reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 64 - Review by Supreme Judicial Court of Suspension, Revocation or Cancellation Order; Decree; Standards of Review by Other Courts

Section 64. The supreme judicial court, upon petition of a person whose certificate, registration, license or authority has been suspended, revoked or cancelled, may enter a decree revising or reversing the decision of the board, in accordance with the standards for review provided in paragraph (7) of section fourteen of chapter thirty A; but prior to the entry of such decree no order shall be made or entered by the court to stay or supersede any suspension, revocation or cancellation of any such certificate, registration, license or authority. Where a statute provides that a court other than the supreme judicial court may review a board's action, such review shall be conducted in accordance with the standards of review provided in paragraphs (3) to (7), inclusive, of said section 14 of said chapter 30A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 65 - Practice During Suspension, Revocation or Cancellation; Civil Administrative Penalties; Notice; Expiration and Renewal of License; Court Orders

Section 65. (a) Whoever continues to practice a trade or profession after his certificate, registration, license or authority to do so has been suspended, revoked or cancelled under section 61, and while such disability continues, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $2,500 or by imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, each board of registration under the supervision of the division of occupational licensure and each board of registration under the supervision of the department of public health may, after a consent agreement between the parties or after an opportunity for an adjudicatory proceeding held pursuant to chapter 30A, assess and collect a civil administrative penalty of not more than $1,000 for the first violation and not more than $2,500 for a second or subsequent violation upon a person who practices a trade or profession at a time when his license, certificate, registration or authority to do so has been suspended, revoked or cancelled by the board of registration that issued the license, and upon any person who knowingly practices a trade or profession at a time when his license, certificate, registration or authority to do so has expired; provided, however, that if a licensee has, in accordance with any law and with board regulations, made timely and sufficient application for a renewal, his license shall not expire until his application has been finally determined by the board; provided further, that prior to the assessment of a civil administrative penalty under this section, the board shall notify the licensee that he has at least 90 days after the date of expiration within which to submit an application for renewal during which time the board shall waive any applicable penalties pursuant to this paragraph. An assessment of a civil administrative penalty under this section shall bar a subsequent imposition of a criminal penalty for the same violation and an imposition of a criminal penalty under this section shall bar a subsequent assessment of a civil administrative penalty for the same violation.
(c) A board may apply to the appropriate court for an order enjoining the unlicensed practice of a trade or profession or for an order for payment of an assessed penalty or for such other relief as may be appropriate to enforce this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 65a - Unlicensed Practice of Trade or Profession for Which License Is Required; Penalties

Section 65A. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, each board of registration under the supervision of the division of occupational licensure and each board of registration under the supervision of the department of public health may, after a consent agreement between the parties or after an opportunity for an adjudicatory proceeding held pursuant to chapter 30A, assess and collect a civil administrative penalty not to exceed $1,000 for the first violation and a civil administrative penalty not to exceed $2,500 for a second or subsequent violation upon a person who, without holding the required license, certificate, registration or authority, engages in the practice of a trade or profession for which a license, certificate, registration or authority is required. Nothing in this section shall affect, restrict, diminish or limit any other penalty or remedy provided by law. A board may apply to the appropriate court for an order enjoining the unlicensed practice of a trade or profession or for an order for payment of an assessed penalty or for such other relief as may be appropriate to enforce this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 65b - Board Authority to Suspend or Refuse to Renew License; Hearing; Judicial Review

Section 65B. A board of registration under the supervision of the division of occupational licensure having jurisdiction over a licensee whose continued practice poses an immediate and serious threat to the public health, safety or welfare may suspend or refuse to renew the holder's license, certificate, registration or authority pending a hearing on the merits of the allegation against the holder. Such board shall hold a hearing pursuant to chapter 30A on the necessity for the suspension or refusal to renew within 10 days of that action. At the time of the suspension or refusal to renew, the board shall issue to the licensee a written summary suspension order which specifies the findings of the board and the reasons for its summary suspension and the date, time and place of the 10–day hearing. At the request of the licensee, the board may reschedule the hearing to a date and time mutually agreeable to the board and the licensee. Any such rescheduling of the hearing granted at the licensee's request shall not operate to lift or stay the summary suspension order. If the hearing is not held within 10 days of the board's summary suspension order or such further time as may be agreed to, the license, certificate, registration or authority against which action was taken shall be reinstated. At the adjudicatory hearing on the necessity for summary suspension, the board shall, by a preponderance of the evidence, establish why the summary suspension order should continue in effect pending the final disposition of the complaint. The board shall issue a preliminary written decision within 10 days of the summary suspension hearing. Following the hearing, a continuing suspension imposed by a board shall remain in effect until the conclusion of any formal adjudicatory proceeding on the merits of the allegations against the holder, but any such proceeding shall occur within 60 days of the summary suspension order, or as the parties may otherwise agree. The board shall render its written decision not later than 30 days after the formal adjudicatory proceeding or as the parties may otherwise agree. A licensee subject to a disciplinary action pursuant to this section may seek judicial review of the board's final decision pursuant to chapter 30A. The division, after proper notice and hearings, shall adopt rules and regulations governing the summary suspension procedure authorized by this section. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit any board of registration's summary suspension authority.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 65c - Investigative Conference Meetings; Access to Meeting Records

