OFFICE OF THE All-ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS **AUSTIN**

Honorable R. k. Fuchs, Chainnan Sub-aocnnlttee

0.f the State AZialrs Committee House 

### or Representatiree Austin, Texas
Dear Sir:

Committee subatit taohed hereto. Board 

### or Chiro practors in.th oreate for the similar to p

that J 8, 1941, we 

### hare oareconstitutionality, the 

### OOPJ or nhieh Is athe oreatlon ot the Texas all lloense all Chirotatate for medloine, nursing,
praotlo under presdnt statutes the praotloe of lnediolne as oonode 

### 0r Texas, 1926, whloh reads:

any systan or method, or to effsct oures thereof.

“2. Who shall treat or offir.to treat aup disease or disorder,mental or physical, or any physicaldeformity or Injury,by any system or method, or to effect oures thareoi and charge. therefor,dlreatly or lndireotly, money or other compe~ation.~
Our oourts have repeatedly held t&t persona professing to practloe Chlropraotio must be licensed under the MedLcal WD COYHuriI**TKI"

I. To u CONSTRVID

As A mLFA"IYQar*L

QTIwIo* -8s AA- n MIArroA*n 001rrAL 0",llsl *ssmTAm*i

. !

HonorableR. A. Fuohs, Page 2

PraotloeA& or bo olne without a lfoonee. **Pew ‘**  **I. State,**  134.8. **?.** (2d) 580; Key Y. S. W. (2d) 631.

The question whhloh presents Itself for our deterninatlon 18 whether the Legislature may oonetitutionally olassiiy the praotloe of Chimpraotio es a separateoategory from the practice or medlolno and prescribedliierentprerequisitesthereror. The legal question 18 somewhatanalogousto that presented upon the enaotmentof the OptometryStatute, Chapter 10 of Title 71, Articles 4552-4566,Revised Clrll **Statutes,** 1925, which was before the Court of CrfmlnalAppeals or Texas In Baker **Y.** State, 240 5. **W.** 924, 22 A. L. R. 116S. In that oaee the court in eustainlnga oonviatlonof Raker, an Optometrlet,ror 3raotlofng medloln8without .alioahee doolamd:

.



### l Reoal3Aig tha eolioitade wh%ohth# IrMaklng dqurtaent 8f the goyelmmentor this state **ha8~418-** plaled ror the breadth of the Proteotionor tho pub110 health, the,

angtrage

oho8en In v&ioh to define the **praotioe** or wdloine, and Its railure to exanpt the optametdet therefmn, bearing in mind the oftenrepeated deolaratlon

### 0r this oourt In oonstruiagthe

.. Medioal Praotioe Aot, that it dealt not with the

o~fow~rle~.8.

in a eeoarate aUse, M I St baa dolls dentists and nweae. is without **ctueetlon.** The erped(lienoy rdi Is a matter of polloy with kbloh the ootute **:r. :o;=ci%tmn6d.m~**  mlpha818 .~urS)

**.** Aft&the abwe dpl.&n.wae writt8n,.but, berore the " **:**
**. .**  w&in ror rehaai%q, the LiglqZata~ 'inaoted retortid to abwe. Tho?eupOa,.~~,,oourt rerereed the.jrd~Mt tit oonvlotfOn.!@on the @mad that und8r the Optmetry 8trtute -ths sots of the derendawn? longer oonetitatedthb .praetlee or medlolnewithin 'ths msanlng or the Hedloal PlnotloeAot. In Its opinion on rehearingthe oourfi also consideredthe applicationof Artlole 16, Section 31 of the Texas Constitution, whloh reads: qhe Legislaturemay paas laws presoribing the quallftoatlons of praotf$loners

or mediolne in thIs State, and to punish persons formalpractloe,but no preferenceshalleyer be given by law to any eohools or medlolne."HonorableR. A. Fuohs, Page 3

Or this pmvlslon, the oourt said: WWhlle the Co5itltutionfoYbld8 any 12glslation showingpreferencefor a5y aohool of wdlolna, it does not icirbld leglslatlyedeiinitlon or what does, and else what does not oonstitute the practiceof mqdlolne.”
In Rbberttos

Y. State, 45 S. W. (2d) 595, an attaok was made on the oonstltutlonallty of the Hedicel PraotloeAot'.ae being disorlminatory bemuse of the exemptionof OptOaetrlsta; The Court Of CriminalAppeflls, after Glscusslngthe Baker ease, declared,at p. 598:

*The Legislature would have hsd a right' orlgl5allyto’

exunpt optometrists, as that teaa is dalclned,

tmr the pumAtie or the’Wedida1 PraotioeAot the same as it did dentlste,nareee : and weeoure.w In Ex P’rte Colllna, 121 

### 8. W. 301, the.Ootir% 

### or Oririnal Appeals sustaineda domlotlon or an the Mediaal Praotioo wt In that he was not and in its opinion the aourt Fald:

** * * there is no linitatlonupon the power of the Leglelatnrein said prorieionor the Oonetltution (Art. 16, Sea. 31, 

## l upra) whfoh lnhlblte the Legislatureor this state Mdsr Its polioe **pewr** te :prwent say .*w .pr~etidug say:•peolee or eharaoter of raredy taoore aal real or supposed ill that the body has or is aubjeot to. 

