36-136.01. Sanitarians council; members; powers; fees; examinations; continuing education; exceptions; renewal; definition

A. The director shall establish a sanitarians council composed of five members. The members shall be the director of the department of health services or the director's representative, two governmental sanitarians, one of whom shall represent the two largest counties and one of whom shall represent the thirteen smaller counties, one industrial sanitarian and one lay person representing the public. The director shall be the council chairman. Members of the council are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses pursuant to title 38, chapter 4, article 2.

B. The council shall provide for the classification of sanitarians, establish standards for persons employed as sanitarians and provide for the examination of applicants for registration as sanitarians. A person shall not be employed as a sanitarian by the state or any political subdivision of the state unless that person is registered by the department as a sanitarian of the class determined by the council to be appropriate for the performance of the functions of that person's employment.

C. The council may register an applicant as a sanitarian without an examination if both of the following are true:

1. The applicant is registered, certified or licensed as a sanitarian in another jurisdiction and pays all applicable fees prescribed pursuant to this section.

2. The council determines that the applicant meets at least one of the requirements prescribed pursuant to subsection I of this section and the examination requirements in the applicant's regulatory jurisdiction are substantially equivalent to this state's examination requirements.

D. Each registration expires on December 31 of each year. To renew a registration, the registrant must submit an application that contains the information prescribed by the director by rule and documentation of completion of at least ten hours of council approved continuing education during the previous twelve months. A registrant who has been registered for less than twelve months before the registration expiration date is not required to complete continuing education for the year that immediately precedes registration renewal. A registrant who does not renew the registration on or before February 15 of each year shall not perform the duties of a registered sanitarian.

E. Pursuant to rules adopted by the director, the council may defer the continuing education requirements prescribed in subsection D of this section.

F. The council shall charge and collect a nonrefundable application fee of twenty-five dollars. The council shall charge and collect a nonrefundable examination fee established by the director by rule that does not exceed the cost of administering the examination. A fee of ten dollars shall be charged and collected for the annual renewal of registration certificates.

G. All monies collected by the sanitarians council shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in the state general fund.

H. Only a person with a valid registration certificate issued pursuant to this section may use the title " registered sanitarian" or the abbreviation " R.S." after the registrant's name.

I. An applicant is eligible for registration as a sanitarian if the applicant meets at least one of the following qualifications:

1. The applicant has completed five years of employment as a sanitarian aide in either a recognized public health agency or private industry in a position directly related to environmental health.

2. The applicant has satisfactorily completed at least five years of full-time military duty in the field of environmental health.

3. The applicant has successfully completed thirty semester hours of credit at an accredited college or university in the natural sciences.

J. For the purposes of this section, " sanitarian" means a person who by education or experience in the physical, biological and sanitary sciences is qualified to carry out educational, investigational and technical duties in the field of environmental health.