(a) All licenses shall be renewable biennially.

(b) Any person who shall practice veterinary medicine after the expiration of his license and willfully or by neglect fail to renew such license shall be practicing in violation of this article, provided that any person may renew an expired license within one year of the date of its expiration by making written application for renewal and paying the current renewal fee plus all delinquent renewal fees. After one year has elapsed from the date of the expiration, such license may be reinstated in accordance with the rules of the board.

(c) The board may by rule waive the payment of the registration renewal fee of a licensed veterinarian during the period when he is on active duty with any branch of the armed forces of the United States, not to exceed the longer of three years or the duration of a national emergency.

(d)(1) The board shall establish a program of continuing professional veterinary medical education for the renewal of veterinarian licenses. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, beginning with the licenses which are to be renewed in 1990, no license to practice veterinary medicine shall be renewed by the board or the division director until the veterinarian submits to the board satisfactory proof of his participation, during the biennium preceding his application for renewal, in approved programs of continuing professional veterinary medical education, as defined in this Code section. Veterinarians who have been licensed in this state for 40 years or more on December 31, 1988, shall not be required to participate in continuing education as a condition of license renewal. The amount of continuing education required by the board under this paragraph shall not exceed 30 hours.

(2) Continuing professional veterinary medical education shall consist of educational programs providing training pertinent to the practice of veterinary medicine and approved by the board under this Code section. The board shall approve educational programs for persons practicing veterinary medicine in this state on a reasonable nondiscriminatory fee basis and may contract with institutions of higher learning, professional organizations, or qualified individuals for the provision of approved programs. In addition to such programs, the board shall allow the continuing professional veterinary medical education requirement to be fulfilled by the completion of approved correspondence courses which provide the required hours of approved programs of continuing professional veterinary medical education or to be fulfilled by a combination of approved correspondence courses and other educational programs.

(3) The board may, consistent with the requirements of this Code section, promulgate rules and regulations to implement and administer this Code section, including the establishment of a committee to prescribe standards, approve and contract for educational programs, and set the required minimum number of hours per year.

(e) The board shall provide by regulation for an inactive status license for those individuals who elect to apply for such status. Persons who are granted inactive status shall not engage in the practice of veterinary medicine and shall be exempt from the requirements of continuing veterinary medical education.