reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
AL Code § 34-22-24 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 2 - Licenses.|Section 34-22-24 - Disposition of Fees.

Section 34-22-24Disposition of fees. All fees received by the board for examinations, annual renewal registrations, or from any other source shall be utilized in regulating the practice of optometry and paying the expenses of the board, including necessary clerk hire, legal expenses, and per diem and expenses of the members of the board as herein provided. Should the funds in the hands of the board at the end of any fiscal year (October 1) be more than two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000), the excess of this amount shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of a special trust fund which shall be spent solely for the purpose of constructing, operating, and maintaining a college of optometry at the University of Alabama, in Birmingham, equipping of facilities, student scholarships and loans, faculty salaries and endowments, continuing education, and research grants. (Acts 1975, No. 1148, p. 2257, §14; Acts 1989, No. 89-233, p. 288, §3; Act 2001-270, p. 329, §3.)
AL Code § 34-22-41 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 3 - Board of Optometry.|Section 34-22-41 - Officers; Meetings; Compensation; Disposition of Funds; Bonds; Annual Report.

Section 34-22-41Officers; meetings; compensation; disposition of funds; bonds; annual report. (a) The board shall choose annually one of its members as president, one as vice-president, and one as secretary-treasurer, who each may administer oaths and take affidavits, certifying thereto under their hand and the common seal of the board. (b) The board shall meet at least once in each year in the City of Montgomery or in a place designated by the president and, in addition thereto, whenever and wherever the president thereof calls a meeting. A majority of the board shall at all times constitute a quorum. The secretary of the board shall keep a full record of the proceedings of the board, which shall at all reasonable times be open to public inspection. (c) Each member of the board shall be reimbursed at the same per diem and travel allowance amounts paid by law to state employees for each day of attendance upon the business of the board and, in addition thereto, the sum of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per diem for each day actually spent by each member upon the business of the board. All expenses and per diem shall be paid out of the receipts of the board under this chapter. The secretary shall receive compensation as fixed by the board and shall be the custodian of all records and the official seal of the board. (d) All money received by the board shall be deposited to the credit of the board in a bank selected by its members for the use of the board, and the execution and enforcement of this chapter and the payments of salaries, expenses, and other authorized costs shall be paid by checks drawn by the treasurer and countersigned by the president or executive director of the board. (e) The president, executive director, and treasurer shall give such bonds as the board from time to time directs. (f) The board shall make an annual report of its proceedings to the Governor on the first Monday of January of each year. (Acts 1975, No. 1148, p. 2257, §4; Acts 1989, No. 89-233, p. 288, §3; Acts 1993, No. 93-153, p. 222, §3; Acts 1997, No. 97-158, p. 211, §3; Act 2005-77, p. 120, §3.)
AL Code § 34-22-43 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 3 - Board of Optometry.|Section 34-22-43 - Registry, Records, and Office of Board.

Section 34-22-43Registry, records, and office of board. (a) The secretary of the board shall keep a registry in which shall be entered the names of all persons to whom temporary licenses, limited licenses, license certificates, approvals for the use of pharmaceutical agents, and annual registration certificates have been granted under this chapter, the numbers of the license certificates and annual registration certificates, the dates of granting the same, and other matters of record and shall keep a true and correct copy of the minutes of all board meetings, and the book so provided and kept shall be the official book of records. (b) A photostatic copy of the records, or a copy of the records certified by the secretary and under the seal of the board, shall be admitted in any of the courts of this state as prima facie evidence of the facts contained in the records and in lieu of the original records. (c) A certificate under the hand of the secretary and the seal of the board that there is not entered in the record books the name, number of, and date of granting the license certificate or renewal license certificate to a person charged with a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein. The certificates shall be admitted in any of the courts of this state in lieu of the records of the board. (d) The original books, records, and papers of the board shall be kept at the office of the secretary of the board, which office shall be at a place designated by the board. (e) Upon the payment of a reasonable fee established from time to time by the board, the secretary of the board shall mail a copy of the most recent registry to any person requesting it. (Acts 1975, No. 1148, p. 2257, §13; Acts 1989, No. 89-233, p. 288, §3; Acts 1995, No. 95-218, p. 370, §1.)
AL Code § 34-22-60 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 4 - Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards.|Section 34-22-60 - Establishment; Composition.

