This photo shows the Utah State Capitol, Thursday, March 14, 2013, in Salt Lake City. Utah lawmakers are entering the final day of what has been a relatively quiet 45-day legislative session. By constitutional rule the Legislature must end its session Thursday, which often means the stroke of midnight. Lawmakers are wrapping up negotiations on a number of bills, including proposals to change the state's liquor and gun laws, and putting the finishing touches on a roughly $13 billion state budget. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
February 21, 2024 /Local News

Eye Care Bill Changes Who May Perform Surgeries

(Salt Lake City, UT) — An eye care bill in the state legislature is pitting two groups of professionals against one another. Senate Bill 210 would allow optometrists to perform certain laser procedures. SB210 is sponsored by Republican Representative James Dunnigan of Taylorsville and Provo Republican Senator Curtis Bramble. The procedures listed in the bill do not include LASIK or cataract surgery. The bill does provide authorization for two other surgeries by optometrists. These professionals are not medical school-trained but are doctors with expertise in diagnosis and treating of eye illnesses. Ophthalmologists are physicians trained in eye surgery. This group says public health is at risk with the proposed legislation.

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