2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 27 - Board of Examiners of Optometrists (§§ 521-529 — 544y) › § 544d - Examining Board—Powers and duties

The Puerto Rico Optometrists Examining Board shall:
(a) Authorize the practice of optometry and certified optometry in Puerto Rico, and be empowered to issue the corresponding licenses and certificates to all persons who meet the requirements stipulated in §§ 544—544y of this title, and shall establish the necessary mechanisms for the recertification of said professionals, according to the provisions of §§ 3001 et seq. of Title 24.
(b) Issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the provisions of §§ 544—544y of this title, the internal operations of the Board, administering examinations for licensing and certification, establishing administrative procedures for the hearings on the suspension or revocation of licenses, and for establishing the procedure to appeal the administrative decisions issued by the Board pursuant to §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Uniform Administrative Procedures Act”.
(c) Keep a book of minutes of all its proceedings and organize its files so that all applications are registered and recorded in the proper books for resolutions and actions.
(d) Evaluate all applications for licenses and recertifications submitted before the Board.
(e) Issue, deny, suspend or revoke licenses for the reasons consigned in §§ 544—544y of this title.
(f) Keep an updated register of the licenses issued including the name, address and personal data of the professional; number, date of issue and term of effectiveness of the license and of any matter concerning recertification.
(g) Prepare and administer the examinations required by §§ 544—544y of this title.
(h) Develop an information and registration system that will allow the establishment of a statistical ratio between the results of the revalidation examination and the characteristics of the candidates such as: age, sex, school from which they come, and academic index, among others.
(i) Attend to and resolve all complaints presented for violations of the provisions of §§ 544—544y of this title or the regulations adopted by virtue hereof, upon due notice and a hearing.
(j) Impose administrative fines on the person or persons who violate the provisions of §§ 544—544y of this title or its regulations, upon due administrative hearing. Said administrative fines may not exceed the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(k) Present an annual report of its works to the Governor through the Secretary of Health, to the Legislature of Puerto Rico, and to the Puerto Rico College of Optometrists indicating the number of licenses issued, denied, cancelled or suspended, and the recertification of the licensed professionals.
(l) Prepare information of public interest, describing its functions and procedures concerning complaints filed and resolved, and past said information on the Internet.
(m) Prepare and update a list of the cycloplegic and topical anesthetic agents for refractive use, to be used by duly certified optometrists.
(n) Develop a system for the registration and supervision of certified optometrists, and instruct them on their duty to publish the certifications together with the licenses in every center or office where certified optometry is practiced.
(o) Coordinate with the concerned authorities the necessary mechanisms so that the certified optometrists may obtain the cycloplegic and topical anesthetic agents for refractive use authorized in §§ 544—544y of this title in drugstores, pharmacies, or through pharmaceutical suppliers.
(p) Adopt an official seal.
History —Aug. 15, 1999, No. 246, § 2.04.