Section 34-22-60Establishment; composition. (a) There is established the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards which shall establish scholarships to provide for and further optometric training in pursuance of an optometric degree, of qualified applicants for admission to the University of Alabama School of Optometry.  (b) The Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards shall be composed of all of the following members: (1) One optometrist from six components of the component societies of Alabama Optometric Association whose terms of office shall be staggered, two optometrists being elected for a term of two years; two optometrists being elected for a term of three years; and two optometrists being elected for a term of four years, with each successor being elected for a term of four years.  (2) The secretary of the Alabama Optometric Association, or his or her designee, who shall serve as chair of the board.  (3) The Dean of the University of Alabama School of Optometry, or his or her designee.  (4) The Chair of the University of Alabama School of Optometry Admissions Committee.  (5) The Executive Director of the Alabama Optometric Association. (6) Two community representatives appointed by the Governor. (c) The membership of the board shall be inclusive and reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state. The board shall annually report to the Legislature, by the second legislative day of each regular session, the extent to which the board has complied with the diversity requirements of this subsection. (Acts 1982, No. 82-460, p. 735, §1; Act 2009-648, p. 1988, §1.)
AL Code § 34-22-61 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 4 - Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards.|Section 34-22-61 - Powers and Duties of Board.

Section 34-22-61Powers and duties of board. (a) The Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards shall have power and authority to make reasonable rules and regulations not inconsistent with the laws of this state, as may be necessary for the regulation of its proceedings and for the discharge of the duties imposed upon it. The board shall receive and review all applications for scholarship loans and awards; shall make a careful and thorough investigation of the ability and character and qualifications of each applicant; and shall be responsible for the further administration of the scholarship program subject to the provisions of this article. (b) Any appropriation made to the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards or otherwise received by the board remaining at the end of any fiscal year shall remain with the board and shall not revert to any other fund. (Acts 1982, No. 82-460, p. 735, §3; Act 2012-476, p. 1319, §1.)
AL Code § 34-22-62 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 4 - Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards.|Section 34-22-62 - Types of Scholarships.

Section 34-22-62Types of scholarships. The Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards shall establish two types of scholarships as follows: (1) A number of loans not exceeding 25 percent of the number of students enrolled in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry based on the economic need and scholastic ability of the applicant, in an amount not to exceed the current annual cost of tuition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, shall be available to any bona fide resident of Alabama of good character who has been accepted for matriculation by the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry. This subdivision shall also apply to graduate students in vision science, at the discretion of the board. (2) A number of nonrefundable merit scholarship awards not exceeding 25 percent of the number of students enrolled in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry in an amount not to exceed the current annual cost of tuition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, shall be available to outstanding students, who are bona fide residents of Alabama, one-fourth of which shall be awarded each year to members of the entering class at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, who, in the judgment of the board, have the highest scholastic achievement in undergraduate studies, sufficient aptitude, excellence of character, and other pertinent qualifications. This subdivision shall also apply to graduate students in vision science, at the discretion of the board. (Acts 1982, No. 82-460, p. 735, §4; Act 2009-648, p. 1988, §1.)
AL Code § 34-22-63 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 4 - Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards.|Section 34-22-63 - Repayment of Loans; Service Contracts.

