Amends existing law to provide for the voluntary licensure of pharmacists as naturopathic doctors.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1313 BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR LICENSING AND NATUROPATH REGISTRATION;2 AMENDING SECTION 54-5902, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION; AMENDING3 SECTION 54-5905, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE VOLUNTARY LICENSURE OF4 PHARMACISTS AS NATUROPATHIC DOCTORS; AMENDING SECTION 54-5912, IDAHO5 CODE, TO SPECIFY THAT A CERTAIN BOARD MEMBER SHALL NOT BE LICENSED UNDER6 CHAPTER 59, TITLE 54, IDAHO CODE, BUT SHALL BE LICENSED AS A PHARMACIST7 PURSUANT TO IDAHO CODE; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EF-8 FECTIVE DATE.9

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:10

SECTION 1. That Section 54-5902, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby11 amended to read as follows:12 54-5902. DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter:13 (1) "Board" means the Idaho board of naturopathic health care.14 (2) "License" means a license to practice as a licensed naturopathic15 doctor.16 (3) "Licensed naturopathic doctor" means an individual licensed as a17 medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, doctor of podiatric medicine, doctor18 of chiropractic, doctor of dental medicine, pharmacist, or doctor of nursing19 practice who has obtained an approved naturopathic doctoral degree, as set20 forth in rule, and who voluntarily elects to seek and receives licensure un-21 der this chapter to practice naturopathic health care in Idaho.22 (4) "Minor procedure" means the use of operative, electrical, or other23 methods for repair and care incidental to superficial lacerations, abra-24 sions, superficial lesions, the removal of foreign bodies located in the25 superficial tissues, and the use of antiseptics and local topical anesthet-26 ics in connection with such methods.27 (5) "Naturopathic health care" means the delivery of a distinct pri-28 mary health care emphasizing prevention, treatment, and optimal health us-29 ing therapeutic methods and substances that encourage an individual's in-30 herent self-healing process by a naturopathic practitioner.31

SECTION 2. That Section 54-5905, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby32 amended to read as follows:33 54-5905. VOLUNTARY NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR LICENSURE -- REQUIREMENTS --34 LIMITATIONS. (1) An applicant shall be qualified for voluntary licensure as35 a naturopathic doctor pursuant to this chapter if such applicant:36 (a) Possesses current, valid, and unrestricted licensure in any state,37 district, or territory of the United States in at least one (1) of the38 following medical professions:39 (i) Medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy;40

2 (ii) Podiatrist;1 (iii) Dentist;2 (iv) Chiropractor, if such applicant possesses an accredited3 doctoral degree in chiropractic medicine as required pursuant to4 chapter 7, title 54, Idaho Code; or5 (v) Nurse, if such applicant possesses a level of training and ed-6 ucation equivalent to an advanced practice registered nurse pur-7 suant to chapter 14, title 54, Idaho Code, and has achieved an ac-8 credited doctorate degree in nursing; or9 (vi) Pharmacist, if such applicant possesses a level of training10 and education equivalent to the requirements for pharmacist li-11 censure pursuant to section 54-1722, Idaho Code;12 (b) Has obtained a certificate of satisfactory completion of a naturo-13 pathic doctor curriculum consisting of at least one hundred sixty (160)14 credit hours from an institution accredited by an accreditation agency15 approved by the United States department of education;16 (c) Has not pled guilty to or been convicted of a crime that is deemed17 relevant in accordance with section 67-9411(1), Idaho Code, unless such18 applicant demonstrates that he has been sufficiently rehabilitated to19 warrant the public trust; and20 (d) Completes any one (1) of the following:21 (i) At least four (4) years of experience in the practice of22 naturopathic health care in Idaho that is acceptable to the board;23 provided, however, a practitioner who has at least two (2) years24 of naturopathic health care experience that is acceptable to the25 board and that occurred on or before July 1, 2024, shall satisfy26 the requirements of this paragraph;27 (ii) Passage of an Idaho state examination proving minimum com-28 petency and skills, to be developed and approved by the board by29 rule and the American naturopathic medical certification board30 pursuant to this chapter; or31 (iii) Passage of any national board examination that certifies the32 individual has achieved minimum competency and skills in the prac-33 tice of naturopathic health care as approved by the board by rule.34 (2) A license issued under this chapter shall:35 (a) Be issued in the name of the licensed naturopathic doctor;36 (b) State the issue and expiration date; and37 (c) Always be displayed in a conspicuous manner in the place of business38 or employment of the licensee.39 (3) A licensed naturopathic doctor may also use the title "licensed40 doctor of natural health" or "licensed naturopathic practitioner."41 (4) All applications for licensing shall be reviewed and approved by42 the board on an individual basis.43 (5) A person who is not licensed pursuant to this chapter shall not:44 (a) Hold himself out as a naturopathic doctor licensed under this chap-45 ter;46 (b) Use or advertise using the title of licensed naturopathic doc-47 tor (LND), licensed naturopathic practitioner (LNP), or any variant48 thereof; or49

3 (c) Use any words, abbreviations, figures, configuration of letters,1 titles, signs, cards, or devices tending to imply that the person is a2 naturopathic doctor licensed in the state of Idaho.3 (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, a4 person who is a licensed naturopathic medical doctor pursuant to chapter 51,5 title 54, Idaho Code, may use the title "licensed naturopathic doctor."6 (7) No license shall be issued by the board until the board has final-7 ized and approved licensure requirements by rule as provided by this chapter8 and the legislature has approved all rules governing licensure adopted by9 the board.10

SECTION 3. That Section 54-5912, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby11 amended to read as follows:12 54-5912. FORMULARY COMMITTEE. (1) The board shall appoint a formulary13 committee consisting of one (1) member who is licensed under chapter 18, ti-14 tle 54, Idaho Code, to practice in Idaho as a pharmacist (PharmD) who is not15 licensed under this chapter but is licensed pursuant to Idaho Code, two (2)16 members who are either a doctor of osteopathy or a doctor of medicine and who17 are not licensed under this chapter but are licensed pursuant to Idaho Code,18 and two (2) members who are licensed under this chapter and possess full fed-19 eral drug enforcement agency (DEA) registration in good standing.20 (2) All members of the formulary committee shall possess a valid and ac-21 tive DEA number and be authorized to prescribe within the United States.22 (3) Initially, three (3) members shall serve for three (3) years and two23 (2) members shall serve for two (2) years. After the initial appointments,24 all terms of appointment shall be for three (3) years. No member may serve25 for more than two (2) consecutive terms.26 (4) The formulary committee shall act in an advisory role in evaluating27 prescriptive authority for applicants or other similar issues as called upon28 by the board. However, the formulary committee shall first approve the scope29 of prescriptive rights that individuals licensed under this chapter may use30 before the board approves the scope of prescriptive rights.31

SECTION 4. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby32 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after33 July 1, 2026.34