North Carolina HB 67: Current Operations - Appropriations.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025

SESSION LAW 2025-37
HOUSE BILL 67

*H67-v-6*
AN ACT TO ENACT HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE REFORMS FOR THE STATE OF
NORTH CAROLINA.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

PART I. INTERSTATE MEDICAL LICENSURE COMPACT
SECTION 1.(a) Chapter 90 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new
Article to read:
"Article 1O.
"Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
"§ 90-21.160. Short title.
This Article shall be known as the "Interstate Medical Licensure Compact."
"§ 90-21.161. Purpose.
(a) The purpose of this Article is to strengthen access to health care, and, in recognition
of the advances in the delivery of health care, the member states of the Interstate Medical
Licensure Compact (Compact) have allied in common purpose to develop a comprehensive
process that complements the existing licensing and regulatory authority of state medical boards
and to provide a streamlined process that allows physicians to become licensed in multiple states,
thereby enhancing the portability of a medical license and ensuring the safety of patients.
(b) The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact creates another pathway for licensure and
does not otherwise change a state's existing medical practice act or provisions. The Compact
adopts the prevailing standard for licensure and affirms that the practice of medicine occurs
where the patient is located at the time of the physician-patient encounter and, therefore, requires
the physician to be under the jurisdiction of the state medical board where the patient is located.
State medical boards that participate in the Compact retain the jurisdiction to impose an adverse
action against a license to practice medicine in that state issued to a physician through the
procedures of the Compact.
"§ 90-21.162. Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1) Bylaws. – Bylaws established by the Interstate Commission pursuant to
G.S. 90-21.171.
(2) Commissioner. – The voting representative appointed by each member board
pursuant to G.S. 90-21.171.
(3) Conviction. – A finding by a court that an individual is guilty of a criminal
offense through adjudication, or entry of a plea of guilty or no contest to the
charge by the offender. Evidence of an entry of a conviction of a criminal
offense by a court shall be considered final for purposes of disciplinary action
by a member board.
(4) Expedited license. – A full and unrestricted medical license granted by a
member state to an eligible physician through the process set forth in the
Compact.

Page 2 Session Law 2025-37 House Bill 67
(5) Interstate Commission. – The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact
Commission created pursuant to G.S. 90-21.171.
(6) License. – The authorization by a member state for a physician to engage in
the practice of medicine, which would be unlawful without authorization.
(7) Medical practice act. – Laws and regulations governing the practice of
allopathic and osteopathic medicine within a member state.
(8) Member board. – A state agency in a member state that acts in the sovereign
interests of the state by protecting the public through licensure, regulation, and
education of physicians as directed by the state government.
(9) Member state. – A state that has enacted the Compact.
(10) Offense. – A felony, gross misdemeanor, or crime of moral turpitude.
(11) Physician. – Any person who meets all of the following qualifications:
a. Is a graduate of a medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee
on Medical Education, the Commission on Osteopathic College
Accreditation, or a medical school listed in the International Medical
Education Directory or its equivalent.
b. Has passed each component of the United States Medical Licensing
Examination (USMLE) or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical
Licensing Examination (COMLEX-USA) within three attempts, or
any of its predecessor examinations accepted by a state medical board
as an equivalent examination for licensure purposes.
c. Has successfully completed graduate medical education approved by
the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or the
American Osteopathic Association.
d. Holds specialty certification or a time-unlimited specialty certificate
recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties or the
American Osteopathic Association's Bureau of Osteopathic
Specialists.
e. Possesses a full and unrestricted license to engage in the practice of
medicine issued by a member board.
f. Has never been convicted, received adjudication, deferred
adjudication, community supervision, or deferred disposition for any
offense by a court of appropriate jurisdiction.
g. Has never held a license authorizing the practice of medicine subjected
to discipline by a licensing agency in any state, federal, or foreign
jurisdiction, excluding any action related to nonpayment of fees
related to a license.
h. Has never had a controlled substance license or permit suspended or
revoked by a state or the United States Drug