# TheAttorney General ofTexas
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 ofarticle,4512b, V.T.C.S. (Acts1977, 65thDeg., ch. 75at 151), exempts certain chiropractors from the requirements of article 459Oc,V.T.C.S., the Basic Sciences Law. Section 1of article 459Ocprovides as follows:

No person shallbe 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 .toissue such a license as the applicant seeks, acertificate of proficiency inanatomy, 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 theBasic Sciences.
It is-well established that chiropractors practice ahealing art within this provision. SeeV.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 .anexamination given by the Basic Sciences Board or by completion of college courses in the basic sciences. V.T.C.S. art. 459Oc, 9.96.,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 fora license to

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pass awritten examination given by theBoard. 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 awritten examination toan applicant that holds aNational Board of Chiropractic Examiners certificate who meets the requirements of this chapter andwho has satisfactorily passed a personal interview and a practical examination and has paid an additional feeof Fifty Dollars ($50).
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., ch. 94,at 211. Ingranting licenses under this provision, the Board required applicants to present the certificate of proficiency in the basic sciences provided for inarticle 459Oc, section 1. The 1977Act amends the quoted provision to read inpart:

The Board shall grant a license without awritten emtion to an applicant that holds aNational Board ofChiropractic Examiners certificate. . . . Acts 1977, 65th Leg., ch. 75, at 152 (emphasis added). Other amendments provide forBoard review of the adequacy of the national exam, and prohibit the Board from~requiring examinations inaddition to those set out in the statute. The Board has construed theword "shall" in Senate Bill 446 togive it amandatory 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 theword "shall" generally connotes amandatory duty, Chisholm v. Bewley Mills, 287 S.W.Zd 943 (Tex. 19561, we believe the duty imposed by the 1977Act relates to the Board's acceptance of the national exam results in lieu of itsown 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 andwitnesses emphasized that theAct was ahouse-keeping measure and that itwould facilitate the licensing of applicants who attended chiropractic colleges outside of Texas. If such a

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change as is now suggestedwere intended by the

# Legislature,
we believe a clear expression of such intention would have and should have emerged froma 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 1977Act affects only theBoard's examination requirements harmonizes thebill with theBasic Sciences Law and accords with theexplanations of thebill expressed while itwas before the Legislature. The Board itself interpreted prior law,which authorized it togrant licenses on the basis of the national exam, toaffect 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 theBoard's discretion towithhold a license from someonewho has passed the national exam and completed other requirements. The provision for licensing by reciprocity also provides that theBoard

shall . . .grant license topractice chiropractic to licentiates ofother 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 thereciprocity provision, applicantswho have passed the national exammust still present certificates of proficiency in theBasic Sciences inorder to be licensed by theBoard of Chiropractic Examiners.
SUMMARY Absent a change by theLegislature to the contrary, applicants for licensing by the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners must earn a certificate of proficiency in the basic sciences inaccordance 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 thebasic sciences requirement.

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Very .trulyyours,

APPROVED: Attorney General of Texas

DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant.

Opinion Committee jst

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