H728 - Amend Various Licensing Board Laws/Fees. (SL 2016-117)

Overview: S.L. 2016-117 makes various changes to several occupational licensing boards' statutes and fees, as follows:

• Extends the period after employment for a chiropractic clinical assistant to obtain a certificate of competency from the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners and raises the maximum allowable annual renewal fee for a chiropractic license from $150 to $300.
• Makes several changes to the statutes governing the North Carolina Medical Board, including increasing the application fee payable to the Medical Board for each applicant for a license to practice medicine and surgery in the State and the annual registration fee for every person licensed to practice medicine by the Board. These provisions also amend the peer review agreement to provide that the Medical Board may enter into agreements with the North Carolina Medical Society, the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants, and the North Carolina Physicians Health Program (Program) to identify, review, and evaluate licensees of the Board who have been referred to the Program, with regard to their ability to function in their professional capacity and to coordinate regimens for treatment and rehabilitation. Any information acquired, created, or used in good faith by the Program under this health program is privileged, confidential, and not subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for release.
• Creates a new apprenticeship requirement option for opticians and a six-month intern requirement for licensure, and lowers apprenticeship requirements for licensure from 3.5 to 2.5 years. These provisions also increase the Board of Opticians' fees and create four new fees.
• Increases the Real Estate Commission's application fee for new licensees from $30 to $100, and allows the Commission to increase the application fee from $100 to $120 by rule, but provides that the Commission may not increase the application fee by more than $5 during a 12-month period. This section also increases the Commission's license renewal fee from $30 to $45, and allows the Commission to increase the renewal fee from $45 to $60 by rule, but provides that the Commission may not increase the application fee by more than $5 during a 12-month period. This section also allows the postlicensing education requirements for real estate brokers to be satisfied be online instruction. These provisions become effective July 1, 2017.

Except as otherwise provided, this act becomes effective October 1, 2016.