South Carolina General Assembly
110th Session, 1993-1994

Bill 1119


                    Current Status
Introducing Body:               Senate
Bill Number:                    1119
Ratification Number:            391
Act Number:                     352
Primary Sponsor:                Drummond
Type of Legislation:            GB
Subject:                        Optometrist, registration as
Companion Bill Number:          4663
Date Bill Passed both Bodies:   19940420
Computer Document Number:       CYY/15626AC.94
Governor's Action:              S
Date of Governor's Action:      19940503
Introduced Date:                19940202
Date of Last Amendment:         19940302
Last History Body:              ------
Last History Date:              19940503
Last History Type:              Act No. 352
Scope of Legislation:           Statewide
All Sponsors:                   Drummond
                                Washington
                                Leventis
                                Peeler
                                J. Verne Smith
Type of Legislation:            General Bill

History

Bill   Body    Date          Action Description              CMN  Leg Involved
----   ------  ------------  ------------------------------  ---  ------------
1119   ------  19940503      Act No. 352
1119   ------  19940503      Signed by Governor
1119   ------  19940427      Ratified R 391
1119   House   19940420      Read third time, enrolled for
                             ratification
1119   House   19940419      Read second time
1119   House   19940330      Committee Report: Favorable     27
1119   House   19940309      Introduced, read first time,    27
                             referred to Committee
1119   Senate  19940308      Read third time, sent to House
1119   Senate  19940302      Amended, read second time
1119   Senate  19940301      Committee Report: Favorable     13
                             with amendment
1119   Senate  19940202      Introduced, read first time,    13
                             referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A352, R391, S1119)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 40-37-90, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS FOR REGISTRATION AS AN OPTOMETRIST, SO AS PROSPECTIVELY TO REQUIRE THERAPEUTIC CERTIFICATION; TO AMEND SECTION 40-37-103, RELATING TO DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC EXAMINATIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THEY MUST BE APPROVED RATHER THAN ADMINISTERED BY THE BOARD; TO AMEND SECTION 40-37-210, RELATING TO PROCEDURES FOR TAKING AND HEARING COMPLAINTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT HEARING NOTICES MAY BE SENT BY CERTIFIED MAIL; TO AMEND SECTION 40-37-290, RELATING TO OFFICE LOCATION AND POSTING OF REGISTRATIONS, SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE BOARD FROM RESTRICTING OFFICE LOCATION AND TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO CERTAIN ASPECTS OF OFFICE FACILITIES, RECORDKEEPING, AND FACILITY SANITATION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Requirements for registration

SECTION 1. Section 40-37-90 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-37-90. (A) A person is qualified to receive a certificate of registration as a registered optometrist who:

(1) has a minimum of two academic years at an accredited college or university;

(2) was graduated from an accredited school or college of optometry which required four years' attendance and which grants the degree of doctor of optometry (O.D.), provided all schools and courses are approved by the board;

(3) has satisfactorily passed an examination recognized by the board; or has passed the National Board of Optometry Examination or an equivalent examination and has practiced for five years in another state or states and is in good standing in the state in which he was last actively engaged in the practice of optometry;

(4) has satisfied all of the requirements to be therapeutically certified as provided for in Section 40-37-103(B);

(5) has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; the record of conviction or a copy of the conviction certified by the clerk of the court in which the conviction occurred is conclusive evidence of the conviction.

(B) Notwithstanding subsection (A)(4) an optometrist who holds a valid registration or who is diagnostically certified pursuant to Section 40-37-103(A) is not required to be therapeutically certified as a condition of maintaining the registration or diagnostic certification or obtaining renewal."

Requirements to be diagnostically and therapeutically certified

SECTION 2. Section 40-37-103 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 65 of 1993, is amended to read:

"Section 40-37-103. (A) The board shall certify a licensed optometrist as a diagnostically certified optometrist if the optometrist has:

(1) complied with the educational requirements promulgated by the board; and

(2) passed a pharmaceutical agent examination which must be approved by the board.

