(a) The Council consists of 5 voting members. The 5 voting members shall consist of 1 physician member certified in the field of sleep medicine and 4 council members who are credentialed registered polysomnographic technologists and have been primarily employed in the practice of polysomnography in this State for at least 3 years immediately prior to appointment. The 4 polysomnography practicing members shall be licensed pursuant to this subchapter no later than July 1, 2014, and all polysomnography practicing members thereafter shall be licensed pursuant to this subchapter. The Council may elect officers as necessary.
(b) Each council member is appointed by the Board for a term of 3 years, and may succeed himself or herself for 1 additional 3-year term. A person appointed to fill a vacancy on the Council is entitled to hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term of the former member. Each term of office expires on the date specified in the appointment; however, a council member whose term of office has expired remains eligible to participate in council proceedings until replaced by the Board. A person who has never served on the Council may be appointed to the Council for 2 consecutive terms, but the person is thereafter ineligible for appointment to the Council except as hereinafter provided. A person who has been twice appointed to the Council or who has served on the Council for 6 years within any 9-year period may not again be appointed to the Council until an interim period of at least 1 year has expired since the person last served. The members of the Council are to be compensated at an appropriate and reasonable level as determined by the Division of Professional Regulation and may be reimbursed for meeting-related travel expenses at the State's current approved rate. A member serving on the Council may not be an elected officer or a member of the board of directors of any professional association of polysomnographers.
(c) The Council shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the practice of polysomnography, after public hearing and subject to the approval of the Board. The Board must approve or reject proposed rules or regulations submitted to it by the Council within 60 days. If the Board fails to approve or reject the proposed rules or regulations within 60 days, the proposed rules or regulations are deemed to be approved by the Board.
(d) The Council shall meet quarterly, and at such other times as license applications are pending and evaluate the credentials of all persons applying for a license as a licensed polysomnographer in this State, in order to determine whether such persons meet the qualifications for licensing set forth in this chapter. The Council shall present to the Board the names of individuals qualified to be licensed and shall recommend disciplinary action against licensees as necessary, and shall suggest changes in operations or regulations. The Board shall approve or reject these recommendations within a reasonable time period.
(e) License suspension, revocation, or nonrenewal. — (1) The Council, after appropriate notice and hearing, may recommend to the Board that the Board revoke, suspend, or refuse to issue a license, or place the licensee on probation, or otherwise discipline a licensee found guilty of unprofessional conduct. Unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to, fraud, deceit, incompetence, negligence, dishonesty, or other behavior in the licensee's professional activity which is likely to endanger the public health, safety, or welfare. The Council may recommend and the Board may take necessary action against a licensed polysomnographer, who is unable to render services with reasonable skill or safety to patients because of mental illness or mental incompetence, physical illness, or the excessive use of drugs including alcohol. Disciplinary action or other action taken against a licensed polysomnographer must be accordance with the procedures for disciplinary and other actions against physicians, including appeals as set forth in subchapter IV of this chapter except that a hearing panel for a complaint against a licensed polysomnographer consists of 3 members; 1 of the 3 shall be a physician member of the Board; 2 of the 3 shall be unbiased members of the Council; and if no conflict exists, 1 of the 2 council members shall be the Chair of the Council. The Chair of the hearing panel shall be 1 of the council panel members.
(2) a. In the event of a formal or informal complaint concerning the activity of a licensee that presents a clear and immediate danger to the public health, the Council may temporarily suspend the person's license, pending a hearing, upon the written order of the Secretary of State or the Secretary's designee, with the concurrence of the Council Chair or the Chair's designee. An order temporarily suspending a license may not be issued unless the person or the person's attorney received at least 24 hours' written or oral notice before the temporary suspension so that the person or the person's attorney may file a written response to the proposed suspension. The decision as to whether to issue the temporary order of suspension will be decided on the written submissions. An order of temporary suspension pending a hearing may remain in effect for no longer than 60 days from the date of the issuance of the order unless the temporary suspended person requests a continuance of the hearing date. If the temporary suspended person requests a continuance, the order of temporary suspension remains in effect until the hearing is convened and a decision is rendered by the Board. A person whose license has been temporarily suspended pursuant to this section may request an expedited hearing. The Board shall schedule the hearing on an expedited basis, provided that the Board receives the request within 5 calendar days from the date on which the person received notification of the decision to temporarily suspend the person's license.
b. As soon as possible after the issuance of an order temporarily suspending a polysomnographer's license to practice pending a hearing, the Council Chair shall appoint a 3-member hearing panel consisting of 3 members; 1 of the 3 shall be a physician member of the Board; 2 of the 3 shall be unbiased members of the Council; and if no conflict exists, 1 of the 2 Council members shall be the Chair of the Council. The Chair of the hearing panel shall be 1 of the Council panel members; or the complaint may be scheduled before a hearing officer pursuant to § 8735(v)(1)d. of Title 29. The hearing shall be convened within 60 days of the date of issuance of the order of temporary suspension to consider the evidence regarding the matters alleged in the complaint. If a polysomnographer requests in a timely manner an expedited hearing, the hearing panel shall convene within 15 days of the receipt of the request by the Council. A decision shall be rendered within 30 days of the hearing.
c. In addition to making findings of fact, the hearing panel or hearing officer shall also determine whether the facts found by it constitute a clear and immediate danger to public health. If the hearing panel or hearing officer determines that the facts found constitute a clear and immediate danger to public health, the order of temporary suspension must remain in effect until the Board deliberates and reaches conclusions of law based upon the findings of fact. An order of temporary suspension may not remain in effect for longer than 60 days from the date of the decision rendered unless the suspended polysomnographer requests an extension of the order pending a final decision of the Board. Upon the final decision of the Board, an order of temporary suspension is vacated as a matter of law and is replaced by the disciplinary action, if any, ordered by the Board.