Chapter 93B - Occupational Licensing Boards

References are to General Statutes of North Carolina, 2007, as amended.

 

§ 93B-1. Definitions.

As used in this Chapter:

"License" means any license (other than a privilege license), certificate, or other evidence of qualification which an individual is required to obtain before he may engage in or represent himself to be a member of a particular profession or occupation.

"Occupational licensing board" means any board, committee, commission, or other agency in North Carolina which is established for the primary purpose of regulating the entry of persons into, and/or the conduct of persons within, a particular profession or occupation, and which is authorized to issue licenses; "occupational licensing board" does not include State agencies, staffed by full‑time State employees, which as a part of their regular functions may issue licenses.

 

§ 93B-2. Annual reports required; contents; open to inspection.

(a)        Each occupational licensing board shall file with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee an annual report containing all of the following information:

(1)        The address of the board, and the names of its members and officers.

(2)        The number of persons who applied to the board for examination.

(3)        The number who were refused examination.

(4)        The number who took the examination.

(5)        The number to whom initial licenses were issued.

(6)        The number who applied for license by reciprocity or comity.

(7)        The number who were granted licenses by reciprocity or comity.

(8)        The number of licenses suspended or revoked.

(9)        The number of licenses terminated for any reason other than failure to pay the required renewal fee.

(10)       The substance of any anticipated request by the occupational licensing board to the General Assembly to amend statutes related to the occupational licensing board.

(11)       The substance of any anticipated change in rules adopted by the occupational licensing board or the substance of any anticipated adoption of new rules by the occupational licensing board.

(b)        Each occupational licensing board shall file with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Office of State Budget and Management, and the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee a financial report that includes the source and amount of all funds credited to the occupational licensing board and the purpose and amount of all funds disbursed by the occupational licensing board during the previous 12-month period.

(c)        The reports required by this section shall be open to public inspection.  

§ 93B-3. Register of persons licensed; information as to licensed status of individuals. Each occupational licensing board shall prepare a register of all persons currently licensed by the board and shall supplement said register annually by listing the changes made in it by reason of new licenses issued, licenses revoked or suspended, death, or any other cause. The board shall, upon request of any citizen of the State, inform the requesting person as to the licensed status of any individual.

§ 93B-4. Audit of Occupational Licensing Boards; payment of costs. The books, records, and operations of each occupational licensing board shall be subject to the oversight of the State Auditor pursuant to Article 5A of Chapter 147 of the General Statutes. The cost of all audits shall be paid from funds of the occupational licensing board audited.

 

§ 93B-5. Compensation and employment of board members.

(a)        Board members shall receive as compensation for their services per diem not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each day during which they are engaged in the official business of the board.

(b)        Board members shall be reimbursed for all necessary travel expenses in an amount not to exceed that authorized under G.S. 138‑6(a) for officers and employees of State departments. Actual expenditures of board members in excess of the maximum amounts set forth in G.S. 138‑6(a) for travel and subsistence may be reimbursed if the prior approval of the State Director of Budget is obtained and such approved expenditures are within the established and published uniform standards and criteria of the State Director of Budget authorized under G.S. 138‑7 for extraordinary charges for hotels, meals, and convention registration for State officers and employees, whenever such charges are the result of required official business of the Board.

(d)        Except as provided herein board members shall not be paid a salary or receive any additional compensation for services rendered as members of the board.

(e)        Board members shall not be permanent, salaried employees of said board.

 

§ 93B-6. Use of funds for lobbying prohibited. Occupational licensing boards shall not use any funds to promote or oppose in any manner the passage by the General Assembly of any legislation.

§ 93B-7. Rental of state-owned office space. Any occupational licensing board, which financially operates on the licensing fees charged and also occupies state-owned office space, shall pay rent, in a reasonable amount to be determined by the Governor, to the State for the occupancy of such space.

§ 93B-8. Examination procedures.

(a)        Each applicant for an examination given by any occupational licensing board shall be informed in writing or print of the required grade for passing the examination prior to the taking of such examination.

(b)        Each applicant for an examination given by any occupational licensing board shall be identified, for purposes of the examination, only by number rather than by name.

(c)        Each applicant who takes an examination given by any occupational licensing board, and does not pass such examination, shall have the privilege to review his examination in the presence of the board or a representative of the board. Except as provided in this subsection, an occupational licensing board shall not be required to disclose the contents of any examination or of any questions which have appeared thereon, or which may appear thereon in the future.

(d)        Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, under no circumstances shall an occupational licensing board be required to disclose to an applicant questions or answers to tests provided by recognized testing organizations pursuant to contracts which prohibit such disclosures.

§ 93B-9. Age requirements. Any other provision notwithstanding, no occupational licensing board may require that an individual be more than 18 years of age as a requirement for receiving a license.

§ 93B-10. Expiration of term of appointment of board member. A board member serving on an occupational and professional licensing board whose term of appointment has expired shall continue to serve until a successor is appointed and qualified.

 

§ 93B-11. Interest from State Treasurer's Investment Program. Any interest earned by an occupational licensing board under G.S. 147‑69.3(d) may be used only for the following purposes:

(1)        To reduce fees;

(2)        Improve services offered to licensees and the public; or

(3)        For educational purposes to benefit licensees or the public. 

 

§ 93B‑12. Information from licensing boards having authority over health care providers.

