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House eases volunteer rules for retired physicians in HB346
Summary
HB346, sponsored by Representative Lee, passed on the House floor to allow retired physicians greater flexibility to volunteer without a previously stated 100‑hour annual volunteer minimum; the bill drew unanimous support in the recorded votes on the floor.
House Bill 346, sponsored by Representative Lee, passed the House after the sponsor described the bill as a statutory change to let retired physicians volunteer more flexibly in communities facing physician shortages.
Lee said a retired physician in Dothan contacted him and explained that current law "actually says that they have to volunteer over a hundred hours per year." Lee said the bill removes that statutory constraint and "will allow a retired physician ... to volunteer at their own expense and do whatever they need to do to go ahead and and volunteer 4 hours a year, 3 hours a week, 75 hours a year. It doesn't matter. There's not a minimum." He also said continuing education requirements and other professional criteria remain unchanged.
The House clerk recorded adoption of the bill's BR and final passage with unanimous recorded votes on the floor per the transcript. The sponsor thanked the speaker and members after passage.
The bill as explained on the floor changes statutory volunteer-hour language for retired physicians to offer more flexibility, according to the sponsor's remarks on the House floor.
