Act NOW! Urge NY Senators to “Vote NO” on Dietitian Licensing Bill, SB 2231C

NO LONGER ACTIVE: Bill Not Passed Before Session Ended

Tomorrow at 11:30am the New York Senate Higher Education Committee will vote on SB 2231-C and its members need to hear from you that you want them to vote NO! SB 2231-C is a monopolistic dietitian/nutritionist licensing bill that would limit free speech and infringe the rights of consumers and practitioners when it comes to nutrition education and nutrition services. Click here to send a message to your personal legislators and to every Higher Education Committee member asking them to oppose these unnecessary bills that threaten your health freedom. Please send a letter of opposition now. Then spend a few minutes to call Committee members, phone info below; simply leave a message with the legislative assistant saying you are a NY resident who opposes SB 2231 and want the Senator to VOTE NO tomorrow. Calls get a lot more attention than emails and you have less than 24 hours to be heard! Even better if you can show up tomorrow in Albany, Room 807 LOB, to voice your opposition in person!

The Senate Higher Education Committee is chaired by the sponsor of SB 2231-C, Senator Kenneth LaValle, and it will likely vote to pass the bill out of committee UNLESS you take action today and tomorrow! In the past, the committee has passed the bill without any discussion of the impact it will have on NYer’s health freedom rights and despite the fact that the opposition comments significantly outweighed the support! For example, when the bill was heard in 2014 (SB 4999), the only support came from the Dietitian’s special interest group but the committee still passed the bill! Watch the 5 minutes devoted to the bill in 2014, starting at 4:47 minutes into the video, here. The committee members need to hear from you that this should not happen again! Please call and send messages now!

The entire New York Senate already passed SB 2231 this summer but, fortunately, the Assembly did not and so the bills had to start the process over with the start of the new session in 2018. Now, these bills are being heard in committees and, given the supportive votes for them in the past, it’s more important than ever for you to educate your legislators on why you want them to oppose AB 8504/SB 2231-C. They need to hear from you that health-seekers deserve to have maximum options protected for them as they work to explore their wellness and health. Take Action Here to ask your legislators to please oppose AB 8504/SB 2231!

Currently, New York law is already adequate; dietitians and nutritionists are eligible for voluntary title certification through the New York State Educaition Department , pursuant to Article 157 of the education law. Certification provides protection of the title – Certified Dietitian/Nutritionist. These bills seek to change the law to mandatory licensure and prohibit anyone without a license from doing anything within the scope of practice outlined in the bill. AB 8504/SB 2231 contains a list of exemptions that are not broad enough to protect the practices of thousands of wellness practitioners providing wonderful services to consumers in New York, such as health coaches. Without proper exemptions to protect free speech and economic liberty, these bills must be stopped. Please support NHFA in opposing these bills by Taking Action now.

Members of the Senate Higher Education Committee to call NOW: