CHAPTER 69

DELAWARE STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS IN OPTOMETRY

AN ACT to amend Chapter 31 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended by Chapter 58, Volume 35, Laws of Delaware, relating to the "Delaware State Board of Examiners in Optometry".

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:

Section 1. That said Chapter 31 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended, be and the same is hereby further amended by repealing 894 Section 2 thereof, and inserting in lieu thereof a new section to be known as 894 Section 2.

894 Section 2. Any person shall be deemed to be practicing optometry within the meaning of this Act who shall display a sign, such as an eye, a pair of eyes, or who shall in any way advertise himself as an optometrist, or who shall examine the human eye, to ascertain the presence of defects or abnormal conditions which can be corrected or relieved or the effects of which may be corrected or relieved by the use of lenses, prisms, or ocular exercises, or employ any subjective or objective mechanical means to determine the accommodative or refractive states of the human eye or range or power of vision of the human eye, or have in his possession testing appliances for the purpose of the measurement of the powers of vision, or diagnose any ocular refractive deficiency or deformity, visual or muscular anomaly of the human eye, or prescribe or adapt lenses, prisms, or ocular exercises for the correction or relief of the same, or who holds himself out as being able to do so, or who shall use the title of Doctor of Optometry (0. D.), or any other letters or title in connection with his or her name, which in any way may convey the impression that he or she is engaged in the practice of optometry.

Section 2. That said Chapter 31 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended, be and the same is hereby further amended by adding after 895 Section 3 a new section to be known as 895 A Section 3 A.

895 A Section 3 A. Said Board of Optometry shall 895 A. S. 3A have the power to make any rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the laws of this State, which it may deem necessary or expedient for the effective enforcement of this Chapter or for the full and efficient performance of its duties regulations thereunder.

Section 3. That said Chapter 31 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended, be further amended by repealing 904 Section 12 of said Chapter and inserting in lieu thereof a new section to be known as 904 Section 12.

904 Section 12. Said Board shall have power to revoke 904 S. 12 any certificate of registration granted by it under this Chapter for conviction of crime, habitual drunkenness for six Board revoke to months immediately before a charge is made, for gross incompetency or contagious disease, or where any person shall present to the State Board of Optometry any diploma, license or certificate that shall have been secured or issued unlawfully or under fraudulent representations, or upon being found guilty of unprofessional conduct; provided, that before any certificate shall be so revoked, the holder thereof shall have notice in writing of charges against him, and at a day specified in said notice, at least five days after the service thereof, be given a public hearing and have opportunity to produce testimony in his behalf and confront the witnesses against him. Any person whose certificate has been so revoked, may, after the expiration of ninety days, apply to have the same regranted, and the same shall be regranted to him, upon a satisfactory showing that the disqualification has ceased.

Section 4. That said Chapter 31 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended, be further amended by repealing 905 Section 13 of said Chapter and inserting in lieu thereof a new section to be known as 905 Section 13.

905 Section 13. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as conferring on the holder of any certificate of registration for licensure, issued by the State Board of Examiners in conferred Optometry, the right to make use of drugs or surgery in the examination of the human eye.

Section 5. That said Chapter 31 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended by repealing 906 Section 14, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Section to be known as 906 Section 14.

906 Section 14. Whoever shall violate any of the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars nor more than Five Hundred Dollars, and in default of payment of said fine shall be imprisoned in the County Jail for the term of not less than one year.

The Court of General Sessions of the County wherein the offence was committed shall have jurisdiction of the violations of this Chapter.

Section 6. That said Chapter 31 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended, be further amended by repealing 907 Section 15, and inserting in lieu thereof three new sections to be known respectively as 907 Section 15, 907 A Section 15 A, 907 B Section 15 B.

907 Section 15. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prevent the sale of spectacles or eyeglasses in the ordinary course of trade, provided no part of this Chapter is violated in making such a sale; and provided further that those persons having the degree of Doctor of Medicine from a medical college approved by the American Medical Association and licensed to practice medicine and surgery in this State, shall be exempt from the provisions of this Chapter.

907 A Section 15 A. In case for any reason any paragraph or any provision of this Chapter shall be questioned in any court of last resort and shall be held by such court to be unconstitutional or invalid, the same shall not be held to affect any other paragraph or provision of this Chapter.

907 B Section 15 B. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent or in conflict with this Chapter are hereby repealed.

Approved April 25, 1931.