The Attorney General of Texas 

January 5, 1978 

Ms. Betty J. Anderson, Executive Opinion No. B- 1110 

Secretary 

Texas State Board of Examiners in Re: Whether applicants 

the Basic Sciences for licensing as.chiro319 Sam Houston Building practors must hold .basic 

Austin, Texas sciences certificate. 

Dear Ms. Anderson: 

you inquire whether~the 1977 amendment to section 10 

of article,4512b, V.T.C.S. (Acts 1977, 65th Deg., ch. 75 at 

151), exempts certain chiropractors from the requirements 

of article 459Oc, V.T.C.S., the Basic Sciences Law. Section 1 of article 459Oc provides as follows: 

No person shall be permitted to 

take an examination for a license 

to practice the healing art or any 

branch thereof, or be granted any 

such license, unless he has presented 

to the Board or officer empowered 

.to issue such a license as the applicant seeks, a certificate of proficiency in anatomy, physiology, 

chemistry, bacteriology, pathology, 

and hygiene and public health, here& 

inafter referred to as the basic 

sciences, issued by the State Board 

of Examiners in the Basic Sciences. 

It is-well established that chiropractors practice a healing 

art within this provision. See V.T.C.S. art. 459Oc, § 16; 

Attorney General Opinions V-1081, V-988 (1950). See generally 

Attorney General Opinion Ii-913 (1976). The certificate of 

proficiency can be earned by passing .an examination given by 

the Basic Sciences Board or by completion of college courses 

in the basic sciences. V.T.C.S. art. 459Oc, 9.9 6., 16-a. 

Article 451213, V.T.C.S., governs the licensing of chiropractors by the Texas Board,of Chiropractic Examiners. Section 10 of the statute requires applicants for a license to 

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MS. Betty J. Anderson - Page ' (H-1110) 

pass a written examination given by the Board. Prior to the 

recent amendment, this section permitted the Board to license 

applicants on the basis of a standardized national exam: 

The Board may grant a license without 

a written examination to an applicant 

that holds a National Board of Chiropractic 

Examiners certificate who meets the requirements of this chapter and who has 

satisfactorily passed a personal interview and a practical examination and 

has paid an additional fee of Fifty 

Dollars ($50). 

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., ch. 94, at 211. In granting licenses 

under this provision, the Board required applicants to present 

the certificate of proficiency in the basic sciences provided 

for in article 459Oc, section 1. 

The 1977 Act amends the quoted provision to read in part: 

The Board shall grant a license without 

a written emtion to an applicant that 

holds a National Board of Chiropractic 

Examiners certificate. . . . 

Acts 1977, 65th Leg., ch. 75, at 152 (emphasis added). Other 

amendments provide for Board review of the adequacy of the 

national exam, and prohibit the Board from~requiring examinations in addition to those set out in the statute. The Board 

has construed the word "shall" in Senate Bill 446 to give it 

a mandatory duty to grant licenses to applicants who hold the 

National Board of Chiropractic Examiners certificate, even 

though those persons have not demonstrated proficiency in the 

basic sciences as required by article 459Oc, section 1. 

Although the word "shall" generally connotes a mandatory 

duty, Chisholm v. Bewley Mills, 287 S.W.Zd 943 (Tex. 19561, we 

believe the duty imposed by the 1977 Act relates to the Board's 

acceptance of the national exam results in lieu of its own exam. 

Our careful examination of the legislative history reveals no 

indication that the Legislature intended to exempt chiropractors from the requirements of the Basic Sciences Law. The 

testimony in the House and Senate Committees did not refer to 

the Basic Sciences Certificate at all. Instead, legislators 

and witnesses emphasized that the Act was a house-keeping 

measure and that it would facilitate the licensing of applicants 

who attended chiropractic colleges outside of Texas. If such a 

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MS. Betty J. Anderson - Rage 3 (H-1110) 

change as is now suggested were intended by the Legislature, 

we believe a clear expression of such intention would have 

and should have emerged from a review of the legislative 

history. 

Repeals by implication are not favored. Cordon v. Lake, 

356 S.W.Zd 138 (Tex. 1962). A finding that the 1977 Act affects 

only the Board's examination requirements harmonizes the bill 

with the Basic Sciences Law and accords with the explanations 

of the bill expressed while it was before the Legislature. The 

Board itself interpreted prior law , which authorized it to grant 

licenses on the basis of the national exam, to affect only its 

own examination requirement. We feel, therefore, that absent 

clear' legislative action to the contrary, we should conclude 

that the recent amendment only removes the Board's discretion 

to withhold a license from someone who has passed the national 

exam and completed other requirements. 

The provision for licensing by reciprocity also provides 

that the Board 

shall . . . grant license to practice 

chiropractic to licentiates of other 

states or territories having requirements and practices equal to those 

established by the laws of this State. 

V.T.C.S. art 4512b, 9 9. A prior opinion of this office.has 

determined that applicants may not be licensed by reciprocity 

unless they also satisfy the requirements of the Texas Basic 

Sciences Law. Attorney General Opinion V-1081 (1950). Like 

applicants for licensing under the reciprocity provision, applicants who have passed the national exam must still present 

certificates of proficiency in the Basic Sciences in order to 

be licensed by the Board of Chiropractic Examiners. 

SUMMARY 

Absent a change by the Legislature to the 

contrary, applicants for licensing by the 

Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners 

must earn a certificate of proficiency in 

the basic sciences in accordance with 

article 459Oc. V.T.C.S. A 1977 amendment 

to article 4512b, V.T.C.S., affects only 

the Board's own examination requirement, 

not the basic sciences requirement. 

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Ms. Betty J. Anderson - Page 4 (H-1110) 

Very .truly yours, 

APPROVED: 

Attorney General of Texas 

DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant. 

Opinion Committee 

jst 

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