Section 34-22-63Repayment of loans; service contracts. (a) Scholarships extended under subdivision (1) of Section 34-22-62 shall be repaid following graduation, either in cash as is provided under subsection (b) or under terms of a contract to serve in a needy area in Alabama for a term to be specified by the board as provided in subsection (c). Any moneys received from recipients in repayment of a scholarship loan under subsections (b) and (c) shall upon receipt thereof be retained by the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards to be used for the funding of future scholarships. The board shall establish a separate fund for these purposes. (b) Scholarship loans to be repaid under this subsection shall be repaid to the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards in full at an interest rate determined by the board from the date of graduation from the optometry school, and payments are to be made annually, the first of which is due one year after the recipient enters the practice of optometry or one year after completion of residency training, whichever occurs first. Repayment in full shall be completed within 12 years from initiation of repayment. Any recipient who fails for any reason to continue his or her optometric education shall repay all loan amounts in accordance with terms and conditions established by the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards. The interest rate on such unpaid loan amounts shall be determined by the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards and shall be applied from the date of departure from the optometry school. (c) Scholarship loans to be repaid under this subsection shall be repaid by service in one of the following ways, subject to approval by the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards, and considering the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare designated optometric manpower shortage areas as one means of determination: (1) Practice for a four-year period in a community of less than 5,000 population which has been deemed to be critically in need of additional optometric practitioners. (2) Practice for a five-year period in a community of more than 5,000 population and less than 15,000 population which has been deemed to be critically in need of additional optometric practitioners. (3) Practice for a five-year period in a community of more than 15,000 but less than 100,000 population and repayment of one-half the loan plus an interest rate set by the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards to be repaid annually in five annual payments, beginning at the end of the first year of practice. (4) Practice for four years in a position in Alabama in public health or as an optometrist in any state institution approved by the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards. (5) For loans of less than four years of study, service repayment may be prorated on the basis of one-fourth of the above requirements for each loan. (Acts 1982, No. 82-460, p. 735, §5; Act 2009-648, p. 1988, §1.)
AL Code § 34-22-64 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 4 - Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards.|Section 34-22-64 - Contractual Agreement of Recipients; Penalties for Breach; Institution of Legal Proceedings.

Section 34-22-64Contractual agreement of recipients; penalties for breach; institution of legal proceedings. Each recipient of a scholarship loan under the provisions of this article shall enter into a contract with the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards whereby he/she agrees to repay the scholarship loan in a manner prescribed by the board not inconsistent with any provisions of this article. Breach of contract by the recipient shall make him/her immediately liable for the unpaid balance of the loan and shall constitute a ground for the revocation of his/her certificate or license to practice optometry in the State of Alabama. In the event of death or total and permanent disability of the recipient to engage in the practice of optometry, repayment of the loan may be excused by the board. The Attorney General of Alabama, upon request of the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards, shall institute proceedings in the name of the state for the purpose of recovering any amount due the state under the provisions of this article. The proceedings to have such optometrists' certificate or license revoked shall be commenced upon the written complaint of the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards to the State Board of Optometric Examiners. The proceedings shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Alabama law pertaining to the revocation of licenses to practice optometry. (Acts 1982, No. 82-460, p. 735, §6.)
AL Code § 34-22-65 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 4 - Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards.|Section 34-22-65 - Localities in Need of Optometrists.

Section 34-22-65Localities in need of optometrists. Any incorporated or unincorporated municipality or locality in the state having a population of less than 100,000 desiring additional optometrists and wishing to be designated as a locality needing additional optometrists, may apply to the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards to be placed on a list of localities in need of additional optometrists, which list shall be maintained by the board. Such application may be made either by the municipal governing body or by a petition signed by at least one-twentieth of the qualified electors of the municipality or locality. If the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards determines that such locality is in need of optometrists, it shall place the locality on the list of localities in need of optometrists from which recipients of scholarship awards may upon graduation select an area in which to practice. In compiling and maintaining the list, the board may place any locality thereon which in its opinion needs additional optometrists. (Acts 1982, No. 82-460, p. 735, §7.)
AL Code § 34-22-80 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 5 - License to Practice Across State Lines.|Section 34-22-80 - Legislative Findings.

