§ 90-113.33 — Board; powers and duties

North Carolina § 90-113.33

• Jurisdiction: North Carolina
• Ch. 90: Medicine and Allied Occupations
• Art. 5C: North Carolina Substance Use Disorder Professional Practice Act

Text

The Board shall:
(1) Examine and determine the qualifications and fitness of applicants for certification and licensure to practice in this State.
(1a) Determine the qualifications and fitness of organizations applying for deemed status.
(2) Issue, renew, deny, suspend, or revoke licensure, certification, or registration to practice in this State or reprimand or otherwise discipline a license, certificate, or registration holder in this State.
(3) Deal with issues concerning reciprocity.
(4) Conduct investigations for the purpose of determining whether violations of this Article or grounds for disciplining exists.
(5) Employ and fix the compensation of personnel and legal counsel that the Board determines is necessary to carry out the provisions of this Article. The Board's employment of legal counsel is subject to the provisions of G.S. 114-2.3. The Board may purchase or rent necessary office space, equipment, and supplies.
(6) Conduct administrative hearings in accordance with Chapter 150B of the General Statutes when a "contested case", as defined in Chapter 150B, arises.
(7) Appoint from its own membership one or more members to act as representatives of the Board at any meeting in which it considers this representation is desirable.
(8) Establish fees for applications for examination, registration, certificates of certification, licensure, and renewal, and other services provided by the Board.
(9) Adopt any rules necessary to carry out the purpose of this Article and its duties and responsibilities pursuant to this Article, including rules related to the approval of a substance use disorder specialty curricula developed by a school, college, or university.
(10) Request that the Department of Public Safety conduct criminal history record checks of applicants for registration, certification, or licensure pursuant to G.S. 143B-1209.22.
(11) Establish a program for licensees who may be experiencing substance use disorders, burnout, compassion fatigue, and other mental health concerns. In establishing this program, the Board is authorized to enter into agreements with existing professional health care programs. The Board is also authorized to refer any licensee to this program as part of the disciplinary process. The Board may adopt rules implementing this program.
The powers and duties enumerated in this section are granted for the purposes of enabling the Board to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare against unqualified or incompetent practitioners and are to be liberally construed to accomplish this objective. When the Board exercises its authority under this Article to discipline a person, it may, as part of the decision imposing the discipline, charge the costs of investigations and the hearing to the person disciplined. (1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 685, s. 1; 1997-492, s. 4; 1999-164, s. 5; 2001-370, ss. 2, 3; 2005-431, s. 1; 2011-254, s. 3; 2014-100, s. 17.1(ii); 2019-240, ss. 7(a), 8(e); 2023-134, s. 19F.4(u).)
§ 90-113.33A. Officers may administer oaths, and subpoena witnesses, records, and other materials.
The President or other presiding officer of the Board may administer oaths to all persons appearing before it as the Board may deem necessary to perform its duties, and may summon and issue subpoenas for the appearance of any witnesses deemed necessary to testify concerning any matter to be heard before or inquired into by the Board. The Board may order that any client records, documents, or other materials concerning any matter to be heard before or inquired into by the Board shall be produced before the Board or made available for inspection, notwithstanding any other provisions of law providing for the application of any counselor-client or physician-patient privilege with respect to such records, documents, or other materials. All records, documents, or other materials compiled by the Board are subject to the provisions of G.S. 90-113.34, except that in any proceeding before the Board, record of any hearing before the Board, and notice of charges against any person credentialed by the Board, the Board shall withhold from public disclosure the identity of a client, including information relating to dates and places of treatment, or any other information that tends to identify the client unless the client or the client's representative has expressly consented to the disclosure. Upon written request, the Board shall revoke a subpoena if, upon a hearing, it finds that the evidence sought does not relate to a matter in issue, the subpoena does not describe the evidence with sufficient particularity, or the subpoena is invalid. (1999-164, s. 6; 2005-431, s. 1.)