Section 65C. Meetings of the boards held for the purpose of conducting investigative conferences prior to the issuance of an order to show cause or for purposes of discussing the terms of a negotiated settlement of a complaint against a licensee shall not be considered open meetings within the meaning of section 11A1/2 of chapter 30A, but a licensee shall have access to records of any meetings concerning the licensee as may be necessary for the defense of his license at an adjudicatory proceeding.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 65d - Assessed Penalties; Allocation of Funds

Section 65D. Twenty per cent of all civil administrative penalties assessed by boards under the supervision of the division of occupational licensure pursuant to sections 61 and 65 to 65D, inclusive, shall be deposited in the Division of Occupational Licensure Trust Fund established pursuant to subsection (a) of section 35V of chapter 10 and the remaining 80 per cent shall be deposited in the General Fund. Twenty per cent of all civil administrative penalties assessed by boards under the supervision of the department of public health pursuant to sections 65 and 65A of this chapter shall be deposited in the Quality in Health Professions Trust Fund established pursuant to subsection (a) of section 35X of said chapter 10 and the remaining 80 per cent shall be deposited in the General Fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 65e - Reporting of Action Against Individual Practicing a Trade or Profession on Suspended, Revoked or Cancelled License to Attorney General

Section 65E. Each board of registration under the supervision of the division of occupational licensure and each board of registration under the supervision of the department of public health which takes any action against an individual who practices a trade or profession at a time when his license, certificate, registration or authority to do so is not valid because it has been suspended, revoked or cancelled by the board of registration that issued the license, certificate, registration or authority shall report the individual to the attorney general of the commonwealth for review.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 65f - Fee for Reinstating Lapsed or Expired License Issued by a Board of Registration Under the Supervision of the Division of Occupational Licensure

Section 65F. Notwithstanding any general law or special law to the contrary, the fee for reinstating a lapsed or expired license issued by a board of registration under the supervision of the division of occupational licensure shall be not more than the cost of the current renewal fee for 2 missed renewal cycles. The fee for reinstatement shall be in addition to any applicable late fee.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 66 - Practice of Optometry; Definition

Section 66. As used in this chapter, ''practice of optometry'' shall mean the diagnosis, prevention, correction, management or treatment of optical deficiencies, optical deformities, visual anomalies, muscular anomalies, ocular diseases and ocular abnormalities of the human eye and adjacent tissue, including removal of superficial foreign bodies and misaligned eyelashes, by utilization of pharmaceutical agents, by the prescription, adaptation and application of ophthalmic lenses, devices containing lenses, prisms, contact lenses, orthoptics, vision therapy, prosthetic devices and other optical aids and the utilization of corrective procedures to preserve, restore or improve vision, consistent with sections 66A, 66B and 66C.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 66a - Diagnostic Pharmaceutical Agents; Utilization

Section 66A. Any registered optometrist, qualified by examination for practice under the provisions of section sixty-eight subsequent to January first, nineteen hundred and eighty-four or duly certified in accordance with the provisions of section sixty-eight A may for the purpose of conducting an examination of the eye, and not for therapeutic purposes, utilize the topical application to the eye of diagnostic pharmaceutical agents; provided, however, that mydriatic agents shall not be administered to a person with an iris-fixed pseudophakes.
For purposes of this section and sections sixty-eight and sixty-eight A, the term ''diagnostic pharmaceutical agents'' shall mean any topical anesthetic, mydriatic, or cycloplegic drug, except atropine and phenylephrine hydrochloride in ten per cent concentration, suitable for ocular examination procedures.
If during the course of examining a patient, the optometrist determines the existence of: (a) ocular pressure greater than twenty-four MM, or (b) any unexplained loss of visual field, or (c) a failure on the part of the individual being examined to achieve 20/40 or better corrected vision in each eye, or (d) signs of disease, the patient shall be referred to a licensed physician, unless such condition has been previously evaluated by a physician or unless the optometrist reports in writing that such referral is not warranted and documents the reasons therefor on the records of such patient.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 66b - Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agents and Therapeutic Contact Lenses; Utilization; Prescriptions

