GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1989 SESSION
CHAPTER 256
AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE NORTH CAROLINA OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PRACTICE ACT.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 90-270.66(4) reads as rewritten:
"(4) 'Occupational therapy' means a health care profession providing evaluation, treatment and consultation to help individuals achieve a maximum level of independence by developing skills and abilities interfered with by disease, emotional disorder, physical injury, the aging process, or impaired development. Occupational therapists use purposeful activities and specially designed orthotic and prosthetic devices to reduce specific impairments and to help individuals achieve independence at home and in the work place."
Sec. 2. G.S. 90-270.68 reads as rewritten:
"§ 90-270.68. Establishment of Board, terms of members, meetings, compensation.
The North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy is created.
The Board shall have six members. All members shall be appointed by the
Governor and shall be residents of this State at the time of and during their
appointment. Three members shall be occupational therapists and one shall be an
occupational therapist assistant; each of these members shall have practiced,
taught, or engaged in research in occupational therapy for at least three of
the five years immediately preceding appointment to the Board. and one The
fifth board member shall be a physician licensed to practice medicine
who specializes in orthopedic medicine; medicine; and the sixth board
member shall represent the public at large and shall be a person who is not
licensed under this Chapter. each of these members must have practiced,
taught or engaged in research in occupational therapy for at least three of the
five years immediately preceding his appointment. The remaining board member
shall represent the public at large.
On or before October 1, 1984, the Governor shall appoint
two occupational therapist members to serve a one-year term, one public member
to serve a two-year term, one occupational therapist assistant to serve a
three-year term, and one occupational therapist to serve a four-year term and
the physician to serve a four-year term. Thereafter the term of office for all
members shall be four years and only persons licensed under this Article shall
be eligible for appointment to the occupational therapist and occupational
therapist assistant positions on the Board. No member shall serve more than two
complete consecutive terms. The medical doctor, occupational therapists,
and occupational therapist assistant shall be appointed by the Governor from a
list compiled by the North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.,
following the use of a nomination procedure made available to all occupational
therapists and occupational therapist assistants licensed and residing in North
Carolina. In soliciting nominations and compiling its list, the
Association shall give consideration to geographic distribution, clinical
specialty, and other factors that will promote representation of all aspects of
occupational therapy practice. The records of the nomination procedures
shall be filed with the Board and made available for a period of six months
following nomination for reasonable inspection by any licensed practitioner of
occupational therapy. In the event that a member of the Board cannot
complete a term of office, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the
Governor, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this section, for the
remainder of the unexpired term.
Each year the Board shall meet and designate a chairman and a secretary-treasurer from among its members. The Board may hold additional meetings upon call of the chairman or any two board members. A majority of the Board membership shall constitute a quorum.
Members of the Board shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be entitled to travel, per diem, and other expenses authorized by G.S. 93B-5."
Sec. 3. G.S. 90-270.75 reads as rewritten:
"§ 90-270.75. Renewal of license.
(a) Licenses issued under this Article shall be subject to annual renewal upon completion of such continuing education requirements as may be required by the Board, upon the payment of a renewal fee specified under G.S. 90-270.77 and in compliance with this Article, and shall expire unless renewed in the manner prescribed by the Board. The Board may provide for the late renewal of a license upon the payment of a late fee in accordance with G.S. 90-270.77, but no such late renewal may be granted more than five years after a license expires.
(b) A suspended license is subject to expiration and may be renewed as provided in this section, but such renewal shall not entitle the licensee to engage in the licensed activity or in any other conduct or activity in violation of the order or judgment by which the license was suspended until the license is reinstated. If a license revoked on disciplinary grounds is reinstated, the licensee shall pay the renewal fee and any late fee that may be applicable."
Sec. 4. This act is effective upon ratification and shall apply to Board appointments made and licenses renewed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 7th day of June, 1989.