CONNECTICUT OPTICIANS ASSOCIATION

COA News

WHERE OPTICAL GOODS MAY BE SOLD-NEW LAW EFFECTIVE OCT 1  (May 24, 2022)

IN REVIEW:
In January 2021, the COA became aware of a proposal that Warby Parker had hoped to present to the Public Health Committee of the State legislature. Having, “found it challenging to find licensed opticians to staff our two stores” Warby Parker was seeking a change to the educational and training requirements for licensing. They also hoped to create a two-tier license, separating eyewear from contact lenses, the latter becoming an optional license. Members of the COA Legislative Committee met several times with company representatives and lobbyists of Warby Parker during the legislative session. The 2021 legislative session ended in June without a formal proposal being presented to the Public Health Committee. See: COA NEWS
 
LEGISLATION 2022:
In mid-December, 2021, lobbyists from Warby-Parker contacted the COA inviting us to meet with their clients and members of the Public Health Committee to continue the discussion on their previous year’s proposal. Members of the COA Board of Directors and our lobbyists from Capitol Consulting, LLC, met with Rep. Johnathan Steinberg (D-136, Westport) who was serving as House Chair of the Legislature’s Public Health Committee. Reluctantly, after several meetings, along with other interested parties, SB 329 - AN ACT CONCERNING THE RETAIL OPERATION OF OPTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS, OFFICES AND STORES was scheduled for a public hearing before the Public Health Committee.
 
Although passed by the committee, the proposal did not make it as a stand-alone bill. However, after strong intervention from the Governor’s office, and additional negotiations between the COA and Warby Parker, compromise language was included in the Budget Implementer bill, Bill 5506, a 673-page document that makes adjustments to the biennial budget approved in 2021.
 
SUMMARY:
Our new statutory language is addressed in section 230, on page 354. Effective October 1, 2022, CGS, Chpt. 381, Sec.20-150, Where Optical Goods May be Sold, has been amended. Follow this link to the updated language.
 
A detailed summary of the 2022 legislative session was prepared by our lobbyists, Anita Schepker, Esq. and Liz Connelly from Capitol Consulting, LLC. Please follow their report on our legislation which begins on page 2

The COA appreciates all the hard work and input from our lobbyists from Capitol Consulting who spent innumerable hours working on this bill
and meeting with members of the COA Board.
 
ONLY THE COA LOBBYISTS WITH INPUT FROM THE BOARD
WERE ASKED TO WORK WITH WARBY PARKER TO FORGE THE FINAL COMPROMISE LANGUAGE

LICENSE AND CONTINUING EDUCATION REINSTATED  (May 17, 2022)

 
 
In a document dated May 10, 2022, The Commissioner of Public Health, Manisha Juthani, MD, reinstated all the requirements for renewal of any license to be issued by the Department of Public Health.
 
If you did not renew your optician’s license during the global pandemic of 2019, renewal is now reinstated. 
 
Any licensee who did not renew during the suspension period is allowed a grace period of six months to renew. Any licensee not current must renew by November 10, 2022, or the license will expire. In addition, any past licensing fees not paid during the period of suspension are now due. Past renewal fees are not forgiven.
 
The mandatory requirements for continuing education have also been reinstated. As a prerequisite to renewal, any license renewed from May 5, 2022, through the grace period of November 10, 2022, must have completed the mandatory requirement for continuing education credits.
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The Connecticut Opticians Association will be there to provide you with the Best Speakers and the Best Education. Watch for the Fall Super Sunday coming in October!

NOT TOO LATE TO PROVIDE WRITTEN TESTIMONY  (March 20, 2022)

PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE
MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2022
 
S.B. No. 329 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING THE RETAIL OPERATION OF OPTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS, OFFICES AND STORES.

The Public Health Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday, March 21, 2022 at 9:00 A.M. via Zoom.  The public hearing can be viewed via YouTube Live.  In addition, the public hearing may be recorded and broadcast live on CT-N.com.  

?TO SEND WRITTEN TESTIMONY ONLY:
Please email written testimony in WORD or PDF format toPHtestimony@cga.ct.govTestimony should clearly state testifier name and related Bills. Testimony should clearly state testifier name and related Bills.  The Committee requests that testimony be limited to matters related to the items on the Agenda. 

All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information. As such, it will be made available on the CGA website and indexed by internet search engines.

You can be assured that the COA and our lobbyists will continue to monitor and protect your statutory rights to practice, and will continue to protect the public health and saftey in eyecare.

