Section 49-10-3. Powers, duties, and responsibilities

   The board shall have the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:

   (1) To locate and determine specific underserved areas of the state in which unmet priority needs exist for physicians and health care practitioners by monitoring and evaluating the supply and distribution of physicians and health care practitioners by specialty and geographical location;

   (2) To award service cancelable loans and scholarships pursuant to Part 6 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20, Chapter 34 of Title 31, or as otherwise provided by law;

   (3) To approve and allocate state appropriations for family practice training programs, including but not limited to fellowships in geriatrics and other areas of need as may be identified by the board;

   (4) To approve and allocate state appropriations for designated pediatric training programs;

   (5) To approve and allocate any other state funds appropriated to the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce to carry out its purposes;

   (6) To coordinate and conduct with other state, federal, and private entities, as appropriate, activities to increase the number of graduating physicians and health care practitioners who remain in Georgia to practice with an emphasis on medically underserved areas of the state;

   (7) To apply for grants and to solicit and accept donations, gifts, and contributions from any source for the purposes of studying or engaging one or more contractors to study issues relevant to medical education or implementing initiatives designed to enhance the medical education infrastructure of this state and to meet the physician and other health care practitioners workforce needs of Georgia communities; and

   (8) To carry out any other functions assigned to the board by general law.

Code 1981, § 49-10-3, enacted by Ga. L. 1998, p. 616, § 1; Ga. L. 2009, p. 77, § 1/HB 49; Ga. L. 2011, p. 459, § 7/HB 509; Ga. L. 2012, p. 775, § 49/HB 942.