(a) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall administer, coordinate, and enforce the provisions of this chapter and evaluate the qualifications and supervise the examinations of applicants for licensure under this chapter. The board may issue subpoenas, examine witnesses, and administer oaths and, at its discretion, shall investigate allegations or practices violating the provisions of this chapter.
(b)
(1) The board shall adopt rules relating to professional conduct commensurate with the policy of this chapter, including, but not limited to, rules which establish ethical standards of practice necessary to the enforcement and orderly administration of this chapter and, for other purposes, may amend or repeal the same in accordance with the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq.
(2) The board shall promulgate rules regarding the use of speech-language pathology support personnel by practitioners of speech-language pathology.
(3)
(A) All rules promulgated pursuant to this section shall be reviewed by the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor or appropriate subcommittees thereof.
(B) Following their adoption, the rules shall govern and control the professional conduct of every person who holds a license to practice speech-language pathology or audiology in this state.
(c) The Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq., shall apply to the authority and procedure of the board.
(d) The board shall conduct hearings and keep records and minutes necessary to the orderly dispatch of its functions. The board shall provide notice to the appropriate persons in a manner it considers appropriate of the times and places of all hearings authorized by this subsection.
(e) The conferral or enumeration of specific powers elsewhere in this chapter shall not be construed as a limitation of the general functions conferred by this section.