Section 34-22-80Legislative findings. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that technological advances are occurring in the practice of optometry, thereby changing the practice of optometry, and that those technological advances are in the public interest. The Legislature further finds and declares that the practice of optometry is a privilege and that the state’s ability to regulate and monitor such technological advances is necessary for the protection of the citizens of this state and for the public interest, health, welfare, and safety. (Act 98-495, p. 956, §1; Act 2014-339, p. 1257, §1.)
AL Code § 34-22-81 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 5 - License to Practice Across State Lines.|Section 34-22-81 - Definitions.

Section 34-22-81Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) BOARD. The Alabama Board of Optometry created pursuant to Section 34-22-40. (2) DISTANT SITE PROVIDER. The provider providing the telemedicine service from a site other than the patient’s current location. A distant site provider shall hold an active Alabama license pursuant to Section 34-22-20 or Section 34-22-21. (3) ESTABLISHED TREATMENT SITE. A location where a patient shall present to seek optometric care where there is an optometrist present and sufficient technology and equipment to allow for an adequate physical evaluation as appropriate for the patient’s presenting complaint. The term requires an optometrist-patient relationship. A patient’s private home is not considered an established treatment site. (4) FACE-TO-FACE VISIT. An evaluation performed on a patient where both the provider and patient are at the same physical location or where the patient is at an established treatment site. (5) IN-PERSON EVALUATION. A patient evaluation conducted by a provider who is at the same physical location as the location of the patient. (6) PROVIDER. An optometrist holding an active Alabama license pursuant to Section 34-22-20 or Section 34-22-21. (7) TELEMEDICINE. A health service that is delivered by a licensed optometrist acting within the scope of his or her license and that requires the use of advanced telecommunications technology, other than telephone or facsimile technology, including all of the following: a. Compressed digital interactive video, audio, or data transmission. b. Clinical data transmission using computer imaging by way of still image capture and store and forward. c. Other technology that facilitates access to health care services or optometric specialty expertise. (Act 98-495, p. 956, §2; Act 2014-339, p. 1257, §1.)
AL Code § 34-22-82 (2021)
2021 Code of Alabama|Title 34 - Professions and Businesses.|Chapter 22 - Optometrists.|Article 5 - License to Practice Across State Lines.|Section 34-22-82 - Telemedicine - Protocols; Privacy Practices.

Section 34-22-82Telemedicine - Protocols; privacy practices. (a) A provider who uses telemedicine in his or her practice shall adopt protocols to prevent fraud and abuse through the use of telemedicine. (b)(1) Privacy practices. a. A provider that communicates with patients by electronic communications other than telephone or facsimile shall provide patients with written notification of the provider’s privacy practices before evaluation or treatment. b. The notice of privacy practices shall include language that is consistent with federal standards under 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164 relating to privacy of individually identifiable health information. c. A provider shall make a good faith effort to obtain the patient’s written acknowledgment of the notice. (2) Limitations of telemedicine. A provider who uses telemedicine services, before providing services, shall give each patient notice regarding telemedicine services, including the risks and benefits of being treated via telemedicine, and how to receive follow-up care or assistance in the event of an adverse reaction to the treatment or in the event of an inability to communicate as a result of a technological or equipment failure. A signed and dated notice, including an electronic acknowledgement by the patient, establishes a presumption of notice. (3) Necessity of in-person evaluation. When, for whatever reason, the telemedicine modality in use for a particular patient encounter is unable to provide all pertinent clinical information that a health care provider exercising ordinary skill and care would deem reasonably necessary for the practice of optometry at an acceptable level of safety and quality in the context of that particular encounter, then the distant site provider shall make this known to the patient and advise and counsel the patient regarding the need for the patient to obtain an additional in-person evaluation reasonably able to meet the patient’s needs. (Act 98-495, p. 956, §3; Act 2014-339, p. 1257, §1.)