# TheAttorney General ofTexas
July 25, 1983 JIMMATTOX Attorney

General

Supreme Court Building P.0, Box 12548 Austin. TX. 78711- 2546 5121475-2501 Telex 9101674.1367 Telecopiet 512/475-0266

1607 Main St.. Suite 1400 Dallas. TX. 75201-4709 214,742.8944

4624 Alberta Ave.. Suite 160 El Paso. TX~ 79905~2793 9151533-3484

JDallas Ave.. Suite 202 Hous!~~. TX. 77002-6986 7131650-0666

606 Broadway. Suite 312 Lubbock. TX. 79401-3479 8061747-5238

4309 N. Tenth. Suite B McAllen. TX. 78501-1665 5121662.4547

200 Main Plaza, Suite 400 San Antonio. TX. 76205-2797 5121225-4191 Mr. Roger D. Shipman Executive Secretary Texas Board ofVeterinary Medical Examiners 3810Medical Parkway, Suite 119 Austin, Texas 70756
Dear Mr. Shipman: Opinion No.JM-46
Re: Construction of article 7465a, V.T.C.S., theVeterinary Practice Act

You have asked two questions concerning section 10 of article 7465a. V.T.C.S., of theVeterinary Licensing Act. As amended in 1981, this section provides:

(a) Any person notpreviously licensed in this State isqualified tobe licenseh, provided: (1) hehas attained theage ofmajority; (2) he isa graduate of a reputable school college of veterinary medicine as approved theBoard [ofVeterinary Medical Examiners]; (3) he successfully completes the examination conducted by theBoard: and (4) the Board does not refuse issuance of the license as provided in Section 14 (Refusing Examination, License orRenewal). (b) The Board may waive any license requfrement for an applicant with a valid license from another state having license requirements substantially equivalent to those of this State. You ask:Under [section 10(b)], is itmandatory for the board to grant licenses to out of state veterinarians without successful completion of the examination if they otherwise qualify? Also,what may the board consider when processing an application for licensure under thisprovision?

p. 200Mr. Roger D. Shipman -Page 2 (JM-46)

we answer your first question in the negative. We understand that the board currently requires all applicants for a license to practice veterinary medicine in Texas to pass a qualifying examination. Your first question, therefore, may be restated as follows: If an applicant for a Texas license received a license in another state that, in the board's opinion, has license requirements "substantially equivalent to those of this state," and if the applicant "otherwise qualif[ies]" for aTexas license, e theboard exempt him from its examination requirement? We understand that by "otherwise qualify," youmean that theapplicant satisfies the license requirements of subsections (a)(l), (a)(2),and (a)(4)of section 10. Section 10(b) is couched in permissive terms. It provides that the board "may" waive any license requirement in certain instances, not that it "must" do so. "May" isnot generally construed as aword of command. Cf. Thomas v. Groebl, 212 S.W.2d 625, 630 (Tex. 1948). On its face, therefore, section 10(b) does not require the board to waive anyparticul~arrequirement foranyparticular applicant.

“May” should be interpreted as "must," of course, when it is apparent that this interpretation was intended by the legislature. National Surety Corporation v. Ladd, 115 S.W.2d 600, 602 (Tex. 1938). The scant legislative history of section 10(b),however, discloses no such intent. On the contrary, to the extent that thishistory, which consists of,a statement concerning section 10(b) made by its author during a committee meeting, suggests anything regarding the legislature's intent, it suggests that the section should be construed, not as a command, but simply asagrant of authority. This statement isas follows:

[Section 10(b)] authorizes the board to adopt a system of out of state licensing having license requirements substantially equivalent to those in Texas, a reciprocal type of situation. (Emphasis added). Tape of State Affairs Committee hearing on Senate Bill No. 232, held onFebruary 23, 1981. A statement indicating that theauthor's intent was to authorize theboard to adopt a reciprocal licensing system if itwishes todo so cannot, in our opinion, reasonably be construed as evidence ofan intent torequire theboard todo so. To answer your question in the affirmative, moreover, we would have to conclude that the legislature intended that applicants who possess a valid license issued by a state with "substantially equivalent" licensing requirements andwho satisfy the requirements of subsections (a)(l), (a)(2), and (a)(4)of section 10must, asamatter of law, be deemed competent topractice veterinary medicine inTexas. Wedo not believe that this was the legislature's intent. An applicant could possess a license issued by such a state, satisfy the three license requirements enumerated above, and still not be

p. 201Mr. Roger D. Shipman -Page 3 (~~1-46)

competent topractice inTexas. The applicant could, for example, be unfamiliar with diseases or animals peculiar to Texas. In our opinion, the legislature didnot intend tocompel theboard to issue a license toanout-of-state applicant until theboard determines to its own satisfaction that the applicant is competent topractice in this state. The board may well conclude, as it apparently has, that a qualifying examination affords the best way to make this determination.
We therefore conclude that section 10(b) merely authorizes the board to work with states with "substantially equivalent" licensing requirements to structure a reciprocal licensing system. Itdoes not require the board automatically to exempt from its examination requirement applicants who possess a license issued by such a state and satisfy the requirements of section 10(a)(l), (a)(2), and (a)(4). We therefore answer your first question in thenegative.
Inanswer toyour second question, we are aware ofno express or implied parameters within which the board must operate when determining whether anout-of-state applicant iscompetent topractice veterinary medicine in this state. Depending upon therequirements of any reciprocal licensing system that may be created, we believe that theboard is free toconsider any reasonable factors itdeems relevant inmaking this determination.SDMMARY

Section 10(b) of article 7465a, V.T.C.S.. does not require the Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners to exempt from its examination requirement applicants with a license issued by another state who "otherwise qualify" for aTexas license under section 10(a) thereof. In processing an application for licensure under section lo(b), the board w consider any reasonable factors it deems relevant to the determination of whether the applicant is competent to practice veterinary medicine in Texas. , Very trulyyour 

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-J IM MATTOX Attorney General ofTexas TOM GREEN FirstAssistant Attorney General

p. 202Mr. Roger D. Shipman -Page 4 (JM-46)

DAVID R.RICHARDS Executive Assistant Attorney General Prepared by Jon Bible Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Rick Gilpin, Acting Chairman JonBible Colin Carl Patricia Hinojosa JimMoellinger Nancy Sutton Bruce Youngblood

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