(a)            Every occupational licensing board having authority to license physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurse midwives in this State shall modify procedures for license renewal to include the collection of information specified in this section for each board's regular renewal cycle. The purpose of this requirement is to assist the State in tracking the availability of health care providers to determine which areas in the State suffer from inequitable access to specific types of health services and to anticipate future health care shortages which might adversely affect the citizens of this State. Occupational licensing boards shall collect, report, and update the following information:

(1)               Area of health care specialty practice;

(2)               Address of all locations where the licensee practices; and

(3)               Other information the occupational licensing board deems relevant to assisting the State in achieving the purpose set out in this section, including social security numbers for research purposes only in matching other data sources.

(b)            Every occupational licensing board required to collect information pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall report and update the information on an annual basis to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Department shall provide this information to programs preparing primary care physicians, physicians assistants, and nurse practitioners upon request by the program and by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina. Information provided by the occupational licensing board pursuant to this subsection may be provided in such form as to omit the identity of the health care licensee.
 
§ 93B-13. Revocation when licensing privilege forfeited for nonpayment of child support or for failure to comply with subpoena.

(a)            Upon receipt of a court order, pursuant to G.S. 50‑13.12 and G.S. 110‑142.1, revoking the occupational license of a licensee under its jurisdiction, an occupational licensing board shall note the revocation in its records, report the action within 30 days to the Department of Health and Human Services, and follow the normal postrevocation rules and procedures of the board as if the revocation had been ordered by the board. The revocation shall remain in effect until the board receives certification by the clerk of superior court or the Department of Health and Human Services in an IV‑D case that the licensee is no longer delinquent in child support payments, or, as applicable, that the licensee is in compliance with or is no longer subject to the subpoena that was the basis for the revocation.

(b)            Upon receipt of notification from the Department of Health and Human Services that a licensee under an occupational licensing board's jurisdiction has forfeited the licensee's occupational license pursuant to G.S. 110‑142.1, then the occupational licensing board shall send a notice of intent to revoke or suspend the occupational license of that licensee as provided by G.S. 110‑142.1(d). If the license is revoked as provided by the provisions of G.S. 110‑142.1, the revocation shall remain in effect until the board receives certification by the designated representative or the child support enforcement agency that the licensee is no longer delinquent in child support payments, or, as applicable, that the licensee is in compliance with or no longer subject to a subpoena that was the basis for the revocation.

(c)            If at the time the court revokes a license pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, or if at the time the occupational licensing board revokes a license pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the occupational licensing board has revoked the same license under the licensing board's disciplinary authority over licensees under its jurisdiction, and that revocation period is greater than the revocation period resulting from forfeiture pursuant to G.S. 50‑13.12 or G.S. 110‑142.1 then the revocation period imposed by the occupational licensing board applies.

(d)        Immediately upon certification by the clerk of superior court or the child support enforcement agency that the licensee whose license was revoked pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section is no longer delinquent in child support payments, the occupational licensing board shall reinstate the license. Immediately upon certification by the clerk of superior court or the child support enforcement agency that the licensee whose license was revoked because of failure to comply with a subpoena is in compliance with or no longer subject to the subpoena, the occupational licensing board shall reinstate the license. Reinstatement of a license pursuant to this section shall be made at no additional cost to the licensee.  

 

§ 93B-14. Information on applicants for licensure.

Every occupational licensing board shall require applicants for licensure to provide to the Board the applicant's social security number. This information shall be treated as confidential and may be released only as follows:

(1)        To the State Child Support Enforcement Program of the Department of Health and Human Services upon its request and for the purpose of enforcing a child support order.

(2)        To the Department of Revenue for the purpose of administering the State's tax laws.

§ 93B-15. Payment of license fees by members of the armed forces. An individual who is serving in the armed forces of the United States and to whom G.S. 105‑249.2 grants an extension of time to file a tax return is granted an extension of time to pay any license fee charged by an occupational licensing board as a condition of retaining a license granted by the board. The extension is for the same period that would apply if the license fee were a tax..

§ 93B 16.  Occupational board liability for negligent acts.

(a)            An occupational licensing board may purchase commercial insurance of any kind to cover all risks or potential liability of the board, its members, officers, employees, and agents, including the board's liability under Articles 31 and 31A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.

(b)            Occupational licensing boards shall be deemed State agencies for purposes of Articles 31 and 31A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, and board members and employees of occupational licensing boards shall be considered State employees for purposes of Articles 31 and 31A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. To the extent an occupational licensing board purchases commercial liability insurance coverage in excess of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) per claim for liability arising under Article 31 or 31A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, the provisions of G.S. 143‑299.4 shall not apply. To the extent that an occupational licensing board purchases commercial insurance coverage for liability arising under Article 31 or 31A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, the provisions of G.S. 143‑300.6(c) shall not apply.

(c)        The purchase of insurance by an occupational licensing board under this section shall not be construed to waive sovereign immunity or any other defense available to the board, its members, officers, employees, or agents in an action or contested matter in any court, agency, or tribunal. The purchase of insurance by an occupational licensing board shall not be construed to alter or expand the limitations on claims or payments established in G.S. 143‑299.2 or limit the right of board members, officers, employees, or agents to defense by the State as provided by G.S. 143‑300.3.

 

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