West Virginia Senate Bill SB 343

West Virginia 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/15/26
• Refer: 1/15/26

Caption

Board of Medicine rule relating to licensure, practice requirements, disciplinary and complaint procedures, and continuing education for physician assistants

Summary

SB 343 concerns a Board of Medicine rule governing physician assistants. Based on the bill caption, the rule addresses licensure standards, practice requirements, disciplinary and complaint procedures, and continuing education requirements for physician assistants in West Virginia. The measure appears to be an administrative rule bill that would approve, modify, or otherwise authorize the Board of Medicine’s regulatory framework for this profession. Because the full bill text is not available in the provided materials, the exact statutory changes cannot be identified from the text itself. However, the bill’s subject matter indicates it would affect the state’s professional licensing and regulatory system for physician assistants, including how they are licensed, what practice conditions apply, how complaints and discipline are handled, and what continuing education is required to maintain licensure.

Impact

SB 343 would likely affect the West Virginia Code provisions and administrative rules governing physician assistant practice under the Board of Medicine’s authority. Its practical impact would be on physician assistants, supervising physicians, the Board of Medicine, and potentially patients receiving care from physician assistants, by setting or updating standards for entry into practice, ongoing competency, and enforcement procedures.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no direct evidence of support or opposition in the available materials. The bill’s referral to the Judiciary Committee suggests it may involve legal or regulatory review, but the overall sentiment cannot be reliably characterized beyond the fact that it is a professional licensing measure under consideration.

Contention

Without transcripts or recorded votes, specific points of contention are not documented in the provided record. In bills of this type, likely areas of debate would include the scope of physician assistant practice, the stringency of licensure and continuing education requirements, and the fairness or clarity of disciplinary and complaint procedures, but no particular stakeholder positions are identified here.