Sec. 20-133. *(See end of section for amended version and effective date.) Disciplinary action. Grounds.
Sec. 20-133. *(See end of section for amended version and effective date.) Disciplinary action. Grounds. The board may take any of the actions set forth in section
19a-17 after notice and hearing, for any of the following reasons: (1) Conviction in a
court of competent jurisdiction, either within or without this state, of any crime in the
practice of optometry; (2) illegal or incompetent or negligent conduct in the practice of
optometry; (3) publication or circulation of any fraudulent or misleading statement; (4)
aiding or abetting the practice of optometry by an unlicensed person or a person whose
license has been suspended or revoked; (5) presentation to the department of any diploma, license or certificate illegally or fraudulently obtained, or from an unrecognized
or irregular institution or state board, or obtained by the practice of any fraud or deception; (6) violation of any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted hereunder;
(7) the effects of physical or mental illness, emotional disorder or loss of motor skill,
including but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process, upon the practitioner; (8) abuse or excessive use of drugs, including alcohol, narcotics or chemicals;
or (9) failure to maintain professional liability insurance or other indemnity against
liability for professional malpractice as required by section 20-133b. The Commissioner
of Public Health may order a license holder to submit to a reasonable physical or mental
examination if his physical or mental capacity to practice safely is the subject of an
investigation. Said commissioner may petition the superior court for the judicial district
of Hartford to enforce such order or any action taken pursuant to section 19a-17. The
license of any optometrist who peddles optical goods, or solicits orders therefor, from
door to door, or who establishes a temporary office, may be revoked, and said department
may refuse to renew such license. The license of any optometrist who employs solicitors
or obtains money by fraud or misrepresentation in connection with the conduct of the
profession of optometry shall be revoked, and said department shall not renew such
license. The violation of any of the provisions of this chapter by any unlicensed employee
in the employ of an optometrist, with the knowledge of his employer, shall be deemed
to be a violation thereof by his employer; and continued violation by such an unlicensed
employee shall be deemed prima facie knowledge on the part of such employer. Nothing
herein contained shall be construed as prohibiting the conducting of clinics or visual
surveys when they are conducted without profit.
(1949 Rev., S. 4493, 4494; P.A. 77-614, S. 412, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 49, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 33, 71; P.A. 88-230, S.
1, 12; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-220, S. 4-6; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-133, S. 3.)
*Note: On and after January 1, 2010, this section, as amended by section 9 of public
act 08-109, is to read as follows:
"Sec. 20-133. Disciplinary action. Grounds. The board may take any of the actions set forth in section 19a-17 after notice and hearing, for any of the following reasons:
(1) Conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction, either within or without this state,
of any crime in the practice of optometry; (2) illegal or incompetent or negligent conduct
in the practice of optometry; (3) publication or circulation of any fraudulent or misleading statement; (4) aiding or abetting the practice of optometry by an unlicensed
person or a person whose license has been suspended or revoked; (5) presentation to
the department of any diploma, license or certificate illegally or fraudulently obtained,
or from an unrecognized or irregular institution or state board, or obtained by the practice
of any fraud or deception; (6) violation of any provision of this chapter or any regulation
adopted hereunder; (7) the effects of physical or mental illness, emotional disorder or
loss of motor skill, including, but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process,
upon the practitioner; (8) abuse or excessive use of drugs, including alcohol, narcotics
or chemicals; (9) failure to maintain professional liability insurance or other indemnity
against liability for professional malpractice as required by section 20-133b; or (10)
failure to provide information to the Department of Public Health required to complete
a health care provider profile, as set forth in section 20-13j. The Commissioner of Public
Health may order a license holder to submit to a reasonable physical or mental examination if his physical or mental capacity to practice safely is the subject of an investigation.
Said commissioner may petition the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford
to enforce such order or any action taken pursuant to section 19a-17. The license of any
optometrist who peddles optical goods, or solicits orders therefor, from door to door,
or who establishes a temporary office, may be revoked, and said department may refuse
to renew such license. The license of any optometrist who employs solicitors or obtains
money by fraud or misrepresentation in connection with the conduct of the profession
of optometry shall be revoked, and said department shall not renew such license. The
violation of any of the provisions of this chapter by any unlicensed employee in the
employ of an optometrist, with the knowledge of his employer, shall be deemed to be
a violation thereof by his employer; and continued violation by such an unlicensed
employee shall be deemed prima facie knowledge on the part of such employer. Nothing
herein contained shall be construed as prohibiting the conducting of clinics or visual
surveys when they are conducted without profit."
(1949 Rev., S. 4493, 4494; P.A. 77-614, S. 412, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 49, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 33, 71; P.A. 88-230, S.
1, 12; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-220, S. 4-6; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-133, S. 3; P.A. 08-109, S. 9.)
History: P.A. 77-614 added Subdiv. (g) allowing revocation or suspension of license for violation of chapter or related
regulations, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-484 allowed disciplinary actions pursuant to Sec. 19-4s and revised grounds
for such action, deleting crimes of moral turpitude, felonies and misdemeanors in Subdiv. (1), formerly (a), deleting
immoral, fraudulent, dishonorable or unprofessional conduct, formerly (b), deleting "habitually" as modifier of "negligent"
and "unprofessional" as modifier of "conduct" in Subdiv. (2), formerly (c), substituting "department" for "board" in Subdiv.
(5), formerly (f) and adding Subdivs. (7) and (8) re physical or mental illness, etc. and drug abuse, added provisions re
submission to physical or mental examination and re petitions to court for enforcement of orders or actions, replacing
"board" with "department" as renewer of licenses and deleting prohibition against person other than optometrist operating
under optometrical license; P.A. 81-471 changed wording slightly but made no substantive change; P.A. 88-230 replaced
"judicial district of Hartford-New Britain" with "judicial district of Hartford", effective September 1, 1991; P.A. 90-98
changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 93-142 changed the
effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced
commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A.
95-220 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995;
P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and
Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-133 added Subdiv. (9) making failure to carry liability
insurance grounds for board action; P.A. 08-109 made a technical change and added failure to provide information for
health care provider profile to list of grounds for disciplinary action, effective January 1, 2010.
"Immoral, dishonorable or unprofessional conduct" means the person guilty of it is intellectually or morally incompetent
to practice or has committed an act likely to jeopardize the interests of the public. 119 C. 679. Cited. 130 C. 345. Advertising
may be regarded as unprofessional conduct. Id., 353. Cited. 141 C. 288.
Held that it is not unprofessional conduct for a licensed optometrist to practice his profession as an employee in charge
of the optometrical department of a store. 21 CS 332. An optometrist who manages the optometrical department of a store
owned by a partnership may be violating subsection (e) of this section. Id. But see section 20-133a and note thereto.