Section 66B. Any registered optometrist, qualified by examination for practice under the provisions of section 68 subsequent to January 1, 1994, duly certified in accordance with the provisions of section 68B and duly registered to issue written prescriptions in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (h) of section 7 of chapter 94C may, for the purpose of preventing, correcting, managing or treating ocular diseases or abnormalities, utilize and prescribe therapeutic pharmaceutical agents; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to permit optometric use of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents which are: (a) controlled substances as described by Title 21 U.S.C. Section 812 or in chapter 94C, except for those listed in schedule VI; (b) pharmaceutical agents administered by subdermal injection, intramuscular injection, intravenous injection, subcutaneous injection or retrobulbar injection; (c) pharmaceutical agents for the specific treatment of systemic disease; and (d) invasive surgical procedures.
If, during the course of examining or treating a patient with the aid of a diagnostic or therapeutic pharmaceutical agent, an optometrist, exercising professional judgment and that degree of expertise, care and knowledge ordinarily possessed and exercised by optometrists under like circumstances, determines the existence of the signs of previously unevaluated disease which requires treatment not included in the scope of optometric practice as defined in section 66, such optometrist shall refer such patient to a licensed physician or other qualified health care practitioner. Optometrists may utilize and prescribe nonlegend agents.
For the purposes of this section and section 68B, the term ''therapeutic pharmaceutical agents'' shall mean those topical pharmaceutical agents in schedule VI required for the diagnosis, prevention, management or treatment of abnormal ocular conditions or diseases as defined in section 66.
This section shall not be construed to prohibit an optometrist from the in-office dispensing and sale of therapeutic contact lenses as long as the medication contained in such lenses is within the profession's designated scope of practice.
For the purposes of this section, ''therapeutic contact lenses'' shall mean contact lenses which contain 1 or more medications and which deliver such medication to the eye.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 66c - Optometrists; Prescriptions; Referrals; Medical Error Reduction

Section 66C. (a) A registered optometrist who is qualified by an examination for practice under section 68, certified under section 68C and registered to issue written prescriptions pursuant to subsection (h) of section 7 of chapter 94C may: (i) use and prescribe topical and oral therapeutic pharmaceutical agents as defined in section 66B that are used in the practice of optometry, including those placed in schedules III, IV, V and VI pursuant to section 2 of said chapter 94C, for the purpose of diagnosing, preventing, correcting, managing or treating glaucoma and other ocular abnormalities of the human eye and adjacent tissue; and (ii) prescribe all necessary eye-related medications, including oral anti-infective medications; provided, however, that a registered optometrist shall not use or prescribe: (A) therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of systemic diseases; (B) invasive surgical procedures; (C) pharmaceutical agents administered by subdermal injection, intramuscular injection, intravenous injection, subcutaneous injection, intraocular injection or retrobulbar injection; or (D) an opioid substance or drug product.
(b) If an optometrist, while examining or treating a patient with the aid of a diagnostic or therapeutic pharmaceutical agent and exercising professional judgment and the degree of expertise, care and knowledge ordinarily possessed and exercised by optometrists under like circumstances, encounters a sign of a previously unevaluated disease that would require treatment not included in the scope of the practice of optometry, the optometrist shall refer the patient to a licensed physician or other qualified health care practitioner.
(c) If an optometrist diagnoses a patient with congenital glaucoma or if, during the course of examining, managing or treating a patient with glaucoma, the optometrist determines that surgical treatment is indicated, the optometrist shall refer the patient to a qualified health care provider for treatment.
(d) An optometrist licensed under this chapter shall participate in any relevant state or federal report or data collection effort relative to patient safety and medical error reduction coordinated by the Betsy Lehman center for patient safety and medical error reduction established in section 15 of chapter 12C.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 67 - Board of Registration in Optometry; Records; Inspection; Rules and Regulations; Reports

