GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 890

Short Title:  Sanitarian Education Requirements.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representative Davis.

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Referred to:  Education.

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April 12, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CHANGE THE EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTERED SANITARIANS AND TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES TO ESTABLISH A PROGRAM TO INSTRUCT INDIVIDUALS WHO SEEK TO BECOME REGISTERED SANITARIANS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.   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)	(Effective until January 1, 1996)  Has received a baccalaureate degree from a post-secondary educational institution rated as acceptable by the Board with a minimum of 20 semester hours or its equivalent in the physical and/or biological sciences;
		(3)	Has received a degree from a community college within the North Carolina Community College System or any comparable educational institution rated as acceptable by the Board, with a minimum of 20 semester hours or its equivalent in the physical 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. 2.  Chapter 115D of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"ARTICLE 6B.
"Sanitarian Instruction.
"§ 115D-74.  Sanitarian Instruction Program.
(a)	There is created a Sanitarian Instruction Program for the purpose of establishing a curriculum to instruct individuals who seek to become eligible to be registered as sanitarians pursuant to Chapter 90A of the General Statutes.  This curriculum shall be delivered by the Department of Community Colleges.  The Program may be administered by a sanitarian instruction coordinator who shall be responsible for the planning, curriculum, and completion requirements for the Program.  The curriculum developed under this section shall be designed to satisfy the education requirements for registered sanitarians under G.S. 90A-53.  The State Board of Community Colleges may elect a sanitarian instruction coordinator upon nomination of the President of the Community College System, and the compensation of the sanitarian instruction coordinator shall be fixed by the State Board upon recommendation of the President of the Community College System pursuant to G.S. 115D-3.  The State Board of Community Colleges may contract with an appropriate public or private agency to carry out the duties of the sanitarian instruction coordinator under this section.
(b)	The Sanitarian Instruction Program shall be implemented through the Department of Community Colleges at institutions that choose to provide the Program.  The sanitarian instruction coordinator shall select and facilitate the training and certification of instructors who will implement the Program."
Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective January 1, 1996.