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Every registered optometrist who desires to continue to practice in this state shall pay an annual renewal fee to defray the cost of regulating optometry and shall furnish satisfactory evidence of having met minimum continuing education requirements, as set by the board. The board may, in its sole discretion, waive the annual educational requirement and/or fee in cases of certified illness, disability, other undue hardship or retirement.
The board shall annually arrange for or approve a program or programs of continuing optometric education held in this state sufficient to meet the minimum annual educational requirements for each level of practice. The board shall list on its website the organizations whose continuing education courses are deemed approved to meet the requirements of the board. The courses offered by these organizations shall be considered approved by the board and shall be available to optometrists as a means of satisfying their annual continuing education obligation, in addition to the continuing education courses which have been approved by the Council on Optometric Practitioner Education.
The board is authorized to use such portion of the annual renewal fees as is deemed necessary or proper to provide for continuing optometric educational programs.
The board is authorized to adopt such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary or appropriate for establishing an approved program or programs of continuing optometric education, including, but not limited to, those prescribing the substantive content of all courses or other forms of optometric education that will satisfy the annual educational requirement.
The board shall issue annual renewal certificates to optometrists who pay their annual renewal fees and furnish satisfactory evidence of having met minimum continuing education requirements.
The board is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations providing for the automatic revocation of the certificates of optometrists failing to meet the terms of this section.
After hearing, the board may provide conditions for the reinstatement of the certificates. These conditions may include, but are not limited to, the payment of delinquent fees, the payment of a civil penalty, the attendance or completion of courses of study, the passage of examinations, the passage of physical or mental examinations and the treatment of any physical or mental ailments.
After hearing, the board may refuse to reinstate the certificates revoked under this section upon any of the grounds set forth in § 63-8-120.
The board may formulate a policy that would allow retirees to practice where their services are needed on a temporary basis.
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the division, with the approval of the commissioner, shall establish a system of license renewals at alternative intervals that will allow for the distribution of the license workload as uniformly as is practicable throughout the calendar year. Licenses issued under the alternative method are valid for twenty-four (24) months and shall expire on the last day of the last month of the license period. However, during a transition period, or at any time thereafter when the board shall determine that the volume of work for any given interval is unduly burdensome or costly, either the licenses or renewals, or both of them, may be issued for terms of not less than six (6) months nor more than eighteen (18) months. The fee imposed for any license under the alternative interval method for a period of other than twenty-four (24) months shall be proportionate to the annual fee and modified in no other manner, except that the proportional fee shall be rounded off to the nearest quarter of a dollar (25¢).
No renewal application will be accepted after the last day of the month following the license expiration date under the alternative method authorized in this subsection (i).