April 15, 1966 

Mr. J. Manley Read 

Executive Secretary 

Texas Board of Chiropractic 

Examiner8 

819 Littlefield Building 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion No. C- 659 

Re: Whether Sec. 9 of Art. 

4512b, V.C.S., can be 

construed so as to grant 

a license upon the passing 

of the examination of the 

National Board of ChlropraCtiC EXaminer8, WithOUt 

compliance with the law 

regarding reciprocity 80 

far as other states ana 

Bear Sir: 

Your 

ing questions: 

"1. 

territories 

ana.related 

are concerned 

question. 

opinion request ra18e8, in essence, the two followCan Section 9 of Article 4512b, V.C.S., 

be construed to allow the granting of a Texas 

license upon the passing of the examination 

conducted by the National Board of Chiropractic 

Examiners, without compliance with the law regard,ing reciprocity 80 far as other states and 

territories are concerned. 

"2. If answer to #l is "yes"; doe8 this 

eliminate the requirements of Section 10 of 

Article 4512b with reference to examinations?" 

Article 4512b controls the licensing and other phases 

of chiropractic practice in this State. 

Section 9 of Article 4512b is quoted, in part, as 

follows: 

"The Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners shall upon payment by an applicant of 

a fee of Fifty Dollar8 ($50), grant license to 

practice chiropractic to licentiates of other 

states or territories having requirements and 

-3186- 
. . 

Mr. J. Manley Head, page 2 (c-659) 

ractlces equal to those established by the 

awa of this State. Applications . . .shall 

be in writing and upon a form . . .prescribed 

by . . .Texas Board-of Chiropractic Examiners 

.appllcations shall be accompanied by a 

iiiense . .lawfully issued . . .by some other 

State or territory . . .alsc, . .accompanled 

by an affidavit . . .by president or secretary 

of the Board . . .which Issued the said licenee 

. . .recitlng that the accompanyingnlicense has 

not been cancelled or revoked.. . . (Emphasis 

added) 

Section 10 of Article 4512b provides in part: 

"All applicants for license to practice 

chiropractic In this State, not otherwise licensed under the provisions of this law, must 

successfully pass an examination by the Texas 

Board of Chiropractic Examiners established by 

this law. . . . tmpnasls aoaeo 1 

Nothing Is said In Section8 9 or 10 (above) concerning applicants who have passed the National Board examinations. Clearly the Legislature Included, under these Sections, all applicants from other states and territories outside 

of Texac The language used In Sections 9 and 10 is plain and 

unambiguous in it8 meaning and in such case the law will be 

applied and enforced as it reads, regardless of policy, fairness or justice of Its effects. Gilmore v. Waples, 108 Tex. 

167, 188 S.W. 1037 (1916); Vaughnvurety Insurance Co., 109 Tex. 298, 2Ob S W 920 (1918) Simmons v. 

Arnim, 110 Tex. 

a 

09, 

I5FFex. 

220 S.W. 66’(iwo); Oateli V.HuiZZiF%, 

588, 25 S.W.2d 98,, (1952). 

In Attorney General's Opinion No. v-265 (19&T), it 

was decided that the State Board of Nurse Examiners was not 

authorized to delegate to the National League of Nursing Education (National Board) the right to prepare and grade examinations 

for Texas registered nursing applicants. The reason for such 

decision was based on the fact that the Legislature had given 

this duty to the State Board and the Board was not statutorily 

authorized to re-delegate this duty. 

Subsequently, this office decided that the State 

Nursing Board could adopt and utilize examination questions 

prepared by the National Lea e of Nursing Education. Attorney 

General'8 Opinion No. v-736 

-3187- 
Mr. J, Manley Head, page 3 (C-659) 

Both of these prior opinions emphasize the duty that 

the various State examining boards have to regulate the various 

professions, and ascertain the fitness of all applicants by 

applying the various laws with such rules and by-laws necessary 

to carry into effect the purpose of the law. In other words, 

both of the prior opinion8 imply that the State examining boards 

must make the final determination of all applicants, whether 

licensed by another state and regardless of whether they have 

passed the national examinations, before Issuing a Texas license. 

In the ease at hand, before the Chiropractic examining board 

could make a final determination of the ap licants' 

B 

fitness, 

the requirements of Section 9 of Article 512b (Reciprocity 

requirements) would have to be complied with for applicants 

subject to Section 9. 

'There are many statutes which provide 

for the issuing of a license in Texas to those 

licensed to practice the same profession in 

other states which have requirements equal to 

those of Texas. .It has always been the 

purpose of the Legihlature to ‘Increase the 

standard of the profession Andy to require 

higher educational attainments. 

"It cannot be assumed that the Texas Legislature intended to require less educational attainment bv citizens of other states than was 

required of the citizens of Te%as in order to be 

licensed to practice in Texas. Texas State 

Board of Pharmacy v. Baker, 244 S.W 2d 4T 

iX.v.App. 1931, error ref.) . (Page’936%7\ .exe 

It is our opinion that question number one must be 

answered in the negative. Passage of the National Board examinations does not exempt one from complying with the statutory 

requirements of reciprocity. 

Question number twomust be answered In the negative. 

Taking and passing of the National Board Examination does not 

exempt one from complying with Section 9 (reciprocity requirements) or complying with Sectlon 10 (examination requirements) 

to obtain a Texas license to practice chiropractic. 

SUMMARY 

SectIon 9 of Article 4512b, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes, should not be construed to allow the 

granting of a Texas license upon the passage of 

-3188- 
Mr. J. Manley Head, page 4 (C-659) 

the examination conducted by the National Board 

of Chiropractic Examiners without complying with 

the law of reciprocity so far as other states 

and territories are concerned. 

In order to obtain a Texas license to 

practice chiropractic, it Is immaterial whether 

an applicant has passed an examination cond,ucted 

by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. 

An applicant must comply with either Section 

9 or Section 10 of Article 4512b in order to obtain a Texas license to practice chiropractic. 

Very truly yours, 

WAGGONER CARR 

Attorney General 

JCMcC:ml:mkh 

APPROVEDr 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

John Reeves 

Lonny Zwiener 

John Bank8 

Robert E. Owen 

APPROVEDFORTEEATTORREY GENERAL 

BY! T. B. Wright 

-3189-