§ 8510-a. Mandatory continuing education for respiratory therapy
technicians. 1. (a) Each licensed respiratory therapy technician
required under this article to register triennially with the department
to practice in the state shall comply with provisions of the mandatory
continuing education requirements prescribed in subdivision two of this
section except as set forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this
subdivision. Respiratory therapy technicians who do not satisfy the
mandatory continuing education requirement shall not practice until they
have met such requirements, and have been issued a registration
certificate, except that a respiratory therapy technician may practice
without having met such requirements if he or she is issued a
conditional registration certificate pursuant to subdivision three of
this section.

(b) Respiratory therapy technicians shall be exempt from the mandatory
continuing education requirement for the triennial registration period
during which they are first licensed. In accord with the intent of this
section, adjustment to the mandatory continuing education requirement
may be granted by the department for reasons of health, certified by an
appropriate health care professional, for extended active duty with the
armed forces of the United States, or for other good cause acceptable to
the department which may prevent compliance.

(c) A licensed respiratory therapy technician not engaged in practice
as determined by the department, shall be exempt from the mandatory
continuing education requirement upon the filing of a statement with the
department declaring such status. Any licensee who returns to their
respective practice as a respiratory therapy technician during the
triennial registration period shall notify the department prior to
reentering the profession and shall meet such mandatory education
requirements as shall be prescribed by regulations of the commissioner.

2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for
registration as a respiratory therapy technician shall complete a
minimum of twenty-four hours of acceptable formal continuing education,
as specified in subdivision four of this section, provided that no more
than twelve hours of such continuing education shall consist of
self-study courses. Any respiratory therapy technician whose first
registration date following the effective date of this section occurs
less than three years from such effective date, but on or after January
first, two thousand one, shall complete continuing education hours on a
prorated basis at the rate of two-thirds of one hour per month for the
period beginning January first, two thousand up to the first
registration date thereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied the
mandatory continuing education requirements shall not be issued a
triennial registration certificate by the department and shall not
practice unless and until a conditional registration certificate is
issued as provided for in subdivision three of this section. With the
exception of continuing education hours taken during the registration
period immediately preceding the effective date of this section,
continuing education hours completed during one triennium may not be
transferred to a subsequent triennium.

3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional
registration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education
requirements established in subdivision two of this section but who
agrees to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional education
which the department may require. The fee for such a conditional
registration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the
triennial registration. The duration of such conditional registration
shall be determined by the department but shall not exceed one year. Any
licensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to
submit evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required continuing
education and who practices as a respiratory therapy technician without
such registration, may be subject to the disciplinary proceedings
pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of this title.

4. As used in subdivision two of this section, "acceptable formal
continuing education" for respiratory therapy technicians shall mean
formal courses of learning which contribute to professional practice as
a respiratory therapy technician and which meet the standards prescribed
by regulations of the commissioner. The department may, in its
discretion and as needed to contribute to the health and welfare of the
public, require the completion of continuing education courses in
specific subjects.

5. Respiratory therapy technicians shall maintain adequate
documentation of completion of acceptable formal continuing education
and shall provide such documentation at the request of the department.

6. The mandatory continuing education fee for respiratory therapy
technicians shall be twenty-five dollars, shall be payable on or before
the first day of each triennial registration period, and shall be paid
in addition to the triennial registration fee required by section
eighty-five hundred ten of this article.