(B) The board shall certify a licensed optometrist as a therapeutically certified optometrist if the optometrist has:

(1) satisfied the requirements for diagnostic certification;

(2) passed the Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease Examination approved by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry;

(3) taken at least one hundred ten hours of board-approved optometric education courses since December 31, 1988, and after graduation from optometry school, of which at least forty hours must have been clinical instruction specifically related to the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma and must have been taken under the supervision of an ophthalmologist who must submit a written certification to the Board of Examiners in Optometry that the optometrist has completed the forty hours of clinical instruction required by this item;

(4) submitted to the board an affidavit stating that the optometrist has had at least twelve hundred hours of clinical training."

Complaints and grievance procedures

SECTION 3. Section 40-37-210 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-37-210. (A) The board shall receive complaints by any person against a licensed optometrist and shall require a complaint to be submitted in written form. Upon receipt of the complaint the secretary or another person as the president may designate shall investigate the allegations in the complaint and make a report to the board concerning the investigation. If the board proceeds further, it may file a formal accusation charging the optometrist with a violation of a provision of this chapter. The accusation must be signed by the president or the vice-president on behalf of the board. When the accusation is filed and the board sets a date for hearing, the secretary of the board shall notify the accused in writing not fewer than thirty days before the hearing and a copy of the accusation must be attached to the notice. The accused may appear and show cause why his license should not be suspended or revoked. The accused has the right to be confronted with and to cross-examine the witnesses, and he has the right to counsel. For the purposes of these hearings, the board is empowered to require by subpoena the attendance of witnesses, the production of documents, and to administer oaths and hear testimony, either oral or documentary, for and against the accused. In instances where a board member has made the initial investigation or complaint, the board member may not sit with the board at the hearing of the complaint.

(B) The notice required by subsection (A) may be sent to the accused by certified mail, return receipt requested, directed to the last mailing address furnished to the board. The post office registration receipt signed by the accused, the accused's agent, or a responsible member of the accused's household, or office staff, or, if not accepted by the person to whom addressed, the postal authority stamp showing the notice `refused' is prima facie evidence of service of the notice.

(C) All investigations and proceedings undertaken under the provisions of this chapter are confidential.

Every communication, whether oral or written, made by or on behalf of a complainant to the board or its agents or a hearing panel or a member of a hearing panel, pursuant to this chapter whether by way of complaint or testimony, is privileged; and no action or proceeding, civil or criminal, may be brought against a person, by whom or on whose behalf the communication was made."

Requirements for and regulation of office space

SECTION 4. Section 40-37-290 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-37-290. (A) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to limit the number or to prescribe or restrict the location of offices each individual optometrist or group of optometrists may operate. Every optometrist must display a separate registration certified by the board in each location in which the optometrist practices. Duplicate registrations may be obtained from the board by filing an application on a form prescribed by the board and paying the prescribed fees.

(B) Each office shall post in a conspicuous place the office hours that will be maintained. Office hours must be determined as those hours in which a licensed optometrist is actually present on the premises. This section may not prevent the office from being open for the purpose of accepting appointments or payments or performing other duties that by law do not require the presence of a licensed optometrist. Advertisements or any other public announcement of office hours must specify those hours in which a licensed optometrist is present on the premises.

Mobile units may be used. However, an optometrist practicing in a mobile unit shall obtain a registration for the mobile unit from the board. A mobile unit must be limited to visiting and providing services to licensed health care facilities within the State.

(C) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (A), the board may promulgate regulations regarding optometrists' offices so as to provide for:

(1) adequate and appropriate office facilities for the practice of optometry;

(2) the proper handling of patient records; and

(3) appropriate sanitation for office facilities."

Board reauthorized

SECTION 5. In accordance with Section 1-20-60 of the 1976 Code, the existence of the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Optometry is reauthorized for six years.

Time effective

SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Approved the 3rd day of May, 1994.