Section 67. The board of registration in optometry, herein and in sections sixty-eight to seventy-three, inclusive, called the board, shall keep a record of the names of all persons examined and registered by it and of all moneys received and disbursed by it, and a duplicate thereof shall be open to public inspection in the office of the state secretary. The board shall make rules and regulations governing its procedure, governing registration and applications therefor, and governing the practice of optometry. Said rules and regulations shall be consistent with the provisions of sections sixteen to eighteen, inclusive, of chapter thirteen and sections sixty-six to seventy-three, inclusive, of this chapter. Said report shall include a listing of the reports, if any, of adverse reactions to the administration of diagnostic pharmaceutical agents in accordance with the provisions of section sixty-eight. The board shall make an annual report of the condition of optometry in the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 68a - Examination for Use of Diagnostic Pharmaceutical Agents

Section 68A. The board of registration in optometry shall annually administer an examination designed to measure the qualifications necessary in order to safely utilize the optical application of the diagnostic pharmaceutical agents provided for in section sixty-six A. Said examination shall be held in conjunction with the examination provided for in section sixty-eight and shall include any portion of the annual examination prepared by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry which covers the subject matter of pharmacology.
Such examination shall be open upon application to any optometrist registered under the provisions of this chapter and to any person who meets the qualifications for examination under section sixty-eight; provided, however, that each applicant shall furnish to the board satisfactory evidence of the completion of a qualifying course of study relating to the topical application to the eye of diagnostic pharmaceutical agents. Such a qualifying course of study shall be at a duly accredited medical school or college of optometry. The board shall, from time to time, adopt rules and regulations prescribing the content of said course of study; provided, however, that said course of study shall require a combined total of at least ninety-five hours of study and shall include the following areas of study:
(A) general pharmacology: four hours in biochemistry; eight hours in general physiology, two of which shall be in pediatric physiology; eight hours in pharmacology, three of which shall be in pediatric pharmacology; and ten hours in indications and ocular effects of commonly prescribed drugs, two of which shall be in indications of effects in pediatric situations;
(B) ocular pharmacology: eight hours in ocular pharmacology and eight hours in the study of particular topically applied agents, including but not limited to, anesthetics, dyes, mydriatics, cycloplegics, and contact lens solutions;
(C) interpretation and patient management: six hours each in the study of anterior and posterior segment, two hours in pediatric eye diseases; two hours in glaucoma; and one hour in ocular emergency;
(D) cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including treatment of anaphylaxis: four hours; and
(E) supervised clinical practice, including six hours in pediatric practice: thirty hours.
The board shall transmit to all successful applicants a certificate of qualification for the practice of optometry in accordance with the provisions of section sixty-six A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 68b - Examination for Use of Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agents

Section 68B. The board of registration in optometry shall administer an examination designed to measure the qualifications necessary to safely utilize the ophthalmic application of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents in section 66B. Such examination shall be held in conjunction with the examination provided in sections 68 and 68A and shall include any portion of the examination administered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry or other appropriate examination covering the subject matter of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents.
Such examination shall, upon application, be open to any optometrist registered under the provisions of this chapter and to any person who meets the qualifications for examination under the provisions of section 68 or section 68A; provided, however, that each such applicant shall furnish to the board evidence of the satisfactory completion of 90 hours of didactic instruction and 30 hours of supervised clinical education relating to the use of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents by a duly accredited medical school or college of optometry and otherwise meeting the guidelines and requirements of the board of registration. The board shall transmit to all successful applicants a certificate of qualification.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 69 - Annual License Fees; Revocation of Certificate; Renewal of Registration, Educational Requirement

Section 69. Every registered optometrist shall, annually, before February first, pay to the board a license fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven, in default of which the board may revoke his certificate and his authority to practice optometry thereunder, after a hearing as provided by section seventy-one; but the payment of said fee at or before the time of the hearing, with such additional sum as determined under the aforementioned provision, shall remove the default. An optometrist duly registered and licensed to practice in this commonwealth, whose license has not been revoked, but who shall have temporarily retired from practice or removed from the commonwealth for not exceeding five years, and shall have notified the board of such retirement or removal, may register upon paying the lapsed annual license fees and filing with the board his affidavit as to the facts aforesaid.
Every optometrist registered under the provisions of this chapter shall, as a condition of continuation of his registration, present to the board, on or before February first in each year on such form as it may provide, evidence satisfactory to the board that in the preceding year he attended an educational conference or pursued an educational program within the commonwealth, in conformity with such requirements relating thereto as the board may from time to time establish by regulation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 70 - Recording of Certificate of Registration in Optometry by City or Town Clerk; Fees; Display of Certificate

