CHAPTER 237

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 54, a Chapter
numbered 14.1, containing 28 Sections numbered 54-898.1 to 54-898.28
inclusive; to create the “Virginia State Board of Opticians”, and
prescribe its powers, duties and compensation; to provide for the
examination, licensing and registration of “Opticians”, and for the
renewal and revocation of such registrations; to provide for the col-
lection of certain fees and to appropriate the same; to prohibit certain
acts and to provide penalties for violations. 'H 56]

Approved March 13, 1954
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia be amended by adding in Title 54 a
Chapter numbered 14.1, containing 28 sections numbered §§ 54-398.1 to
54-398.28 inclusive, as follows:

CHAPTER 14.1—OPTICIANS
§ 54-398.1. Exemptions.—Nothing in this chapter shall apply to:
(1) Any licensed physician or registered optometrist; or
(2) Any individual, partnership or corporation engaged in supplying
ophthalmic prescriptions and supplies exclusively to licensed Physicians,
to registered Optometrists, to registered Opticians, or to optical scientists ;

(3) Any person who does not hold himself out to the public as an
“Optician”, and who works exclusively under the direct supervision and
control of a licensed Physician or registered Optometrist or registered
Optician, and in the same location; or

(4) The sale of spectacles, eyeglasses, magnifying glasses, goggles,
sunglasses, telescopes, or binoculars, or any of such articles, which are
completely preassembled and are sold only as merchandise at perma-
nently located or established places of business.

§ 54-398.2. Definitions.—As used in this chapter:

(a) “Licensed Physician” means any person authorized to treat
human ailments, diseases or infirmities by any means or method under
the laws of this State.

(b) “Registered Optometrist”? means any person authorized to prac-
tice Optometry under the laws of this State.

(c) “Virginia State Board of Opticians” or “the Board’’, means the
Board created by and pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

(d) “Optician” means any person, not exempted by § 54-398.1, who
prepares or dispenses eyeglasses, spectacles, lenses, or appurtenances
thereto, for the intended wearers or users thereof, on prescriptions from
licensed Physicians or registered Optometrists, or as duplications or
reproductions of previously prepared eyeglasses, spectacles, lenses, or
appurtenances thereto; or who interprets such prescriptions or such dupli-
cations or reproductions, and, in accordance therewith, measures, adapts,
fits, and adjusts such eyeglasses, spectacles, lenses, or appurtenances, to
the human face.

(e) “Registered Optician” means any person who is the holder of
a certificate of registration issued by the Virginia State Board of Opticians.
§ 54-398.3. Practice of Opticians Restricted.—On or after January
1, 1955, no person shall practice or offer to practice as an Optician in
this State unless he is the holder of a certificate of registration issued
as herein after provided. However, no registered Optometrist shall be
required to obtain any certificate from the Board in order to practice or
offer to practice as an Optician.

§ 54-398.4. Virginia State Board of Opticians.—There is hereby
created the “Virginia State Board of Opticians”. The Board shall be
appointed by the Governor and shall be composed of five members; one
to serve until June 30, 1955; one to serve until June 30, 1956; one to
serve until June 30, 1957; one to serve until June 30, 1958; and one to
serve until June 30, 1959. Not less than two Board members shall be duly
licensed Physicians, each of whom shall have been engaged in the practice
of Ophthalmology for at least five years prior to appointment. Not less
than two Board members shall be Opticians, each of whom shall have
been engaged in practice as an Optician for at least five years prior to
apppointment. One Board member shall be a registered Optometrist,
who shall have been engaged in the practice of Optometry for at least
five years prior to appointment, and who shall be appointed to serve until
June 30, 1959. As the term of office, respectively, of the Board members
expire by limitation—there being one expiration on June 30th of each
year—the Governor shall appoint to fill the vacancy, so occasioned, a
qualified person whose term shall be for five years from the day on which
the term of his immediate predecessor expired. All interim vacancies
occurring on the Board shall be filled for the unexpired term by the
Governor.

§ 54-398.5. Nominations and Appointments.—Each appointment on
the Board may be made from a list of at least three names for each
appointment submitted to the Governor by the “Virginia Society of Pre-
scription Opticians” for each appointee who is an Optician, and by the
“Medical Society of Virginia” for each appointee who is a Physician
and by the “Virginia Optometric Association, Inc.’”’ for the appointee who
is an Optometrist. Nominations are to be submitted to the Governor on
or before June Ist of each year. The Governor shall notify the said
societies of any vacancy other than by expiration and like nominations
may be made for the filling of the vacancy. In no case shall the Governor
be bound to make any appointment from among the nominees submitted
by said societies or either of them.

54-398.6. Limitations on Number of Terms.—No person shall be
eligible to serve on the Board for or during more than two successive

§ 54-398.7. Removal of Members.—The Governor may remove any
member of the Board for misconduct, incapacity, or neglect of duty. The
Governor shall be the sole judge of the sufficiency of the cause for removal.
He shall report every such removal promptly to the General Assembly if
it is in session; otherwise at the beginning of the next session thereof.

