Various immigration matters.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Steve Bartels and 3 co-sponsors

Expands physician health program eligibility to include applicants for licensure and former licensees under the board’s jurisdiction.

Coauthored by Representatives Bartels, Jeter, Davis

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Purpose / Intent

HB 1039 narrowsly amends the statutory definition of “licensee” used in the chapter that governs the physician health program. The stated intent is to clarify and explicitly broaden who may be eligible to participate in that program by adding applicants for licensure and former licensees to the existing class of covered individuals.

Key provision

Amends subsection 4 of NDCC § 43‑17.3‑01 to define “licensee” as:

“a physician or other health professional under the jurisdiction of the board, and includes an applicant for licensure or regulation by the board and former licensees of the board.”

No other program language, duties, sanctions, confidentiality, or funding provisions are changed by this bill — it is a single, definitional amendment.

Who is affected

Directly affected:

Physicians and other health professionals subject to the Board’s jurisdiction (existing).
Individuals applying for licensure or regulation by the Board (newly included).
Former licensees who previously held licensure under the Board (newly included).

Indirectly affected:

The North Dakota Board of Medicine (sponsor/requesting body), other licensing boards that use the physician health program framework, and the physician health program itself (caseload and eligibility).
Patients and the public — potential public‑safety implications through earlier access to monitoring, treatment, or support for applicants/former licensees.

Likely impact / practical effect

Expands eligibility for participation in the physician health program so applicants and former licensees can be enrolled, monitored, or receive services under that program.

May enable earlier intervention (pre‑licensure) or continuing oversight/support for individuals who have left or allowed a license to lapse but remain connected to regulated practice, with potential benefits for practitioner rehabilitation and public protection.

The change is narrowly definitional and does not, on its face, alter program authority, penalties, confidentiality, or funding. Any operational or fiscal effects (e.g., increased caseload) would depend on administrative implementation by the Board and the physician health program.

Procedural / timeline notes

Introduced: November 12, 2024 (at the request of the North Dakota Board of Medicine).

Legislative action (enrollment certificate): House vote — Yeas 90, Nays 0; Senate vote — Yeas 46, Nays 1 (document indicates the bill was enrolled and filed with the Secretary of State on 03/14/2025).

Statutory change: amendment and reenactment of NDCC § 43‑17.3‑01(4).

If you want, I can: (1) pull the exact before/after statutory text for comparison, (2) outline how this change interacts with specific provisions of the physician health program statute, or (3) draft a short memo on implementation issues the Board may need to address (eligibility procedures, confidentiality, intake).

Bill