North Dakota Senate Bill SB2217

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/16/25
• Refer: 1/16/25
• Report Pass: 2/21/25
• Engrossed: 2/25/25
• Refer: 3/7/25
• Report Pass: 3/18/25
• Enrolled: 3/24/25
• Passed: 3/26/25

Caption

AN ACT to create and enact a new section to chapter 43-20 and a new section to chapter 43-28 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to volunteer licenses; and to amend and reenact sections 43-20-01.1, 43-20-01.2, 43-20-01.3, 43-20-01.4, 43-20-03, 43-20-05, 43-20-12, 43-20-12.3, 43-20-13, 43-20-13.1, and 43-20-13.2, subsection 6 of section 43-28-02, section 43-28-03, subsection 5 of section 43-28-04, sections 43-28-05, 43-28-06, 43-28-08, 43-28-11, 43-28-13, 43-28-15, 43-28-16.2, and 43-28-18, subsection 1 of section 43-28-18.1, and sections 43-28-18.2 and 43-28-18.3 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the licensing and practice of dental hygienists and dentists, and the board of dental examiners.

Summary

SB 2217 makes a broad set of changes to North Dakota’s laws governing dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants. It updates definitions, licensing pathways, renewal rules, disciplinary standards, and board authority in chapters 43-20 and 43-28 of the Century Code. The bill also adds new volunteer license authority for both dental hygienists and dentists, allowing the Board of Dental Examiners to create rules for limited volunteer practice by individuals previously licensed in North Dakota or licensed in good standing in another state. The bill modernizes and expands licensure and regulation provisions for dental professionals. It clarifies application requirements, credential-based licensure, continuing education audits, late renewal windows, hardship extensions, and the board’s ability to set or modify fees by rule. It also updates scope-of-practice language for dental hygienists and dental assistants, including supervision standards and authorization for certain delegated procedures such as local anesthetic administration and topical fluoride varnish application. In addition, it revises board membership, voting, meeting, and administrative provisions, and strengthens the board’s enforcement tools, including investigative authority, cost recovery, temporary suspension procedures, and confidentiality rules. The bill’s impact on state law is significant because it revises multiple licensing and disciplinary statutes for the dental profession and gives the board broader rulemaking flexibility. Dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants would be subject to updated renewal timelines, credential review standards, and disciplinary grounds, while the board would gain clearer authority over fees, continuing education audits, alternative-to-discipline programs, and volunteer licenses. Patients may also be affected indirectly through expanded access to care from volunteer practitioners and through updated rules on delegated services and record disclosure in disciplinary matters. Overall, the sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House with overwhelming support, with only one dissenting vote in the House. The lack of committee transcript material limits insight into detailed debate, but the voting record suggests broad bipartisan agreement that the bill is a technical and regulatory update rather than a controversial policy shift. The main points of contention, to the extent they can be inferred from the text, are likely the scope of the board’s authority and the expansion of disciplinary and administrative powers. The bill allows the board to create or modify fees by rule, audit continuing education, impose costs on disciplined licensees, and regulate volunteer licenses and alternative-to-discipline records. Those provisions could raise concerns among licensees about administrative burden, oversight, and due process, although the near-unanimous votes indicate that any objections were limited.

Impact

SB 2217 amends numerous sections of the North Dakota Century Code affecting dental licensure, practice scope, board governance, and discipline. It creates new volunteer license authority for dentists and dental hygienists, updates licensure-by-credential and renewal provisions, expands the Board of Dental Examiners’ rulemaking and fee-setting powers, and revises disciplinary procedures, temporary suspension standards, and confidentiality rules. It also updates related provisions for dental assistants and fluoride varnish delegation, affecting dentists, hygienists, assistants, the board, and patients receiving dental services.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been received positively and with little opposition. It passed the Senate 47-0 and the House 92-1, indicating strong bipartisan support. With no committee transcript available, the record suggests the measure was viewed as a broadly acceptable regulatory update to dental practice laws rather than a contentious policy change.

Contention

The most notable potential areas of contention are the board’s expanded authority to set or modify fees by rule, to audit continuing education, to require additional documentation for late renewals, and to recover investigative and disciplinary costs from licensees. Some may also question the breadth of the new volunteer license framework and the strengthened temporary suspension and investigative powers. However, the overwhelming vote margins suggest these concerns did not generate significant legislative resistance.