| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF 2 |
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| 14 | 15 | | CHIROPRACTIC EXAMINERS MAY CHARGE AS COSTS IN DISCIPLINARY 3 |
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| 15 | 16 | | ACTIONS AND TO REQUIRE ACCURATE MINUTES FOR OFFICIAL MEETINGS. 4 |
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| 16 | 17 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5 |
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| 17 | 18 | | SECTION 1. G.S. 90-157.4 reads as rewritten: 6 |
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| 18 | 19 | | "§ 90-157.4. Civil penalty; disciplinary costs. 7 |
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| 19 | 20 | | … 8 |
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| 20 | 21 | | (d) If a licensee is found to have violated any provisions of this Article or any rule adopted 9 |
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| 21 | 22 | | by the Board, the Board may charge the costs of a disciplinary proceeding, proceeding if the 10 |
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| 22 | 23 | | disciplinary action results in a disposition other than complete exoneration of the licensee. The 11 |
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| 23 | 24 | | total cumulative costs under this subsection, including reasonable attorneys' fees, meeting costs, 12 |
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| 24 | 25 | | investigative fees, and any other costs, shall not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) charged 13 |
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| 25 | 26 | | to that licensee. For the purposes of this section, the term "disciplinary action" includes any 14 |
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| 26 | 27 | | investigation, informal evidentiary review, settlement conference, negotiation, probable cause 15 |
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| 27 | 28 | | hearing, disciplinary review committee meeting, full Board meeting, or any combination of those 16 |
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| 28 | 29 | | types of proceedings. 17 |
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| 29 | 30 | | (d1) Any provision in an informal settlement, consent order, final agency decision, or other 18 |
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| 30 | 31 | | dispositive document in which the licensee consents to pay costs in an amount greater than two 19 |
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| 31 | 32 | | thousand dollars ($2,000) is void and unenforceable against the licensee. 20 |
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| 32 | 33 | | (e) If the Board imposes a civil penalty under this section, the party against whom the 21 |
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| 33 | 34 | | civil penalty has been assessed may file a petition for judicial review under Article 4 of Chapter 22 |
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| 34 | 35 | | 150B of the General Statutes." 23 |
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| 35 | 36 | | SECTION 2. G.S. 90-144 reads as rewritten: 24 |
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| 36 | 37 | | "§ 90-144. Meetings of the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners. 25 |
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| 37 | 38 | | (a) The North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners shall meet at least once a 26 |
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| 38 | 39 | | year at such time and place as the Board shall determine and advertise. 27 |
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| 39 | 40 | | (b) The Board is a public body, as that term is defined in Article 33C of Chapter 143 of 28 |
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| 40 | 41 | | the General Statutes, and shall keep full and accurate minutes of all official meetings in 29 |
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| 41 | 42 | | conformity with all of the following: 30 |
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| 42 | 43 | | (1) Except as provided in G.S. 143-318.18, the contents of the treasurer's, 31 |
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| 43 | 44 | | director's, and attorney's reports and each committee report shall be 32 |
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| 44 | 45 | | summarized. 33 |
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| 45 | 46 | | (2) Except as provided in G.S. 143-318.18, for any matter that comes before the 34 |
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| 46 | 47 | | Board in an open session or in which the chair invites comments, the minutes 35 |
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| 49 | 54 | | of those comments, including any rationale or justification offered in support 1 |
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| 50 | 55 | | or opposition to the matter under discussion. 2 |
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| 51 | 56 | | (3) For any motion disposed of by the Board's vote, the minutes shall include the 3 |
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| 52 | 57 | | motion verbiage and the corresponding vote of each member of the Board. 4 |
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| 53 | 58 | | (4) The Board shall publish a draft version of the minutes within 15 business days 5 |
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| 54 | 59 | | after each meeting and the final version immediately upon approval of those 6 |
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| 55 | 60 | | minutes. 7 |
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| 56 | 61 | | (c) Applicants for licensure under this Article shall comply with G.S. 90-143(b)." 8 |
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| 57 | 62 | | SECTION 3. The North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners shall adopt 9 |
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| 58 | 63 | | rules to implement this act. 10 |
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| 59 | 64 | | SECTION 4. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to disciplinary 11 |
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| 60 | 65 | | actions, as that term is defined by Section 1 of this act, on or after that date. 12 |
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