PUBLIC HEARING SET FOR SB 329  (March 17, 2022)

S.B No. 329  has been put on the calendar of the Public Health Committee of the Connecticut Legislature. If passed, the proposal drafted by Warby Parker will change the way opticianry is practiced in Connecticut.

Founded in 2010, Warby-Parker began operating exclusively as an online retailer of prescription eyewear and sunglasses. In 2013, they opened their first brick-and-mortar store. Headquartered in New York City, they currently have three physical stores in Connecticut located in Farmington, New Haven, and Norwalk.

Claiming a shortage of opticians to meet the needs of some stores to maintain business hours 7 days a week, the proposed legislation would allow, that in the event of reasonably unanticipated circumstances, an optical establishment could, for a period of time, remain open during regular business hours without the supervision of a licensed optician.

Unanticipated circumstances would include but not be limited to the licensed optician's illness, injury, family emergency, termination or resignation from the optical establishment. The language would allow that an optical establishment could remain open, without licensed supervision, as long as reasonable action was taken to have another licensed optician present at the establishment during regular business hours. The period of time to remain open and what constitutes reasonable action is not defined.

The proposal also includes a requirement that an optical department in any establishment, office or store that displays optical glasses, kindred products or other instruments to aid vision for purchase online, be required to obtain an optical selling permit.

Members of the C.O.A. Board of Directors and our lobbyist, and representatives from Warby Parker and its lobbyists, have met with State representative Johnathan Steinberg. Representative Steinberg (D) from the 136th district of Westport serves as House Chair of the Legislature’s Public Health Committee. The committee will soon conduct a public hearing on this proposal.

The Connecticut Opticians Association is concerned about the impact this proposal will have on the welfare and safety of Connecticut consumers. The COA is opposed to the passage of this bill.

Your COA has been, and will continue to be, diligent in following the progress of this legislation. We will notify you when a date is set for the public hearing on the proposal.

Anyone who is interested in testifying before the committee should contact the Connecticut Opticians Association, Executive Director at CTOpt@aol.comBe sure to include your phone, your home address and your business address.

UPDATE: This proposal has been scheduled for public hearing before the Connecticut General Assembly, Public Health Committee on Monday March 21. The ZOOM Hearing starts at 9:00AM. Your written or verbal testimony is essential. Contact the COA at CTOpt@aol.com

 

ONLINE CONTACT LENS COMPANY ORDERED TO PAY $3.5 MILLION IN CIVIL PENALTIES  (January 30, 2022)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 28, 2022
 
The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced that the government will collect $1.5 million in civil penalties and $2 million in consumer redress from online contact lens company Vision Path Inc., dba Hubble Contacts (Hubble), as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that Hubble violated the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act and the FTC’s Contact Lens Rule.
 
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the government alleged that Hubble violated the federal Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act and the FTC’s Contact Lens Rule by selling contact lenses online without taking the steps required to verify subscribers’ contact lens prescriptions, improperly substituting Hubble’s own brand of contact lenses for those originally prescribed by consumers’ eyecare practitioners, and procuring what it falsely portrayed as independent consumer reviews of its products and services. In addition to requiring Hubble to pay civil penalties and consumer redress, the stipulated order entered by the court on Friday requires Hubble to refrain from altering prescriptions to change the brand prescribed, to verify the prescription for contact lens orders submitted without a written prescription, to cease other deceptive practices, and to satisfy ongoing recordkeeping, certification, and compliance obligations.
 
“The Department of Justice will not tolerate the violation of laws intended to ensure that consumers receive the products prescribed for them,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to protecting consumers from companies that engage in deceptive practices.”
 
“Hubble’s business model boosted its bottom line but created needless risk for its customers’ eye health,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Today’s action makes clear that firms will pay a price for deceiving their customers, flouting the Contact Lens Rule, and using misleading reviews.”
 
Read more:
 
For more information about the FTC ruling, visit its website at https://www.FTC.gov. For more information about the DOJ Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

WARBY PARKER - COA UPDATE #2  (February 05, 2021)

News Update No. 2
 
On Friday, February 5, members of the Connecticut Opticians Association, Legislative Committee, conducted its second meeting with representatives of Warby Parker. Representing the COA for this mid-day meeting was President Dorothy Reynolds; Emily Delarm; Jim Susco; Doug Wilson and Executive Director, Skip Rivard.
 
Representing Warby Parker was, Atty. Patrick McCabe, Managing Partner, Capitol Strategies Grp - Public Relations Firm (Lobbyist); Christopher Grimm, Partner at Alaris Strategies, (Lobbyist) who manages Government Affairs for WP in all 50 states; Stephen Blake, East Coast Regional Director, and Adam Bentley, Manager of Optical Field Operations. Mr. Bently is a licensed optician in New York and Ohio and is registered in California.
 
