BILL NUMBER: S9223
SPONSOR: LIU
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to mandatory continuing
education requirements for acupuncturists
 
PURPOSE:
To establish a modern, efficient, and professionally credible continuing
education (CE) program for licensed acupuncturists in New York State
that protects the public, aligns with national standards, improves the
quality of acupuncture care, and minimizes administrative burden by
recognizing the National Certification Board for Acupuncture and Herbal
Medicine (NCBAHM) as the accrediting body.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The bill adds a new 8216-a to the Education Law within Article 160,
Acupuncture.
Subdivision 1 provides that CE applies to all licensed acupuncturists
who register triennially to practice in New York, with standard
exemptions for the first registration period, health or military hard-
ship, and licensees not in public practice.
Subdivision 2 requires 45 hours per triennial cycle, with a floor of 15
hours per year. Proration applies to partial cycles; there is no carry
over between cycles.
Subdivision 3 authorizes the Department to issue a one-year conditional
registration to cure shortfalls while protecting patients from lapses in
competency.
Subdivision 4 defines "acceptable formal continuing education" as
programs approved by the National Certification Board for Acupuncture
and Herbal Medicine (NCBAHM), or its recognized successor. The Depart-
ment accepts the credit value assigned by NCBAHM and is not required to
pre-approve sponsors or courses. The Commissioner may identify priority
subject areas by regulation as public-health needs evolve.
Subdivision 5 requires licensed acupuncturists to self-attest as part of
license renewal and to maintain documentation of compliance with CE
obligations. Failure to substantiate an attestation upon request of the
Department is professional misconduct under existing law.
Subdivision 6 establishes a $45 CE-compliance fee in addition to exist-
ing registration fees at each triennial attestation to defray audit and
administration costs.
Subdivision 7 authorizes the Commissioner, in consultation with the
State Board for Acupuncture, to promulgate necessary rules. The Depart-
ment is explicitly not required to institute continuing-competency test-
ing.
Section two provides that the effective date of this legislation shall
be 180 days after enactment but also grants the Department immediate
rulemaking authority.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York's Title VIII (Education Law) already requires continuing educa-
tion for many health professions. Acupuncture is a direct-care field
where techniques, safety protocols, and evidence-informed practice
evolve continually. But licensed acupuncturists are currently under no
legal obligation to engage in continuing education in their field. This
bill proposes a right-sized CE framework for New York that:
* Protects patients by reinforcing current best practices in areas such
as infection control, clean needle technique, adverse-event recognition,
integrative-care coordination, and ethical billing/documentation.
* Aligns with national norms by leveraging National Certification Board
for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (NCBAHM), the profession's premier,
widely recognized national credentialing organization. This avoids
duplicative state bureaucracy while ensuring course quality and rele-
vance.
* Minimizes administrative burden through self-attestation at renewal
and targeted random audits, a proven model used elsewhere in Title VIII.
* Respects small practices by accepting the full range of NCBAHM-ap-
proved formats, including cost-effective online learning and live cours-
es, and by providing conditional registration to cure shortfalls without
abruptly sidelining practitioners.
* The bill strikes the right balance: it raises and maintains profes-
sional standards while keeping compliance simple, predictable, and
nationally consistent.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The bill imposes no General Fund impact. The $45 triennial CE-compliance
fee is dedicated to the Department's incremental costs for education
attestation processing and randomized audits.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The legislation takes effect on the one-hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become law. Effective immediately, the Department is author-
ized to promulgate any rules necessary for timely implementation.