§23.4. Waiver of licensing fees; payment plans

            A. Licensing boards shall waive any fee charged for an initial license or examination to any individual who is otherwise qualified to receive a license and meets the requirements of either Paragraph (1) or (2) of this Subsection.

            (1) Receives public assistance including, but not limited to the following:

            (a) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

            (b) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

            (c) Medicaid.

            (d) Disability insurance.

            (e) Public housing.

            (2) Earns less than two hundred percent of the current federal poverty guidelines as established by the federal office of management and budget, unless the applicant has been in an undergraduate or graduate school full time and unable to work.

            B. The licensing board shall inform applicants that they may be eligible for a fee waiver by placing notification on the licensing application. In addition to stating that the applicant may be eligible for a fee waiver if he meets certain criteria, the notification is also to include instructions on how the applicant may request further information.

            C.(1) Licensing boards shall provide payment plans in lieu of full license and examination fee payments for initial applications and examinations to all individuals who apply, except for an individual who applies for a certificate of license who would otherwise be unqualified pursuant to this Title.

            (2) Total fees paid by payment plans shall not exceed the amount an individual paying the full examination and licensing fee would otherwise pay.

            (3) An individual who is in good standing with the licensing board and has been provided a payment plan shall have twelve months from the date of the first scheduled payment to pay the account in full. A failure to remit payment in full within the allotted twelve-month period shall result in the individual being denied a renewal of their license.

            D. The provisions of this Section shall apply only to licensing boards that directly administer their own examinations.

            E. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to a license issued and regulated under the authority of the judicial branch of government.

            Acts 2020, No. 275, §1, eff. June 30, 2021.