On May 23, 2008 Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed House File 1724 into law, a bill to register Naturopathic Doctors. Naturopathic Doctors will be required to have graduated from institutions accredited by the CNME (Council on Naturopathic Medical Education) and to have passed the Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations (NPLEX) national exam. Naturopathic Doctors will be required to register starting on July 1, 2009 and will be regulated under the Medical Board's Registered Naturopathic Doctor Advisory Council (which was established under the provisions of the statute). The bill also includes the formation of a Health Task Force, which will develop recommendations and proposed legislation, as necessary, on regulating the profession.
Minnesota is now the 15th U.S. state to regulate the practice of naturopathic medicine. Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands have registration and licensing laws for naturopathic doctors. (Information above was taken from the Minnesota Association of Naturopathic Physicians' website 9/8/11.)
The Registered Naturopathic Doctor Advisory Council was reviewed by the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy (LCPFP) in 2013 as part of their biennial duty required by Minn. Stat. 3.885 Subd. 11. The LCPFP's 2013 Recommendations called for keeping the council.