Discussion during the video conference included: the periodic absence of an LO for short periods during business hours; sale of “non-regulated” goods without LO supervision; an inability to hire opticians in areas of Connecticut; academic training; the length of apprentice training; continuing education credits; frequency of licensing exams; and creation of a two-tier license, separating eyewear fabrication & dispensing from contact lens fitting.
 
At the conclusion of the productive meeting, Warby Parker agreed to provide the committee with more specific language relative to their proposal. It’s anticipated that a future meeting will be forthcoming.
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The Connecticut Opticians Association protects
your interests whether you’re a member or not.
Shouldn’t you join now?

WARBY PARKER MEETS WITH COA  (February 01, 2021)

News Update No. 1
 
On Friday, January 29, a cordial video conference was held between members of the Connecticut Opticians Association, Legislative Committee and representatives of Warby Parker. In attendance for the COA were President Dorothy Reynolds; Emily Delarm; Jim Susco; Doug Wilson and Executive Director, Skip Rivard.
 
Representing Warby Parker were Atty. Patrick McCabe, Managing Partner, Capitol Strategies Grp - Public Relations Firm (Lobbyist); Nicole Tomassetti, Capitol Strategies Grp - Public Relations Firm (Lobbyist); Jason Breland, NE District Leader; Christopher Grimm, Partner at Alaris Strategies, who manages Government Affairs for WP in all 50 states; Stephen Blake, East Coast Regional Director, and Adam Bentley, Manager of Optical Field Operations. Mr. Bently is a licensed optician in New York and Ohio and is registered in California.
 
Mr. Grimm stated that the purpose of the meeting was to have a collaborative discussion regarding some of the ongoing goals of Warby Parker relative to Connecticut and to listen to the concerns of the COA. He assured our committee that it was not Warby Parker's intention to proceed with any proposal without first gaining insight by reaching out and having a dialog. “It is not the intention of Warby Parker to pull a fast-one,” he said, and that it is not their goal to “deregulate nor devalue opticianry in the Connecticut.” They are, he said, looking for an easier way for all interested parties to do business in the State.
 
Areas of their proposal, including CT optician statutes and regulations, apprenticeship training, and license examinations were discussed. At its conclusion, all agreed the meeting to be mutually beneficial.
 
We hope to have another meeting within one week to continue our discussion.

WARBY PARKER SEEKS STATUTORY CHANGES  (January 26, 2021)

Warby Parker has drafted a proposal, hoping to have it presented to the Public Health Committee of the Connecticut legislature. If passed it will change the way opticianry is practiced in Connecticut.
 
Founded in 2010, Warby-Parker began operating exclusively as an online retailer of prescription eyewear and sunglasses. In 2013, they opened their first brick-and-mortar store. Headquartered in New York City, they currently have three physical stores in Connecticut
 
Having “found it challenging to find licensed, qualified opticians to staff our two stores,” Warby Parker has requested changing the Connecticut optician scope of practice by, Updating Connecticut’s Dispensing Optician Statute.
 
PROPOSAL OVERVIEW
 
Updating Licensing Requirements
 
• Splitting our scope of practice by separating eyewear and contact lenses. This would create a two tier license. Contact Lenses would become an optional license obtained after successful completion of an exam administered at no additional charge.
 
• Reduce apprenticeship from 4 years to two years and allow for a combination of an 18 month apprenticeship with the completion of one year education program approved by the Board. 
 
• Licensing exams to be administered quarterly.
 
Updating Optician Regulation
 
• Waive education & training requirements for opticians “duly” licensed in other states
 
• Erroneously states that apprentices are not allowed to dispense glasses, “even under the supervision of a licensed optician.”
 
• Allow registered apprentices to dispense glasses during “customary absence [of the optician] such as sick days and vacation, etc."
 
• In addition to the “proposed exemption for customary absences, [of the optician] stores should be allowed to remain open to try-on frames and picking up on-line orders, etc.
 
If this proposal finds a sponsor and is ultimately made into law, it will have a negative impact on opticianry school graduates and current license holders. If adopted, it will contradict our statutory mandate to protect public health, welfare and safety. (CGS Chpt 381; Sec 20-139)
 
The Connecticut Opticians Association founded in 1934 and representing the majority of opticians in Connecticut, opposes the restructuring of our educational standards and scope of practice to satisfy the request of an out-of-state corporation for its own pecuniary benefits.
 
Be assured, your COA has been, and will continue to be, diligent in following the progress of this proposal as Warby Parker seeks a sponsor.