701-566-9300January 21 through 23, I attended the 69th Legislative Assembly – Special Session. The Legislature introduced and held hearings on 12 bills in total and approved or enacted ten of those bills.
The special session was called by the Governor for the purpose of eligibility for receipt of one hundred ninety-nine million dollars from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for rural health transformative grants awarded to the State of North Dakota in December, 2025. The actual total amount will be closer to four hundred million dollars over the years 2026 and 2027.
Five of the bills related to the rural health grants. The legislature passed House Bill 1623, the appropriations bill, which provides for the receipt, expenditure, and reporting for these funds. The legislature also passed four policy bills: 1) requiring the presidential physical fitness test in all North Dakota public schools; 2) requiring adoption of a physician assistants licensing compact allowing for physician assistants licensed in other states to practice and be more available in rural North Dakota; 3) providing that the board shall require physicians to complete a minimum of one hour of continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health each renewal cycle and 4) allowing pharmacists prescriptive authority, including for therapeutic substitutions.
The legislature also considered seven other bills unrelated to the rural health grants, all of which are available on the Legislative Council’s website. Five of these bills passed, including HB 1625, relating to the sale of the Ray Richards golf course; HB 1626, relating to the application of the primary residence credit and early payment tax discount; SB 2403, relating to a medical facility emergency operating loan program under the medical facility infrastructure loan fund; SB 2404, which provides appropriations to the Information Technology Department and Public Service Commission and includes contingent loan authorization and an effective date; and HCR 3038, a concurrent resolution to recognize and congratulate the Young Men’s Christian Association on its 175th anniversary. Two of those bills failed, including the school meals bill. The House passed the school meals bill and the Senate rejected it.
The five additional bills passed included SB 2403 relating to a medical facility emergency operating loan program for nonprofit hospitals in rural cities. The initial purpose of this legislation was to assist a critical access hospital in Elgin.
This well-organized and effective special session will ensure our state can receive and distribute almost four hundred million dollars for the benefit of rural healthcare in North Dakota over the next two years. The funds will be awarded through a grant application.
This will be a huge game-changer for rural healthcare. Kudos to Governor Kelly Armstrong and Commissioner Pat Traynor, and their team at the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services for many months of excellent hard work and a job well done. And thank you to the state legislature for so efficiently and effectively approving and facilitating the rural health grants in this special session. Rural North Dakota is now positioned to hugely benefit.