASERs from an accredited optometry school or college, including training in the use of
LASERs for medically recognized and appropriate treatment of the human eye.
(d) The board shall adopt rules governing the certification of optometrists to utilize
LASERs. The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative
Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
63-8-131.
An optometrist is held to the same standard of care as that of other physicians
providing similar services.
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SECTION 3. For the purpose of rule promulgation, this act takes effect upon becoming a law,
the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect January 1, 2028, the public
welfare requiring it.
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SENATE BILL NO. 2076
PASSED: March 30, 2026
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\ RAN[)Y MtNALLY
SPEAKER OF THE SENATE
CAMERON ScXTON, SPEAKER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
f4l!. APPROVED this. day of Ae,,.., 2026
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BILL LEE, GOVERNOREvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.