Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-133 (2025)

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.

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; optometrist who manages the optometrical department of a store owned by a partnership may be violating section. 21 CS 332.

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