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Posted 15 May 2006
View legislative update (PDF)
This month state legislatures and governors gave approval to several more significant measures for veterinary medicine:
The Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association is winding down a very busy legislative session. Governor Bredesen signed into law a bill designating artificial insemination of livestock as an accepted livestock management practice. The Governor is expected to sign another bill refunding the monetary fines imposed during 2004-06 for the artificial insemination of livestock without a veterinary license. The TVMA supported the compromises contained in this legislation. Next month we will report on scope of practice legislation expected to be approved in Arizona and Florida.
New Kansas legislation creates a training program for students at Kansas State to locate their veterinary practice in rural communities in the state and receive specialized training targeted to meet the needs of livestock producers. The new law also includes $20,000 loans for these veterinary students.
Virginia Governor Kaine signed into law a sales tax exemption for medicines and drugs sold to a veterinarian if used or consumed directly in the care, medication, and treatment of agricultural production animals or for resale to a farmer for direct use in producing agricultural products.
At the request of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, AVMA wrote chairmen of two key legislative committees asking for the restoration of $1.5 million in funding for the Veterinary Medical Education Contract Program, which allows New Jersey residents to attend veterinary colleges in other states at reasonable tuition rates. Gov. Corzine's proposed budget eliminates funding for this successful program.
Several actions at the city and county level deserve mention as well. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval to a new measure that requires all adult dogs kept in unincorporated Los Angeles County to be spayed or neutered and implanted with an identifying microchip. This measure, one of the first of its kind in the nation, is designed to reduce the numbers of unwanted animals flooding into shelters and provide positive, reliable on-body identification for dogs, speeding their return to owners. Another hearing is to be held before final approval.
Also in California, the Santa Clara County adopted an ordinance recognizing the concept of guardianship for pet owners by the vote of 3-2, joining Marin County, San Francisco, West Hollywood and Berkeley.
The Chicago City Council voted to make the city the first to outlaw the sale of foie gras. California enacted a law in 2004 that will end the production and sale of foie gras there in 2012, and similar legislation has been proposed in a handful of other states. With activists setting their sights on Philadelphia next, foie gras producers formed the North American Foie Gras Producers Association and retained a public advocacy and lobbying firm.
No update would be complete without mention of lawsuits. A judge in Ontario, Canada found the province's pit bull ban law overly vague in including any dog with a physical appearance that is "substantially similar" to four distinct pit bull breeds. The definition was found to put a difficult burden on animal control officers, courts and indeed, on dog owners. The owner was cleared of charges of failing to muzzle, leash and sterilize her dog.
In San Francisco, an advocacy group is suing the city and state of California in federal court over the city's new law requiring the sterilization of all pit bull terriers. The challenge argues that the law unfairly penalizes the disabled who use pit bulls as guide or service dogs as sterilization makes the dogs less capable of pulling wheelchairs and other physical activities.
Please continue to share your thoughts and suggestions with us regarding state legislative and regulatory affairs. Thank you for your support. We hope you enjoy the update's new look. The attachment contains this month's chart of bills and regulations.
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