The Attorney General of Texas
January 28, 1980
MARK WHITE
Attorney General
Honorable Max C. Butler, M.D. Opinion No. ~~-131
Texas State Board of Medical Examiners
211East Seventh Street Re: Authority of Board of
Austin, Texas 78701 Medical Examiners to promulgate
rules relating to issuance of Basic
Science Certification.
Dear Dr. Butler:
You have requested our opinion regarding the authority of the Board of
Medical Examiners to waive certain requirements imposed upon applicants
for a medical license.
The 66th Legislature abolished the State Board of Examiners in the
Basic Sciences, and repealed in its entirety the statute relating to the Board,
article 459Oc, V.T.C.S. House Bill 1249, Acts, 66th Leg., ch. 556, SS 2, 4, at
ll53. The legislature simultaneously enacted section 3 of article 4590-1,
which provides:
(a) Prior to the issuance of a license to practice
any profession or occupation granted by the Boards of
Medical Examiners or Chiropractic Examiners, such
board shall require from a person otherwise qualified
by law, evidence, verified by transcript of credits,
certifying that such person has satisfactorily
completed 60 or more semester hours of college
credits at a college or university which issues credits
acceptable by The University of Texas at Austin
leading toward a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of
Science degree. Said credits shall include the
satisfactory completion of courses in anatomy,
physiology, chemistry, bacteriology, pathology,
hygiene, and public health with an average of 75
percent or better in each of such courses. The
sequence of such courses shall be in the manner as
from time to time is required by The University of
Texas at Austin.
p. 420
Honorable Max C. Butler, M.D. - Page Two (NW-131)
(b) The applicable board may charge a fee of not more than $50
for verification of the satisfaction of the completion of the courses
described in Subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Any license to practice issued after the effective date of this
Act by the boards identified in Subsection (a) of this section
contrary to this Act shall be void.
(d) Any person who knowingly obtains a license from the boards
identified in Subsection (a) of this section, or assists another in so
doing, without complying with this Act, or who presents any
information called for in this Act obtained by dishonesty or fraud
or by any forged or counterfeit means, or who knowingly acts,
advises, or assists another in so doing, shall be subject to a Class A
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished in accordance
with Section 12.21, Penal Code.
(e) AU funds on hand in the basic science examination fund shall
be allocated and transferred by the comptroller to the respective
boards identified above, prorated on the basis of the number of
certificates of proficiency issued by the Board of Science to
licensees of such board during the fiscal year immediately
preceding the effective date of this Act. Such funds may be used
by the Boards of Medical Examiners and of Chiropractic Examiners
to carry out the provisions of this Act.
You explain that problems have arisen in regard to applicants who are unable fully to
meet the requirements of section 3(a), specifically (1) applicants who have not completed
the requisite courses with a grade of 75 or higher and (2) applicants who are unable to
produce a verified transcript of credits. You ask whether the Board may waive the grade
requirement by substituting any of the following alternatives: (1) by examining applicants
to determine whether they have the requisite knowledge of the referenced basic science
courses; (2) by considering credentials acquired subsequent to graduation from medical
school and (3) by averaging grades in the basic science courses to obtain an overall score.
Although the former Board of Examiners in the Basic Sciences may have adopted
rules permitting the substitution of one or more of the aforementioned alternatives,
section 3(a) grants to the Board of Medical Examiners no such discretion. The statute
makes clear that an applicant for a license must attain a grade of 75 or better “in each of
[the listed] courses.” (Emphasis added). It is well established that an administrative
agency has only those powers which are expressly granted to it by statute or necessarily
implied therefrom. Stauffer v. City of San Antonio, 344 S.W.2d 158, 160 (Tex. 1961). See
Attorney General Ooinions H-1199 (1978); H-928 (1977); H-870 (1976): H-669 (197x
Neither-section 3 of‘ article 4590-1, nor any other statute which has come to our
attention, furnishes any basis for allowing the Board to waive the grade average
requirement. We conclude that the Board is without authority to adopt a rule which would
in certain instances permit such waiver.
As to applicants who are unable to produce a “verified . . . transcript of credits,” it
is equally evident that the Board may not merely waive this requirement. In the context
P. 421
Honorable Max C. Butler, M.D. - Page Three (Mw-131)
of higher education, both “transcript” and “credit” have well-recognized meanings. A
“transcript” is “sn official copy of a student’s record at sn educational institution,” while a
“credit” constitutes “recognition by a school or college typically measured in credit hours
that a student has fulfilled a requirement leading to a degree.” Webster’s New
International Dictionary (3d ed. 1961). Although the statute does not direct that the
“transcript of credits” be submitted in any particular form, we believe that the Board
must require from every applicant some sort of certified or official document containing
the specific information described in the statute. Where the applicant claims credits from
a foreign institution, both the form of the document and the method of certification may
vary to a considerable degree, and, so long as it acts reasonably, the Board may, in our
opinion, take such factors into account. Whether any particular transcript satisfies the
statutory requirement involves the determination of facts which we cannot resolve in the
opinion process.
SUMMARY
The Board of Medical Examiners is without authority under section
3 of article 459Oe-1, V.T.C.S., to waive the statutory requirements
that applicants for a medical license submit a verified transcript of
credits demonstrating completion of specified courses with a grade
of 75 or higher.
v+ml.~yQ
MARK WHITE
Attorney General of Texas
JOHN W. FAINTER, JR.
First Assistant Attorney General
TED L. HARTLEY
Executive Assistant Attorney General
Prepared by Rick Gilpin
Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
C. Robert Heath, Chairman
David B. Brooks
Bob Gammage
Susan Garrison
Bob Gauss
Rick Gilpin
Bruce Youngblood
p. 422