Revision: Dec. 14, 2011, midnight
HB 1471 – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
10/01
HOUSE BILL 1471
AN ACT relative to authority for opticians to replace eyeglasses.
SPONSORS: Rep. Bowers, Sull 3; Rep. Manuse, Rock 5; Rep. Tamburello, Rock 3; Rep. Simmons, Hills 17; Rep. Ball, Hills 9; Rep. Davenport, Rock 12
COMMITTEE: Commerce and Consumer Affairs
This bill removes the requirement that replacement of lenses for eyeglasses for a person 18 years of age or older requires a prescription not more than 24 months old.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2394
10/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to authority for opticians to replace eyeglasses.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Ophthalmic Dispensing; Duplicate Lenses. Amend RSA 327-A:1, I to read as follows:
I. “Ophthalmic dispensing” means the design, verification, and delivery to the intended wearer of lenses, frames, and other specially fabricated optical devices upon prescription, except that a prescription shall not be required when replacing spectacle lenses for persons over 18 years of age if the lenses are a duplicate of the wearer’s existing lenses. It includes, but is not limited to, prescription analysis and interpretation; the taking of measurements to determine the size, shape, and specifications of the spectacle lenses, frames, or lens forms best suited to the wearer’s needs; the preparation and delivery of work orders to laboratory technicians engaged in grinding lenses and fabricating eyewear; the verification of the quality of finished ophthalmic products, the adjustment of lenses or frames to the intended wearer’s face; the delivery of such ophthalmic products including instruction in hygiene and insertion and removal of contact lenses; and the adjustment, replacement, and reproduction of previously prepared ophthalmic lenses, frames, contact lenses, or other specially fabricated ophthalmic devices. It does not include the alteration without permission of the prescriber of any prescriptions, nor does it include the fitting of contact lenses which may only be performed by ophthalmologists or optometrists pursuant to law regulating such practices, unless the ophthalmic dispenser is in possession of a statement of delegation authorizing the fitting of contact lenses.
2 Ophthalmic Dispensing; Spectacle Lenses; Prescription. Amend RSA 327-A:1, III to read as follows:
III. “Prescription for spectacle lenses” means a dated and signed, written or oral direction [not more than 24 months old] from an ophthalmologist or optometrist for therapeutic or corrective lenses which states the prescribed refractive power and when necessary, the vertex distance, cylinder axis, and prism. The oral prescription must be recorded and kept on file for one year by the ophthalmic dispenser. A prescription for spectacle lenses for a child under the age of 18 shall expire 24 months after its issuance.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.