(a) The Arkansas State Board of Sanitarians shall admit to examination any person who makes application to the Secretary of the Arkansas State Board of Sanitarians on forms prescribed and furnished by the board and pays an application fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) to defray the expense of examination.
(b) The minimum requirements for admission to examination as a registered sanitarian shall be as follows:
(1) A bachelor's degree or master's degree in public health with specialization in sanitary sciences from an approved school of public health; or
(2) A college graduate in one (1) of the natural sciences, i.e., biology, chemistry, physics, math, earth science, or geology, or engineering, with a minimum of thirty (30) semester hours or its equivalent of those subjects, plus one (1) year's experience in environmental sanitation or approved training courses.
(c) Any person who meets the educational qualifications of subdivision (b)(2) of this section but who does not meet the experience requirements of subdivision (b)(2) of this section may make application to the board through a process prescribed by the board for acceptance as a sanitarian-in-training. The board shall accept the application when submitted, if accompanied by the required fee, not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00), as prescribed by the board.
(d) Within ninety (90) days after an application is filed with the secretary, the board shall notify the applicant whether his or her application for examination was accepted or rejected and, if rejected, the reason therefor.
(e) One-half (½) of the application fee shall be returned to each rejected applicant.