### r0r pay. ” The oase of Johnson i. State by the Dallas Court of Chll Appeals, 267 a. **1.** 1037, (writ of error retused) is peoullarlypertl~~nt to the questionwlsr **ooneldemtion.** In euetainln6 an injunotloa .metrrlning 8 Ohiropraotor 

### ‘rm oala+ul1~ praotlolng

wdlo.Uke, the court **said,** at **p. 1060:**  aT~.Legielatare did not, by its enaofdant or tho Modioal PraotlosAot forbid the. praotlde. $r*ay reeogelred eohool or e~etaa of healing

. In the interest of the publlo health and the genral welfare of the people, the Leglslature is authorlsedto preacrlbesuoh regulations to be oonrormedby persons aeeklng to enter

. the praotloe of medloine as in lfa ‘judgmnt will

eeoure or tend to aeoure the people against the oonsequenoeaof ignora5oe a5d l5aapaclty,as well as of deoeptlon and fraud, **and** this without regard to any speolal system 

### or praotice or any establishedschool of medlolne.wRon&able R. A. Fuch8, Page 4

. ** + .*. w~48e 00nditio~ (or the ~edi0ti Pn0ti0a bet) apply to all per8one alike; they do not preaoriboany method to be anplayed in heallag diaaaae~ or any ayatun of praotioe to be **adopted** by the praotitioner. 

### Ii he poaaaaae8 the 

### qwlirioationsprescribedby the statutes and is awarded a oartirioateto praatioemedioino,he is jaat as free to adopt the epatuu of the ohiropraotor as he is to adopt the system of the regular phyaioiti. The faot that if requiresa broader eduoationthan is given by the ohiropraotio college to mebt these oonditlonscannot be urged as a diaorimination against auoh aohoola of madioine. It is (~811~ within the power or the chlropmator to conrorm to the prr8oribodoondition8. Thi8 reoord shows that all the aubjootapreaorib.ed by t hl a

l ot tcrr examlimtion an taught **by** the ohiropnotio 8ohoola l xoopt those or aarga.rr and medioal juriapr@~~m; a0 that it may be said tbat these 8ohoola &ive substantialreoognition to the e8aential qualliioations

prescribed

**.by** tileae

atatutea.w Vaughan, T
. , 106S, dealarea: disaming in the Johnson oaae, at p.

** * * it is the oplnlon or the 

## writer that oourta should take, judioial cognicanoa that ohiropraotio

ia a a&em 0r healing antirolt separate and dlounot 

### rr0m tha ‘~~aotlo~~~ 2

’

. ular 

### mmUd.no, $*t as Judioial 00P the r80t that the praotioo or **dent** stry IS dir

### rwent rwm the praotioe or regularmedieino and requires in a large measure, a dirrerent eiduoatlon.w While no Texas oourt has held 'inaooordanoowith Judge Vau&an~a viowa as quoted above in hie~ dlsmnting o et

### inionin the Johnson oaae. that a oourt may properly "take Judl al oogniarnoe that ahiropraotio Is a ayatam 0r healing entirelysopante and diatinot

### rmmthe praotioe

### or r*gnlar rd%oine? wuler exlating 8tatutea. all oi the authorities, however, indioate that the Legislature

may, If It de&s proper, reoo nize auoh a dlatlnotion and give statutory sanotionthereto. As f llustratedby the Baker oase, aupra, Optometrywes oonatruedto **be** a scienae ambraoed within the vpraotioe of mediolnev as defined **by** the Yedloal Praotioe Aot, until the Legislature, by express statute, took 00&zanoe or Optometry es a separate subdivisionthereof, end preeodbed speoial qualiricatlons and reagulatlon for tpe praotioe of Optometry, thereby exoludlng it rmm the provisionsof the Hediaal PraotiaeAot. By a similarprooess, the Legislature set up quallflcations

and regulations

differingfrom those whlah apply to the general practioe of medicine, ror Chiropodists when itHonorableR. A. Fuohe, Page 5

enaotea the Qhlro 4 Stat&a in lOPiS, Cbaptor 

### 11, .Fitlc 71, Artlolee 4Sd8-4551chviaed, 0ivl.l Statutaa, 1985. The ror8goingauthorltibaIndiaate, -we b&eve, .that there is no oonatitutional lnhlbltion

whioh will pravent'theLwislature

### mm rwther subdividing 

### the tie14 or mediolne in its

. broadest aease into an lnffnltenm&er or llmlted oat orlea ahd providingseparate qaaliiioatlons and regulatiolllr

T or th8 praotioe 

### or saeh. .Theoonstitutionalitp oi eaoh auoh regulatory dot, If it be reasonable, may be sustainedupon the theory that ~at.;henaoted

in rurtheranos

of the proteotlonof the 

### pub110 We are aware of no provisionof the State or Federal Coneti&tlone which would be violatedby the Commltteo aabstltute for House Bill 189 whloh you have submitted to us. If enaoted, it would oxampt Ohiropraptors from the Yedieal Praotloe Act, and plaoe them onder the supervlslonand regulation 

### or thb "Texas Board 

### 0r Chiropraotlo Examiners."
Toara very tnly ;. ATTORBIR GERBBAi.w TWAB

mmImoRB APPRwBDMATso, anvrr 

### Solle~a~ First Aaaiatant ATTORUBY 

### .O?XlCR&L By(signe4)Falter B. K&i

. Aaalatdht



### 1W

APF’ROiED - Opinloa’Q@mltto&

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