HB 2386 — An Act establishing the State Board of Opticianry; and providing for registration of opticians.

PRINTER'S NO.     3200

                    THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                        HOUSE BILL
                        No. 2386
                                               Session of
                                                 2026

     INTRODUCED BY GUZMAN, HILL-EVANS, BURGOS AND SANCHEZ,
        APRIL 14, 2026

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, APRIL 15, 2026


                                    AN ACT
 1   Establishing the State Board of Opticianry; and providing for
 2      registration of opticians.
 3      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 4   hereby enacts as follows:
 5   Section 1.    Short title.
 6      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Optician
 7   Certification and Consumer Vision Protection Act.
 8   Section 2.    Definitions.
 9      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11   context clearly indicates otherwise:
12      "Apprenticeship."    An approved supervised training under a
13   certified optician, optometrist or ophthalmologist.
14      "Board."    The State Board of Opticianry established in
15   section 4.
16      "Certification."    A current certification by an agency
17   approved by the State Board of Opticianry.
18      "Certification-based registration."    The process by which
 1   certified opticians are registered with the board.
 2      "Optician."        A health care professional who provides patient
 3   education for prescription eyewear and associated optical
 4   devices, performs measurements, analyzes and interprets a
 5   prescription, prepares, fits and dispenses eyeglasses, contact
 6   lenses and related optical devices based on a prescription from
 7   an ophthalmologist or optometrist.
 8   Section 3.     Certification-based registration requirement.
 9      (a)   Requirement to practice.--An individual may not practice
10   as an optician or use titles such as "optician," "dispensing
11   optician," "optical technician" or "ophthalmic dispenser" unless
12   the individual is registered with the board and holds a current
13   certification.
14      (b)   Requirements for registration.--An applicant for
15   certification-based registration shall submit to the board:
16            (1)   Proof of passage of a certification exam approved by
17      the State Board of Opticianry.
18            (2)   Documentation required by the board, including:
19                  (i)    Current national opticianry certification.
20                  (ii)    If fitting contact lenses, current national
21            contact lens certification.
22                  (iii)    Completion of minimum required continuing
23            education by the board.
24                  (iv)    Additional requirements of the board.
25            (3)   Proof of passage of a certification exam approved by
26      the board and completion of one of the following:
27                  (i)    An associate degree in opticianry from a
28            regionally accredited opticianry program as approved by
29            the State Board of Education.
30                  (ii)    Certificate of completion of a minimum of 2,400

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 1            hours of supervised apprenticeship.
 2                  (iii)   Completion of a State-approved area career and
 3            technical school education program.
 4            (4)   Payment of an applicable registration fee.
 5   Section 4.     State Board of Opticianry.
 6      (a)   Establishment.--The State Board of Opticianry is
 7   established to oversee certification-based registration,
 8   discipline and rulemaking.
 9      (b)   Membership.--The board shall consist of the following,
10   chosen by the Governor:
11            (1)   Three certified opticians.
12            (2)   One ophthalmologist or optometrist.
13            (3)   One public member.
14      (c)   Quorum.--A majority of members must be physically
15   present or online through a live-stream synchronous video
16   conference or similar virtual presence technology to constitute
17   a quorum. Members who miss three consecutive meetings without an
18   approved excuse shall forfeit their membership.
19      (d)   Duties.--The board shall:
20            (1)   Enforce this act.
21            (2)   Review complaints and impose disciplinary actions
22      under this act and regulations promulgated under this act.
23            (3)   Approve continuing education standards.
24            (4)   Coordinate with agencies approved by the board for
25      certification verification.
26   Section 5.     Certification maintenance and registry.
27      (a)   Maintaining certification.--An optician must maintain
28   active certification from an organization approved by the board
29   to practice as an optician.
30      (b)   Renewal.--Certification shall be renewed every three

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 1   years with a minimum of nine credits in spectacle education and
 2   12 credits in contact lens education, if applicable, tri-
 3   annually received through in-person education. The board may
 4   require additional continuing education credits annually.
 5      (c)   Acceptance.--The board shall annually accept an upload
 6   of certified opticians from an organization approved by the
 7   board.
 8      (d)   Public registry.--The board shall maintain a public
 9   registry of certified and registered opticians.
10   Section 6.     Applicability.
11      This act applies as follows:
12            (1)   This act shall not apply to:
13                  (i)    Ophthalmologists or optometrists.
14                  (ii)    Technicians working under the supervision of a
15            licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist.
16                  (iii)    Students in accredited opticianry programs
17            under supervision.
18            (2)   An optician with 10 or more years of documented
19      professional experience prior to the effective date of this
20      paragraph shall be exempt from certification requirements for
21      a period of 24 months. Opticians with a current license from
22      another state shall have three months to reinstate their
23      certification with the agency approved by the board.
24   Section 7.     Effective date.
25      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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