Traditional Healing Amendments

3
58-1-307
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Traditional Healing Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Jake Fitisemanu
Senate Sponsor: Luz Escamilla
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses traditional healing.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
clarifies that a traditional healing provider that is providing traditional healing services is
not required to be licensed; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
58-1-307
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 438
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
58-1-307
is amended to read:
58-1-307
. Exemptions from licensure.
(1)
Except as otherwise provided by statute or rule, the following individuals may engage in
the practice of their occupation or profession, subject to the stated circumstances and
limitations, without being licensed under this title:
(a)
an individual serving in the armed forces of the United States, the United States
Public Health Service, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or other
federal agencies while engaged in activities regulated under this chapter as a part of
employment with that federal agency if the individual holds a valid license to practice
a regulated occupation or profession issued by any other state or jurisdiction
recognized by the division;
(b)
a student engaged in activities constituting the practice of a regulated occupation or
profession while in training in a recognized school approved by the division to the
extent the activities are supervised by qualified faculty, staff, or designee and the
activities are a defined part of the training program;
(c)
an individual engaged in an internship, residency, preceptorship, postceptorship,
fellowship, apprenticeship, or on-the-job training program approved by the division
while under the supervision of qualified individuals;
(d)
an individual residing in another state and licensed to practice a regulated occupation
or profession in that state, who is called in for a consultation by an individual
licensed in this state, and the services provided are limited to that consultation;
(e)
an individual who is invited by a recognized school, association, society, or other
body approved by the division to conduct a lecture, clinic, or demonstration of the
practice of a regulated occupation or profession if the individual does not establish a
place of business or regularly engage in the practice of the regulated occupation or
profession in this state;
(f)
an individual licensed under the laws of this state, other than under this title, to
practice or engage in an occupation or profession, while engaged in the lawful,
professional, and competent practice of that occupation or profession;
(g)
an individual licensed in a health care profession in another state who performs that
profession while attending to the immediate needs of a patient for a reasonable period
during which the patient is being transported from outside of this state, into this state,
or through this state;
(h)
an individual licensed in another state or country who is in this state temporarily to
attend to the needs of an athletic team or group, except that the practitioner may only
attend to the needs of the athletic team or group, including all individuals who travel
with the team or group in any capacity except as a spectator;
(i)
an individual licensed and in good standing in another state, who is in this state:
(i)
temporarily, under the invitation and control of a sponsoring entity;
(ii)
for a reason associated with a special purpose event, based upon needs that may
exceed the ability of this state to address through its licensees, as determined by
the division; and
(iii)
for a limited period of time not to exceed the duration of that event, together with
any necessary preparatory and conclusionary periods;
and
(j)
the spouse of an individual serving in the armed forces of the United States or the
spouse of a DOD civilian while the individual or DOD civilian is stationed within
this state, provided:
(i)
the spouse holds a valid license to practice a regulated occupation or profession
issued by any other state or jurisdiction recognized by the division; and
(ii)
the license is current and the spouse is in good standing in the state of licensure
.
;
and
(k)
a traditional healing provider engaging in the practice of traditional healing services,
as those terms are defined in Section
26B-3-230
and as established by rule by the
division, in consultation with Utah Native American tribes and indigenous
communities, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative
Rulemaking Act.
(2)
(a)
A practitioner temporarily in this state who is exempted from licensure under
Subsection
(1)
shall comply with each requirement of the licensing jurisdiction from
which the practitioner derives authority to practice.
(b)
Violation of a limitation imposed by this section constitutes grounds for removal of
exempt status, denial of license, or other disciplinary proceedings.
(3)
An individual who is licensed under a specific chapter of this title to practice or engage
in an occupation or profession may engage in the lawful, professional, and competent
practice of that occupation or profession without additional licensure under other
chapters of this title, except as otherwise provided by this title.
