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Finally, the Natural Medicine Advisory Board held its fourth full meeting, albeit minus a few members. Acting Chair Dr. Joshua Goodwin informed the board and the public that work is proceeding in subcommittees with most having added non-voting participants. DORA program director Sam Bahrami announced the department would be posting open roles for natural medicine support staff in the coming weeks.
The Department of Regulatory Agencies provided the NMAB and the public an overview of their rulemaking process including a tentative timeline. The official process includes four steps beginning with the posting of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Following the notice, there will be stakeholder engagement through written comments and meetings, culminating in final hearings. After the final hearing, the Attorney General reviews the rule and it is enacted. DORA intends to begin drafting rules based on NMAB recommendations in early 2024, with first public Notices of Proposed Rulemaking posted in spring-summer and final hearings taking place by early fall 2024.
Representatives from the Department of Revenue also gave a presentation on their rulemaking process but did not publicly discuss a timeline, despite having provided one to NMAB members prior to the meeting. The department will be forming rulemaking working groups in late 2023, with questions and subjects that build on the work of the NMAB.
Subcommittee members gave updates on work accomplished since the previous meeting of the NMAB. A representative of the Indigenous and Religious Use and Outreach subcommittee expressed the subcommittee’s position that Indigenous must be permitted to operate within the for-profit framework, with an equivalency mechanism for non-western education and experience. The Qualifications, Licensing, and Training update centered on the adoption of the single/multiple licensure model, indicating an intention to finalize that model in time for the August meeting of the NMAB.
Finally, the NMAB discussed dissolving the Harm Reduction and Public Safety subcommittee to avoid duplication of work. The board agreed that the questions directed to Harm Reduction and Public Safety could be effectively addressed in other subcommittees. The only downside identified was a loss of meeting time with which to move work forward. A solution of increasing meeting cadences satisfied this concern. With only nine of the 11 members required to amend the NMAB bylaws—and required for the dissolution of a subcommittee— no official action was taken. The board intends to vote on officially dissolving the Harm Rection and Public Safety subcommittee in August. Until then, other subcommittees will begin addressing those questions related to their subject areas.
Next Meeting: August 18th, 2023, 1pm MST