(a) The State Department of Public Health, the California State Board of Optometry, and the Medical Board of California shall prepare and adopt quality standards and adopt regulations relating to prescription ophthalmic devices, including, but not limited to, lenses, frames, and contact lenses. In promulgating these rules and regulations, the department and the boards shall adopt the current standards of the American National Standards Institute regarding ophthalmic materials. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the department and the boards from jointly adopting subsequent standards that are equivalent or more stringent than the current standards of the American National Standards Institute regarding ophthalmic materials.

(b) No individual or group that deals with prescription ophthalmic devices, including, but not limited to, distributors, registered dispensing opticians or ophthalmic businesses, manufacturers, laboratories, optometrists, or ophthalmologists shall sell, dispense, or furnish any prescription ophthalmic device that does not meet the minimum standards set by the State Department of Public Health, the California State Board of Optometry, or the Medical Board of California.

Terms Used In California Business and Professions Code 2541.3

  • board: means any entity listed in Section 101, the entities referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600, the State Bar, the Department of Real Estate, and any other state agency that issues a license, certificate, or registration authorizing a person to engage in a business or profession. See California Business and Professions Code 31
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Licensing board: means any board, as defined in Section 22, the State Bar of California, and the Department of Real Estate. See California Business and Professions Code 30
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Business and Professions Code 21

(c) Any violation of the regulations adopted by the State Department of Public Health, the California State Board of Optometry, or the Medical Board of California pursuant to this section shall be a misdemeanor.

(d) Any optometrist, ophthalmologist, or dispensing optician who violates the regulations adopted by the State Department of Public Health, the California State Board of Optometry, the Medical Board of California, or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California pursuant to this section shall be subject to disciplinary action by the individual’s licensing board.

(e) The California State Board of Optometry, the Medical Board of California, or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California may send any prescription ophthalmic device to the State Department of Public Health for testing as to whether or not the device meets established standards adopted pursuant to this section, which testing shall take precedence over any other prescription ophthalmic device testing being conducted by the department. The department may conduct the testing in its own facilities or may contract with any other facility to conduct the testing.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 630, Sec. 19. (AB 1534) Effective January 1, 2022.)

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