(a)        The Board shall administer and enforce the provisions of this Chapter.

(b)        The Board shall elect from its membership, a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and secretary-treasurer, and adopt rules to govern its proceedings. A majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum for all Board meetings.

(c)        The Board shall examine and pass on the qualifications of all applicants for certificates and licenses under this Chapter, and shall issue a certificate or license to each successful applicant therefor.

(d)       The Board may adopt a seal which may be affixed to all certificates and licenses issued by the Board.

(e)        The Board may authorize expenditures deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of this Chapter from the fees which it collects, but in no event shall expenditures exceed the revenues of the Board during any fiscal year. No State appropriations shall be subject to the administration of the Board.

(f)        Repealed by Session Laws 1999-313, s. 1, effective July 1, 1999.

(g)        The Board shall have the power to establish or approve study or training courses and to establish reasonable standards for certification, licensure, and renewal of certification and licensure, including the power to adopt or use examination materials and accreditation standards of the Council on Social Work Education or other recognized accrediting agency and the power to establish reasonable standards for continuing social work education, except that the Board shall not require an examination for renewal of a certificate or license, and the Board shall not have the power to withhold approval of social work study or training courses offered by a college or university having a social work program approved by the Council on Social Work Education.

(h)        Subject to the provisions of Chapter 150B of the N.C. Gen. Stat., the Board shall have the power to adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this Chapter, including but not limited to the power to adopt supervision, ethical, and disciplinary standards.

(i)         The Board may order that any records concerning the practice of social work and relevant to a complaint received by the Board or an inquiry or investigation conducted by or on behalf of the Board shall be produced by the custodian of the records to the Board or for inspection and copying by representatives of or counsel to the Board. A social worker licensed by the Board or an agency employing a social worker licensed by the Board shall maintain records for the longer of (i) 10 years from the date the social worker terminates services to the client and the client services record is closed or (ii) the record retention period mandated by a third-party payee. A social worker certified or licensed by the Board shall cooperate fully and in a timely manner with the Board and its designated representatives in an inquiry or investigation of the records conducted by or on behalf of the Board.

(j)         The Board shall have the power to employ or retain professional personnel, including legal counsel, subject to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-2.3, or clerical or other special personnel deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of this Chapter. ?(1983, c. 495, s. 1; 1987, c. 827, s. 1; 1995, c. 344, s. 1; 1999-313, s. 1; 2005-129, s. 1; 2007-379, s. 2; 2019-240, s. 10(a).)