§ 54-398.8. Rules and Regulations.—The Board shall make such
reasonable rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law as may be
necessary, for the better performance of its duties, and to promote the
ethical practice of Opticians, and to discourage violations of this Act.

54-398.9. Oath of Office-—Every person appointed a member of
the Board shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take the oath
of office before some officer authorized to administer an oath, and file a
certificate of the oath with the Secretary of the Board. Any member of
the Board in the official discharge of his duties may administer oaths and
take testimony concerning any matter within the jurisdiction of the Board.

§ 54-398.10. Officers and Appointees of the Board.—There shall be
a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman, each of whom shall be elected annually
by the Board from its own members. The administrative work of the
Board shall be performed by the Director of the Department of Profes-
sional and Occupational Registration who shall act also as Secretary-
Treasurer of the Board and who shall keep a full and complete record
of all of the proceedings of the Board, and of its accounts, which shall
be open to public inspection at all reasonable times.

§ 54-398.11. Board Meetings; Quorum.—The Board shall hold its
annual meeting on the third Monday in April of each year and in the city
of Richmond, Virginia; and may hold such other meetings at such times
and places and upon such notice as the Board may determine and as its
business may require. Three members of the Board shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.

§ 54-398.12. Compensation of Board.—The members of the Board
shall receive no salary for their services, but shall be paid a per diem of
$10.00 for each day necessarily spent in the performance of their duties
and shall be reimbursed for actual necessary expenses incurred in the
discharge of such duties.

§ 54-398.13. Annual Report.—The Board shall submit to the Gov-
ernor an annual report of its proceedings, including the names and
addresses of all persons who have been registered as Opticians and have
a license in force, and a detailed account of all monies received and
disbursed by it during the preceding year.

§ 54-398.14. Examinations and Standards.—The Board shall make
reasonable provision for the examination of applicants for registration
as Opticians, and shall determine and set the necessary standards to be
attained in the examinations, in accordance with the provisions of this Act,
to entitle the candidate to receive a license as an Optician.

Such examinations shall be held at least twice in each year if there
be any candidates for examination who have applied to the Board for
examination at least thirty days before the date fixed for the holding of
such examination.

§ 54-398.15. Qualification of Applicants for Examination.—Upon
filing timely application with the Board upon forms approved by the Board
and payment of an examination fee of $20.00—which fee shall be non-
refundable—any person desiring to qualify for licensing and registration
as a “Registered Optician” shall be permitted to take such examination
provided that he submits, with his application, evidence satisfactory to
the Board that:

(1) He is a citizen of the United States of America; and

(2) Heis at least twenty-one years of age; and

(3) He is of good moral character; and

(4) He has had at least one year of practical training and expe-
rience in the work of an Optician under the direct supervision of a
licensed Physician, a registered Optometrist, or a registered Optician; or
in lieu of such practical training and experience, he has successfully
completed the prescribed course in Opticianry in a college or university,
which course shall have been officially approved by the Board.

§ 54-898.16. Character of Examinations.—Examinations given by
the Board shall be confined to such knowledge as in the opinion of the
Board is essential, especially from the standpoint of protection of the
public, for practice as an Optician, provided that examinations shall
embrace the following subjects:

fTynhthalmin matamoala
§ 54-398.17. Certificate of Registration—Each applicant who suc-
cessfully completes the examination shall, upon payment of a registration
fee of Five Dollars ($5.90), receive a Certificate of Registration as a
“Registered Optician”.

§ 54-398.18. Certificate Without Examination (“Grandfather
Clause’’).—Every person who is a citizen of the United States at least
twenty-one years of age, of good moral character, and who has been sub-
stantially engaged in surface grinding, edge grinding, bench work, meas-
uring, adapting and fitting prescriptive eyeglasses, etc., to the human
face, as an Optician as defined hereinabove, for a period of one year or
more, who is now so engaged, and who for at least one year immediately
prior to the date of the passage of this Act has been a resident of this
State or has been so engaged at an established place of business for
practice as an Optician in this State, shall, upon filing satisfactory evidence
thereof with the Board and upon payment of a fee of $25.00 within six
months after the passage of this Act, be issued a Certificate of Registra-
tion. For the purposes of this Act, “substantially engaged” shall mean
a substantial portion of such person’s gainfully employed time, the object
of this Act being to assure that only qualified persons shall practice as
Opticians.

§ 54-398.19. Reciprocityw—Any person who has been duly licensed to
practice as an Optician in any State of the United States which has a stand-
ard of qualifications and examination for such practice at least as high as
that provided for in Virginia by this Act, and who has been principally
engaged in such practice pursuant to such license, for a period of not less
than two years preceding may, upon proper application to the Board and
upon payment of the sum of $25.00, in lieu of examination and registration
fees, be issued a Certificate of Registration without examination and shall
thereupon be authorized to practice as a “Registered Optician” in this
State subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules and regulations
of the Board.