Section 70. Every person to whom a certificate of registration has been granted shall cause the same to be recorded in the office of the clerk of the city or town where he principally carries on the practice of optometry; and if he removes his principal office from one city or town to another in the commonwealth, he shall, before engaging in practice in such other city or town, notify the board in writing of the place where he is to engage in practice, and obtain from the clerk of the city or town where his certificate is recorded a certified copy thereof and file the same with the clerk of such other city or town. The fee for recording such certificate or issuing a certified copy thereof shall be as provided by clause (57) of section thirty-four of chapter two hundred and sixty-two. Every registered optometrist shall display his certificate of registration in a conspicuous place in the principal office wherein he practices optometry, and shall, whenever so required, exhibit it to said board or its authorized representative; and whenever practicing optometry outside of or away from his principal office or place of business, he shall deliver to each customer or person fitted with glasses by him a memorandum of purchase, containing his signature, home post office address and the number of his certificate of registration, together with a specification of the lenses and frames or mountings furnished and the price charged therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 71 - Refusal to Grant Certificate in Optometry; Revocation or Suspension; Hearing; Notice; Renewal

Section 71. The board may refuse to grant a certificate of registration to any applicant found guilty of fraud in making application or taking an examination for registration. The board may revoke or suspend any certificate of registration for unprofessional conduct, for fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in practice or in advertising, for conviction of crime, for habitual drunkenness for six months immediately before the charges are made, for gross incompetence, or for violation of any rule or regulation made under section sixty-seven; provided, that before any action is taken the accused party shall have written notice of the charges against him and of the day appointed for a public hearing thereon, which shall be at least five days after the service of such notice. At such hearing the accused shall have an opportunity to produce testimony in his own behalf and to confront the witnesses against him. Three members of the board shall be a quorum for any such hearing. Witnesses at hearings before the board shall testify on oath, and may be sworn by any member thereof. The board may compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents at any such hearing. Whenever the certificate of any registered optometrist is revoked or suspended, such certificate shall be returned to the board, on demand, and the secretary of the board shall give notice of such revocation or suspension to the clerk of the town wherein the principal office of such optometrist is located, and the clerk shall record the revocation or suspension on the records of his office. Where the right of any person to practice has been revoked as herein provided, the board may, after the expiration of one year, receive an application for a renewal of the right to practice, and upon such new application it may grant such a renewal.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 72 - Name of Optometric Practice

Section 72. Optometrists may practice and advertise under a trade or service name; provided however, that the names of the optometrist or optometrists are prominently displayed at all locations of their practice, in all print advertisements that identify the location or locations where optometric services are provided, and in the optometrist's examining room. The name of the optometrist actually responsible for the provision of such optometric services shall be included in the same type as the address of the location; and provided, further, that the name of the optometrist shall also be printed on any prescription form.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 72a - Unlawful Practice of Optometry; Violation of Rules and Regulations; Penalties

Section 72A. Whoever, not being lawfully authorized to practice optometry, practices optometry, or holds himself out as a practitioner of, or as being able to practice, optometry, or whoever personates another practitioner, or violates any other provision of sections sixty-six to seventy-three, inclusive, or any rule or regulation made under authority thereof, shall, except as provided in section sixty-five, be punished for the first offence by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than three months, or both; and for a subsequent offence, by a fine of not less than two hundred nor more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not less than three nor more than six months, or both.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73 - Application of Secs. 66 to 72a

Section 73. Sections sixty-six to seventy-two A, inclusive, shall not apply to physicians and surgeons lawfully entitled to practice medicine in the commonwealth, or to persons who neither practice nor profess to practice optometry, but who sell spectacles, eyeglasses or lenses, either on prescription from such physicians or surgeons, or from optometrists authorized to practice in the commonwealth, or as merchandise from permanently located and established places of business when not sold for the purpose of correcting defective vision; nor shall said sections prevent the widow or widower of a registered optometrist, or the wife or husband of a registered optometrist who is incapacitated, from continuing the practice of optometry under a registered optometrist. Nothing herein contained shall prevent any such physician or surgeon from taking an examination and receiving a certificate of registration under section sixty-eight, nor shall this section and sections sixty-six to seventy-two A, inclusive, authorize any person to administer drugs in any form, to practice or claim to practice medicine or surgery in any sense, or to use any title or appellation intended or calculated to indicate the practice of medicine or surgery.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73a - Advertisements for Sale Price of Eyeglasses, Contact Lenses or Eyeglass Frames; Restrictions; Violations; Penalties