(4)
Upon the declaration of a national, state, or local emergency, a public health emergency
as defined in Section
26B-7-301
, or a declaration by the president of the United States or
other federal official requesting public health-related activities, the division in
collaboration with the relevant board may:
(a)
suspend the requirements for permanent or temporary licensure of individuals who
are licensed in another state for the duration of the emergency while engaged in the
scope of practice for which they are licensed in the other state;
(b)
modify, under the circumstances described in this Subsection
(4)
and Subsection
(5)
,
the scope of practice restrictions under this title for individuals who are licensed
under this title as:
(i)
a physician under
Chapter 67, Utah Medical Practice Act
, or
Chapter 68, Utah
Osteopathic Medical Practice Act
;
(ii)
a nurse under
Chapter 31b, Nurse Practice Act
, or
Chapter 31e, Nurse Licensure
Compact - Revised
;
(iii)
a certified nurse midwife under
Chapter 44a, Nurse Midwife Practice Act
;
(iv)
a pharmacist, pharmacy technician, or pharmacy intern under
Chapter 17b,
Pharmacy Practice Act
;
(v)
a respiratory therapist under
Chapter 57, Respiratory Care Practices Act
;
(vi)
a dentist and dental hygienist under
Chapter 69, Dentist and Dental Hygienist
Practice Act
; and
(vii)
a physician assistant under
Chapter 70a, Utah Physician Assistant Act
;
(c)
suspend the requirements for licensure under this title and modify the scope of
practice in the circumstances described in this Subsection
(4)
and Subsection
(5)
for
medical services personnel or paramedics required to be licensed under Section
53-2d-402
;
(d)
suspend requirements in Subsections
58-17b-620(3)
through
(6)
which require
certain prescriptive procedures;
(e)
exempt or modify the requirement for licensure of an individual who is activated as a
member of a medical reserve corps during a time of emergency as provided in
Section
26A-1-126
;
(f)
exempt or modify the requirement for licensure of an individual who is registered as
a volunteer health practitioner as provided in
Title 26B, Chapter 4, Part 8, Uniform
Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act
; and
(g)
in accordance with rules made by the division in accordance with
Title 63G, Chapter
3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act
, exempt or modify the requirements for
licensure of an individual engaged in one or more of the construction trades described
in
Chapter 55, Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act
.
(5)
Individuals exempt under Subsection
(4)(c)
and individuals operating under modified
scope of practice provisions under Subsection
(4)(b)
:
(a)
are exempt from licensure or subject to modified scope of practice for the duration of
the emergency;
(b)
must
shall
be engaged in the distribution of medicines or medical devices in
response to the emergency or declaration; and
(c)
must
shall
be employed by or volunteering for:
(i)
a local or state department of health; or
(ii)
a host entity as defined in Section
26B-4-801
.
(6)
In accordance with the protocols established under Subsection
(8)
, upon the declaration
of a national, state, or local emergency, the Department of Health and Human Services
or a local health department shall coordinate with public safety authorities as defined in
Subsection
26B-7-323(1)
and may:
(a)
use a vaccine, antiviral, antibiotic, or other prescription medication that is not a
controlled substance to prevent or treat a disease or condition that gave rise to, or was
a consequence of, the emergency; or
(b)
distribute a vaccine, antiviral, antibiotic, or other prescription medication that is not a
controlled substance:
(i)
if necessary, to replenish a commercial pharmacy
in the event that
if
the
commercial pharmacy's normal source of the vaccine, antiviral, antibiotic, or other
prescription medication is exhausted; or
(ii)
for dispensing or direct administration to treat the disease or condition that gave
rise to, or was a consequence of, the emergency by:
(A)
a pharmacy;
(B)
a prescribing practitioner;
(C)
a licensed health care facility;
(D)
a federally qualified community health clinic; or
(E)
a governmental entity for use by a community more than 50 miles from a
person described in Subsections
(6)(b)(ii)(A)
through
(D)
.
(7)
In accordance with protocols established under Subsection
(8)
, upon the declaration of a
national, state, or local emergency, the Department of Health and Human Services shall
coordinate the distribution of medications:
(a)
received from the strategic national stockpile to local health departments; and
(b)
from local health departments to emergency personnel within the local health
departments' geographic region.
(8)
The Department of Health and Human Services shall establish by rule, made in
accordance with
Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act
, protocols
for administering, dispensing, and distributing a vaccine, an antiviral, an antibiotic, or
other prescription medication that is not a controlled substance
in the event of
if there is

a declaration of a national, state, or local emergency. The protocol shall establish
procedures for the Department of Health and Human Services or a local health
department to:
(a)
coordinate the distribution of:
(i)
a vaccine, an antiviral, an antibiotic, or other prescription medication that is not a
controlled substance received by the Department of Health and Human Services
from the strategic national stockpile to local health departments; and
(ii)
a vaccine, an antiviral, an antibiotic, or other non-controlled prescription
medication received by a local health department to emergency personnel within
the local health department's geographic region;
(b)
authorize the dispensing, administration, or distribution of a vaccine, an antiviral, an
antibiotic, or other prescription medication that is not a controlled substance to the
contact of a patient without a patient-practitioner relationship, if the contact's
condition is the same as that of the physician's or physician assistant's patient; and
(c)
authorize the administration, distribution, or dispensing of a vaccine, an antiviral, an
antibiotic, or other non-controlled prescription medication to an individual who:
(i)
is working in a triage situation;
(ii)
is receiving preventative or medical treatment in a triage situation;
(iii)
does not have coverage for the prescription in the individual's health insurance
plan;
(iv)
is involved in the delivery of medical or other emergency services in response to
the declared national, state, or local emergency; or
(v)
otherwise has a direct impact on public health.
(9)
The Department of Health and Human Services shall give notice to the division upon
implementation of the protocol established under Subsection
(8)
.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
1-28-26 7:57 AM