Section 43-44-11. Licensure in specialty; provisional and inactive licenses; renewal

   (a) The board shall issue a certificate to each person whom it licenses as a speech-language pathologist, audiologist, or both. Licensure shall be granted independently in either speech-language pathology or audiology. Qualified applicants may be independently licensed in both areas.

(b) The board may establish, through rules and regulations, a mechanism to provide for provisional and inactive status licenses to applicants.

(c) The board may, in its discretion, upon payment of fees, grant a provisional license to an applicant who has satisfied the requirements of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) or paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of Code Section 43-44-8 and who is engaged in a paid clinical experience. Such provisional license shall be valid for one year and subject to renewal for only one additional year. A person holding a provisional license shall be subject to the same disciplinary action as a person holding a full license.

(d) All licenses shall be renewed biennially. Expiration, renewal, and penalty dates and provisions shall be as established by the board in accordance with Code Section 43-1-4.

Ga. L. 1974, p. 1009, § 10; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1474, § 6; Ga. L. 1981, p. 668, § 5; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1072, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 387, § 5; Ga. L. 2006, p. 1077, § 1/HB 1112.