§ 54-398.20. Display of Certificate Every person to whom a Cer-
tificate of Registration has been granted under this Act shall display the
same in a conspicuous part of the office or establishment wherein he is
engaged as an Optician.

§ 54-398.21. Annual Fees.—On or before January 1, 1955, and
annually thereafter, every registered Optician shall pay to the Board a
fee of $10.00 for renewal of his certificate.

§ 54-398.22. How Fees Applied.—All fees payable under this Act
shall be collected by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Board and paid by him
to the general fund of the State Treasury. All money so collected during
the biennium beginning July 1, 1954, is hereby appropriated to the Board
for expenditure in carrying out the provisions of this Act.

§ 54-398.23. Revocation of Certificate-—The Board shall revoke or
suspend the Certificate of Registration of any person for any of the
following causes :—

(1) If such person is or becomes incompetent to practice as an Opti-
cian through addiction to narcotics, alcohol, or otherwise.

(2) If such person be guilty of fraud or deceit in the practice as an
Optician, or in complying with, or in securing any of the benefits pro-
vided by, the provisions of this Act.

(3) If such person shall practice as an Optician while suffering any
infectious or contagious disease in a communicable stage.

(4) If such person violates, induces others to violate or cooperates
with others in violating any of the provisions of this Act, or any lawful
regulation by the Board in furtherance of this Act.
(5) If such person shall advertise or offer any gift or premium or
discount in any form or manner in conjunction with the practice of an
Optician, or directly or indirectly advertise that any one class of duly
licensed eye examiners is preferable to any other class qualified and
authorized under the laws of Virginia to make visual or eye examinations
and to prepare prescriptions for eye glasses, or advertise in any manner
that would tend to mislead or deceive the public, or engage in any form
of house to house canvassing or soliciting for the sale of spectacles or
other ophthalmic products or services.

(6) If such person shall in any form or manner participate in the
division, assignment, rebate or refund of fees or parts thereof in con-
nection with practice as an Optician.

(7) But nothing herein shall prohibit any registered Optician from
engaging in the occupation of an Optician as an employee on the prem-
ises of any commercial or mercantile establishment and from advertising,
either himself or through such commercial or mercantile establishment,
that he is a duly registered Optician and offering to practice as an Opti-
cian as an employee of such commercial or mercantile establishment.

Provided, however, that no certificate shall be revoked until the
holder thereof is given a hearing before the Board after ten days written
notice of the time and place of such hearing. Such notice shall have been
sent by the Secretary of the Board by registered mail to the last known
address of such person.

In connection with any such hearing, the Board shall have power to
issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum, and at the request of any
party shall issue such subpoenas, and the failure of a witness, without
legal excuse, to appear or testify or produce documents shall be reported
by the Board to the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, and the pro-
ceedings thereon shall be as provided in Section 8-302 of the Code of
Virginia.

§ 54-398.24. Appeal From Board Action.—Any person aggrieved
by any action of the Board shall have the right of appeal to the Circuit
Court of the City of Richmond, which appeal shall be taken within thirty
days after the action complained of.

§ 54-398.25. New Certificate After Revocation.—A person whose
certificate has been revoked may, after the expiration of one year from
the date of such revocation, apply for a new certificate in the manner
provided for an original application; and the Board may in its discretion
exempt the applicant from examination and grant him a new certificate.

§ 54-398.26. Violations: Punishment. Enforcement.—It shall be
unlawful for any person to practice as an Optician without a Certificate
of Registration provided for in this Act. Practice after revocation of a
certificate, or during suspension thereof, shall be deemed practice without
a certificate within the meaning of this Act.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this Act shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished in accord-
ance with law.

It shall be the duty of the respective Commonwealth attorneys to
prosecute all cases arising under this Act; but the Board may employ
additional counsel from time to time when necessary, subject to the
approval of the Attorney General, which counsel shall be paid out of the
funds arising from the receipts of the Board as provided for by this Act.

§ 54-398.27. Prescriptions.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed
in any way to authorize an Optician, or anyone else not otherwise author-
ized by law: to make, issue, or alter optical prescriptions, or to practice
ocular refraction, orthoptics, or visual training; or to advertise or offer
to do so in any manner.

§ 54-398.28. Purpose of Act: Construction Thereof: Severability.—
This Act is enacted in the exercise of the police powers of the Common-
wealth and its purposes generally are to protect the public health, welfare
and safety of the public in general, and especially of those requiring eye-
glasses or other visual aids. This Act is to be liberally construed for the
accomplishment of these purposes; and is to be construed as severable
and if any provision or portion of this Act shall be declared unconstitu-
tional, in whole or in part, then the remainder of this Act, including the
portion or portions not declared unconstitutional, shall remain in full
force and effect; and it is hereby declared to be the legislative intent that
this Act would have been adopted had such invalid provision or portion
not been included therein.