(a) The State Department of Public Health, the 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, dispensers, 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 State Board of Optometry, or the Medical Board of California.

(c) Any violation of the regulations adopted by the State Department of Public Health, the 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 State Board of Optometry, or the Medical Board of California pursuant to this section shall be subject to disciplinary action by his or her licensing board.

(e) The State Board of Optometry or the 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. 2016, Ch. 489, Sec. 10. (SB 1478) Effective January 1, 2017.)