House Status:
Senate Status:
Senate Status:
Minutes for SB559 - Committee on Transportation
Short Title
Limiting the liability of optometrists and ophthalmologists who report information to the division of vehicles relating to a person's vision.
Minutes Content for Thu, Mar 17, 2022
The Chair opened the hearing on SB559. Mr.Siebers reviewed the focus of the bill (Attachment 8). He said the bill clarifies the liability provisions for optometrists and ophthalmologists when they report a person's vision to the Division of Vehicles regarding a driver's license application.
Speaking as a proponent, Todd Flescher, Executive Director, Kansas Optometric Association, explained that when a driver's-license applicant fails a vision screening, the person receives a form to be filled out by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist; the form provides additional information regarding the applicant's vision. Mr. Flescher commented that the form states only the applicant's present vision; it does not offer any information about future vision changes or the person's ability to operate a motor vehicle (Attachment 9). The bill adds protection from any imagined extension of liability for a vision provider. Responding to a question, he replied that the statutes have been adjusted over the years to address related issues.
Larrie Ann Brown, Kansas Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, testified as a proponent (Attachment 10). She expressed appreciation for the Committee for moving the bill forward.
Written-only testimony in support of the bill was provided by Vicki Whitaker, Executive Director, Kansas Association of Osteopathic Medicine (Attachment 11).
The Chair closed the hearing on SB559.
