The Attorney General of Texas
August 24, 1978
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General
Honorable Fred S. Brinkley, Jr. Opinion No. H- 1232
Executive Director/Secretary
Texas State Board of Pharmacy Re: Whether the Texas State
211 East 7th Street Board of Pharmacy may require
Austin, Texas 78701 that pharmacists seeking to be
licensed in Texas by reciprocity
pass a Jurisprudence examination
encompassing the Texas Phar-
macy, Dangerous Drug and
Controlled Substances Acts.
Dear Mr. Brinkley:
You have requested our opinion regarding the authority of the State
Board of Pharmacy to require persons seeking to be licensed under the
reciprocity provisions of article 4542a, V.T.C.S., to pass a special examin-
ation. Section 9(c) of that statute, after stating the requirements for a
license to practice pharmacy, adds the following proviso:
Provided that the State Board of Pharmacy may, in its
discretion, upon the payment of an amount, not to
exceed Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250), set by the
Board, grant a license to practice pharmacy to persons
who furnish proof that they have been registered as
such in some other state or territory, and that they are
of good moral character, provided that such other
Board in its examination required the same general
degree of fitness required by this State, and grants the
same reciprocal privileges to pharmacists of this
State.
Section 9(c) clearly authorizes the Board to grant a license to any
person who fulfills certain specific criteria, and whose original state of
licensure does likewise. An examination is not among the listed require-
ments. In Kelly v. Industrial Accident Board, 358 S.W.2d 874 (Tex. Civ. App.
-Austin 1962, writ ref’d), the court declared that
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Honorable Fred S. Brinkley, Jr. - Page 2 (H-1232)
the rules and regulations so enacted by the administrative
body may not impose additional burdens, conditions or
restrictions in excess of or inconsistent with the statutory
provisions.
358 S. W.2d at 876-77. This office has frequently held that a statutory board is not
authorized to impose upon its licensees conditions not prescribed by statute.
Attorney General Opinions H-870 (1976); H-669 (1975); M-1219 (1972); V-964 (1949).
See State v. Cortez, 333 S.W.2d 839, 841 (Tex. 1960); Board of Insurance
Commissioners of Texas v. Guardian Life Insurance Co., 180 S.W.2d 906, 908 (Tex.
1944). In our opinion, the Board of Pharmacy is without authority to require any
person to take or pass a special examination as a condition of licensing under the
reciprocity provisions of section 9(c) of article 4542a.
SUMMARY
The State Board of Pharmacy is not authorized to require
any person to take or pass a special examination as a
condition of licensing under the reciprocity provisions of
section 9(c) of article 4542a, V.T.C.S.
APPROVED:
DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant
-‘\
cg&.&n
Opinion Committee ’
p. 4922