SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1988        FILED ON: 1/16/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 134

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act Relative to Updating Reciprocity for Licensing Optometrists..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended, in section 68, by striking the second to last paragraph and inserting the following new paragraph:-

“Any person who shall present to the board a certified copy or certificate of registration or license which was issued to him after examination by a board of registration in optometry in any other state, where the requirements for registration are in the opinion of the board are reasonably equivalent to those of this commonwealth, shall be registered and given an appropriate certificate of registration in this commonwealth upon passage of a written jurisprudence exam, completion of the required application; provided said applicant has not previously failed to pass the practical examination required in this commonwealth, and that he has been engaged in the reputable practice of optometry continuously for not less than three years immediately preceding his application, and that he intends to practice optometry in this commonwealth. The fee for such registration shall be determined under the aforementioned chapter seven provision.

SECTION 2.  Section 73B of Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended, by inserting after the words “doctor of optometry”, the following words:- “or ‘optometric physician’ ”.