GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1284

Short Title:  Sanitarian Education Changes.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representative Redwine.
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Referred to:  Infrastructure.
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April 12, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE DEFINITION OF "SANITARIAN", TO REDUCE THE EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT FOR A SANITARIAN INTERN WITH A DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH FROM TWO YEARS TO ONE YEAR, AND TO REQUIRE CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR CERTIFICATE RENEWAL OF SANITARIANS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 90A-51 reads as rewritten:
"§ 90A-51. Definitions.
The words and phrases defined below shall when used in this Article have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1)	‘Board' means the Board of Sanitarian Examiners.
(2)	‘Certificate of registration' is a document issued as evidence of registration and qualification to practice as a sanitarian or a sanitarian intern under this Article. The certificate shall bear the designation ‘registered sanitarian' or ‘sanitarian intern' and show the name of the person, date of issue, serial number, seal, and signatures of the members of the Board.
(3)	‘Registered sanitarian' is a sanitarian registered in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
(4)	‘Sanitarian' is a public health professional qualified by education in the arts and sciences, specialized training, and acceptable environmental health field experience to effectively plan, organize, manage, execute and evaluate one or more of the many diverse elements comprising the field of environmental health.  Practice in the field of environmental health within the meaning of this Article includes, but is not limited to, organization, management, education, enforcement, and consultation for the purpose of prevention of environmental health hazards and the promotion and protection of the public health and the environment in the following areas:  food, lodging and institutional sanitation, solid waste management, on-site sewage treatment and disposal, and milk and dairy sanitation.
		For purposes of this Article the following are not included within the definition of ‘sanitarian':
a.	A person teaching, lecturing, or engaging in research.
b.	A person who is a sanitary engineer, public health engineer, public health engineering assistant, registered professional engineer, industrial hygienist, health physicist, chemist, epidemiologist, toxicologist, or soil scientist, except when the person is working as a sanitarian.
c.	A public health officer or public health department director.
d.	A person who holds a North Carolina license to practice medicine, veterinary medicine, or nursing.
e.	Laboratory personnel when performing or supervising the performance of sanitation related laboratory functions.
		It is the sole purpose of this Article to safeguard the health, safety, and general welfare of the public from adverse environmental factors and to register those environmental health professionals practicing as sanitarians who are qualified by education, training, and experience to work, or are working, in the public sector in the field of environmental health within the scope of practice as defined in this Article.
(5)	‘Sanitarian intern' is a person who possesses the necessary educational qualifications as prescribed in G.S. 90A-53(3), but who has not completed the experience and specialized training requirements in the field of public health sanitation as required for registration."
Sec. 2. G.S. 90A-53 reads as rewritten:
"§ 90A-53. Qualifications and examination for registration as a sanitarian.
The Board shall issue certificates to qualified persons as  registered sanitarians. A certificate as a registered sanitarian shall be issued to any person upon the Board's determination that such person:
(1)	Has made application to the Board on a form prescribed by the Board;
(2)	Is of good moral character;
(3)	Has received a baccalaureate degree from a post-secondary educational institution rated as acceptable by the Board with a minimum of 15 semester hours or its equivalent in the physical and/or biological sciences;
(4)	Has satisfactorily completed a course in specialized instruction and training approved by the Board which course shall be designed as to content and so administered as to present sufficient knowledge of the needs properly to be served by public health sanitation, the elements of good environmental health sanitation, the laws and regulations governing sanitation in environmental health and the protection of the public health;
(5)	Has had at least two years' experience in the field of environmental health as defined in this Article.  Provided, however, that only one year of experience in the field of environmental health as defined in this Article is required of a sanitarian intern who is a graduate of a bachelor's or master's degree program that is accredited by the National Accreditation Council for Environmental Health Curricula of the National Environmental Health Association.
(6)	Has passed an examination administered by the Board designed to test for competence in the subject matters of environmental health sanitation. The examination shall be in a form prescribed by the Board and may be oral, written, or both. The examination for applicants shall be held annually or more frequently as the Board may by rule prescribe, at a time and place to be determined by the Board. A person shall not be registered if such person fails to meet the minimum grade requirements for examination specified by the Board. Failure to pass an examination shall not prohibit such person from being examined at subsequent times and places as specified by the Board; and
(7)	Has paid a fee set by the Board not to exceed the cost of the examination."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 90A-63 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( c)	A registered sanitarian shall complete any continuing education requirements specified by the Board for renewal of a certificate."
Sec. 4.  This act is effective upon ratification.