Section 73A. Persons may advertise the sale price of eyeglasses, contact lenses or eyeglass frames provided they shall not include in any newspaper, radio, display sign or other advertisements any statement of a character tending to deceive or mislead the public, or, any statement which in any way misrepresents any material or service or credit terms, or, any statement containing the words ''free examination of eyes'', ''free advice'', ''free consultation'', ''consultation without obligation'', or any other words or phrases of similar import which convey the impression that eyes are examined free. Any advertisement offering contact lenses, eyeglasses, or eyeglass frames at a fixed price shall include a statement which indicates that said price does not include eye examination and professional services. Such statement shall indicate whether said price includes lens and, if so, the type of lens, single vision, bi-focal or tri-focal and the strength thereof, low, medium or high.
Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished for the first offense by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than three months, or both, and for a subsequent offense by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not less than three nor more than six months, or both.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73b - Practice of Optometry on Premises Selling Eyeglasses, Lenses or Frames; Unauthorized Receipt of Fees From Practice of Optometry

Section 73B. No person shall practice optometry on premises not separate from premises whereon eyeglasses, lenses or eyeglass frames are sold by any other person; nor shall any person practice optometry under any lease, contract or other arrangement whereby any person, not duly authorized to practice optometry, shares, directly or indirectly, in any fees received in connection with said practice of optometry. For the purposes of this section, any room, suite of rooms or area in which optometry is practiced shall be considered separate premises if either (a) it has a separate and direct entrance from a street, public corridor or area available to the public, whether or not it has an entrance from any other room or area in the same building; or (b) (i) the space is definite and distinct from space occupied by other occupants of the premises, (ii) all signs and displays concerning the optometric office are separate and distinct from that of the other occupants of the premises and have the name of the doctor of optometry and the words ''doctor of optometry'' prominently displayed in connection therewith, and (iii) a written notice, of a size and type reasonably expected to attract the attention of the public, shall be put in a conspicuous place where the public will be exposed to it, prior to or upon entrance thereto, which states that the doctor of optometry is independent from other occupants of the premises and identifies the location of the optometric office, if such office is not clearly visible by the public from such entrance.
Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73c - Dispensing Optician; Definition

Section 73C. A dispensing optician as referred to in sections seventy-three D to seventy-three L, inclusive, is a person who prepares and dispenses lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses and appliances thereto to the intended wearer thereof on written prescriptions from a duly registered physician or optometrist, and, in accordance with such prescriptions, interprets, measures, adapts, fits and adjusts such lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses or appliances thereto to the human face for the aid or correction of visual or ocular anomalies of the human eyes. The services, lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses and appliances shall be dispensed, furnished or supplied to the intended wearer or user thereof only upon prescription issued by such physician or optometrist and only after the dispensing optician has verified that any such lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses and appliances thereto conform to such prescription; but duplications, replacements, reproductions or repetitions may be done at retail without prescription, in which event any such act shall be construed as that of a dispensing optician as if performed on the basis of the original written prescription.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73d - Licensing of Dispensing Opticians

Section 73D. No person or corporation shall directly or indirectly engage in practice as a dispensing optician, unless he or the person employed by such corporation has been granted a license by the board of registration of dispensing opticians referred to in sections seventy-three E to seventy-three L, inclusive, as the board.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73e - Applications for Registration as Dispensing Optician; Examinations; Licenses; Fees; Exemption From Written Examination

