# Georgia HB 185: Professions and businesses; repeal and reenact Chapter 11A, the Dietetics Practice Act Georgia HB 185, Professions and businesses; repeal and reenact Chapter 11A, the Dietetics Practice Act, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Ginny Ehrhart (Republican), Alan Powell (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-05-11 (House Date Signed by Governor) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB185-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Georgia HB 185 - State: Georgia - Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session - Title: Professions and businesses; repeal and reenact Chapter 11A, the Dietetics Practice Act - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-29 - Last action: 2026-05-11, House Date Signed by Governor - Sponsors: Ginny Ehrhart (Republican), Alan Powell (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Regulated Industries, Regulated Industries and Utilities, General Bill - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 3 (368 yes, 13 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 20 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Dietitian care joins insurance protection rules: benefit, low. Georgia includes licensed dietitians and nutritionists in provider definitions for patient protection, surprise billing, and insurance price disclosure. It also includes them in the medical professional definition used by insurance-information law. These changes do not guarantee insurance coverage,… - Nutrition professionals gain recognized care roles: benefit, low. Licensed dietitians and nutritionists are recognized in Georgia's health-share volunteer and volunteer healthcare programs. Georgia-board licensees are excluded from the employee definition in the long-term care background-check program. Licensed dietitians and nutritionists can use genetic data fo… - Interstate dietitians avoid duplicate continuing education: benefit, low. Dietitians practicing in another state through a compact privilege do not need to meet that state’s continuing education requirements. They must still meet their licensing home state’s continuing education requirements. - Military dietitians can keep licensing home states: benefit, low. Active service members and their spouses can choose a licensing home state for the interstate dietitian compact. They must hold a current dietetics license in good standing in that state. They can keep that choice throughout the service member’s active duty. - Dietitians join pandemic healthcare provider rules: benefit, low. Georgia’s pandemic business safety law includes licensed dietitians and nutritionists in its healthcare provider definition. This applies to those licensed or otherwise authorized to provide healthcare services in Georgia. - Seven states activate the dietitian compact: benefit, low. The compact starts when a seventh state enacts it; these provisions do not establish a calendar start date. Its joint state commission begins on or after activation and administers compact operations through rules, bylaws, and authorized fees. Georgia's executive and judicial branches must enforce… - New requirements for Georgia nutritionist licenses: cost, medium. Nutritionist applicants must be at least 18, pay fees, pass background checks, and hold a qualifying master's or doctoral degree. Coursework includes 15 semester hours in clinical or life sciences, including three in anatomy or physiology. Another 15 hours cover nutrition or metabolism, including s… - New requirements for Georgia dietitian licenses: mixed, medium. Dietitian applicants must be at least 18, pay application fees, and meet accredited master's or doctoral degree requirements. They need 1,000 supervised practice hours within five years of the degree; limited extensions cover extraordinary circumstances. They must pass the registered-dietitian exam… - Exceptions preserve wellness and telehealth services: mixed, low. Licensing exceptions cover general wellness education, religious practice, authorized government work, supervised training, and nutrition care within another licensed profession. Support and weight-control services must require no professional judgment and meet supervision or program requirements.… - Nutrition care powers and protected titles: mixed, low. Licensed nutritionists can order therapeutic diets taken by mouth, related medical lab tests, and recommend supplements. Medical nutrition therapy is limited to licensed dietitians, licensed nutritionists, and others authorized by the law. Dietitian titles, including dietician and dietitian nutriti… - Dietitians gain interstate practice with requirements: mixed, low. Georgia joins a compact allowing qualifying dietitians to practice in other member states without separate full licenses. Eligibility requires current Registered Dietitian registration or the specified accredited education, 1,000 supervised hours, recent exam, and continuous-licensure route. Dietit… - Interstate dietitians face discipline and costs: mixed, low. Only the home state can discipline its license; another member state can discipline local practice privileges through its due-process laws. A restricted home-state license revokes privileges in all other member states until the restrictions are removed. Dietitians must then meet compact requirement… - License options for dietitians and nutritionists: mixed, low. The board can license applicants without an exam using substantially equivalent out-of-state credentials, or registered-dietitian status for dietitian applicants. Dietitians who applied before July 1, 2026, keep licensure by staying in good standing with active or inactive status. After education a… - Moving dietitians must transfer home licenses: mixed, low. Dietitians moving between compact states must apply and pay for a new home-state license and notify both states. They must complete required fingerprint-based FBI and other background checks, plus the new state's legal-knowledge requirements. Once the new license starts, the old home-state license… - Georgia board oversees both nutrition professions: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Georgia's licensing board continues under a name covering licensed dietitians and licensed nutritionists. Its nine members include six dietitians, one nutritionist, one physician, and one public member. Members must be U.S. citizens and Georgia residents; professional member… - Nutrition care supervision and safety penalties: mixed, low. Qualified supervisors must take responsibility for trainee care, document plans, review records, and assign work within the trainee's training. They must provide suitable oversight and arrange another qualified provider when unavailable to help a patient. By majority vote, the board can discipline… - Nutrition professionals enter existing healthcare rules: mixed, low. Georgia's healthcare advertising, signs, and identification rules now name licensed dietitians and licensed nutritionists. The law also names both professions in malpractice affidavit rules and hospital-provider relationship and liability definitions. These changes place the professions within exis… - States share dietitian records and checks: mixed, low. Member states must share licensing, discipline, and significant investigation information, monitor the shared system, and enforce compact rules. The commission must assign each practice-privilege applicant a unique ID, and states must recognize qualifying privileges. States must establish fingerpri… - Dietitian privileges have state exit safeguards: mixed, low. The interstate licensing compact overrides conflicting state rules, but only where they conflict. The commission can deny state participation when a state constitutional rule materially conflicts with the compact. Ending existing membership must follow the compact’s termination steps. Termination f… - Dietitian compact fees and legal safeguards: mixed, low. Member states can charge practice-privilege fees; the commission can charge privilege holders and assess states annually for otherwise unfunded costs. Fee amounts are not stated, and the commission sets the state-assessment formula by rule. Commission rules have legal force, but courts can block co… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Ginny Ehrhart (Republican), House - Sponsor: Alan Powell (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Matt Brass (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-18 | House | Agree to Senate Substitute | pass | 155 | 8 | 8 | | 2026-03-12 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 42 | 3 | 5 | | 2025-03-06 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 171 | 2 | 2 | ## Actions (22) - 2026-05-11: House Date Signed by Governor (House) - 2026-05-11: Act 436 - 2026-05-11: Effective Date - 2026-04-06: House Sent to Governor (House) - 2026-03-18: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House) - 2026-03-12: Senate Third Read (Senate) - 2026-03-12: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate) - 2026-02-06: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate) - 2026-01-12: Senate Taken from Table (Senate) - 2026-01-12: Senate Recommitted (Senate) - 2025-04-02: Senate Tabled (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Senate Read Second Time (Senate) - 2025-03-20: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate) - 2025-03-10: Senate Read and Referred (Senate) - 2025-03-06: House Third Readers (House) - 2025-03-06: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House) - 2025-03-04: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House) - 2025-02-27: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House) - 2025-02-11: House Committee Favorably Reported (House) - 2025-02-03: House Second Readers (House) - 2025-01-30: House First Readers (House) - 2025-01-29: House Hopper (House) ## Bill text - HB 185/AP* (v10): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/246383) ## Related bills - SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed) - SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed) - SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed) - SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed) - HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed) - HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed) ## Sources - [HB 185/AP* (v10) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/246383) ## Related - [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026) - [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026) - [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026) - [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026) - [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026) - [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026) - [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills) - [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB185-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).