Section 73E. Application for registration as a dispensing optician may be made by any citizen who pays a fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven and furnishes the board with proof that he has received at least three years training and experience in such dispensing under the personal supervision of a licensed dispensing optician, registered physician or optometrist, or that he has completed a regular day course of not less than twelve months or a regular night course of not less than eighteen months nor in any case less than six hundred hours in an approved school or college which maintains educational requirements satisfactory to the board. The board shall thereupon give such applicant a written or practical examination, or both, to determine whether he possesses the ability, knowledge and fitness properly to engage in practice as a dispensing optician. If the applicant passes such examination and has reached the age of eighteen years, he shall be granted a license signed by the chairman and secretary of the board; if he passes such examination and has not reached said age, he shall be granted such license when he is eighteen years of age.
Any applicant who fails to pass such examination shall be entitled to take additional examinations, and for each subsequent examination a fee as determined under the aforementioned provision shall be paid by such applicant.
Any person who shall have been a licensed or registered optician in another state and shall present to the board a copy of his certificate of registration or license, certified or attested under the seal by the board of registration of opticians or similar board in any other state where the requirements for registration are, in the opinion of the board, equivalent to those in this commonwealth, may be licensed as provided herein, without written examination, upon payment of a fee as determined under the aforementioned chapter seven provision; provided, that such state accords similar privilege to those holding licenses issued by this commonwealth; and provided, further, that the applicant shall not have previously failed to pass an examination required in this commonwealth within five years, and that he intends to reside and practice as a dispensing optician in this commonwealth. Every dispensing optician shall conspicuously display his license in his place of business or employment, and shall, whenever so required, exhibit it to the board or its authorized representatives.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73f - Records of Board of Registration of Dispensing Opticians; Annual Reports; Rules and Regulations

Section 73F. The board shall keep a record of the names of all persons examined and licensed by it and all moneys received and disbursed by it, and a duplicate thereof shall be open to public inspection in the office of the state secretary. The board shall make an annual report of its doings including a statement of its receipts and expenditures during the preceding year. The board shall make such rules and regulations consistent with law as may be necessary to administer sections seventy-three C to seventy-three L, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73g - Dispensing Optician License Fees

Section 73G. Every licensed dispensing optician shall, biennially, on or before his birthday, pay to the board a license fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven, in default of which the board may, after a hearing, revoke or suspend his license; but the payment of said fee at or before the time of hearing, with an additional sum as determined under the aforementioned provision shall remove the default, revocation or suspension. A licensed dispensing optician whose license has not been revoked but who shall have temporarily retired from practice or removed from the commonwealth for not exceeding five years but who shall have notified the board of such retirement or removal, may register upon paying the lapsed annual license fees and filing with the board his affidavit as to the facts aforesaid.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73h - Refusal to Grant License; Suspension; Revocation; Hearing; Notice

Section 73H. The board may refuse to grant or may suspend for a definite time or may revoke any license of any person found guilty of fraud, deceit or misrepresentation or in aiding or abetting the same in connection with any application or taking of an examination for license, or who has rendered himself unable to properly carry on his work as a licensed dispensing optician as a result of the voluntary use of intoxicating liquors or drugs, or for conviction in any court of the commonwealth of a crime involving moral turpitude or for the violation of any provision of sections seventy-three C to seventy-three L, inclusive, or of any rule or regulation of the board; provided, that the board gives such person a written notice, at least ten days before the date of the hearing, specifying any charges that may have been made against him, and setting forth the time and place for hearing said charges. Such hearing shall be conducted by the board, and three members shall constitute a quorum. The person accused shall be given opportunity to produce testimony in his own behalf, shall be confronted by witnesses against him, and shall be allowed representation by counsel. The board may compel the production of documents at any hearing, and the attendance of witnesses who shall testify under oath, administered by any member of the board. The fee for witnesses shall be three dollars per day for attendance and five cents per mile for travel. If the board after such hearing refuses to grant, or revokes or suspends the license of any person, it shall forthwith notify such person of its decision in writing. The provisions of section sixty-four shall apply to any person whose license or authority has been refused, suspended or revoked.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73i - Unlicensed Practice as Dispensing Optician; Penalties

Section 73I. Whoever, not being duly licensed as a dispensing optician, compounds and dispenses, at retail, prescriptions of physicians or optometrists for eyeglasses and lenses or makes duplicates thereof at retail, or holds himself out as a dispensing optician as defined in section seventy-three C, or violates any other provision of sections seventy-three C to seventy-three L, inclusive, or any rule or regulation of the board, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than three months, or both.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 112 - Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations › Section 73j - Application of Secs. 73c to 73l to Registered Physicians or Optometrists

Section 73J. The provisions of sections seventy-three C to seventy-three L, inclusive, shall not apply to registered physicians or optometrists.