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Posted 13 June 2008
View legislative update (PDF)
New laws adopted
May and June are usually busy months for enactment of key legislation, and 2008 is no exception. During the last 30 days, governors signed into law several piece of legislation that will impact veterinary medicine:
- New Hampshire and Oklahoma enacted loan repayment programs for veterinarians practicing in rural communities or large animal veterinary medicine.
- Colorado passed a law requiring that calves raised for veal (after 1/1/2012) and gestation sows (after 1/1/2018) be able to stand up, lie down and turn around without touching the sides of their enclosure, with some exemptions. Another new law in Colorado allows a veterinarian to issue a written waiver, with an owner's consent, to exempt an animal from rabies vaccination due to a medical condition.
- Minnesota expanded the definition of and increased penalties for animal fighting.
- Arizona joined the growing list of states that recognize trusts for the care of animals after an owner's death.
- Hawaii added equines to the list of species protected under the state's animal cruelty felony law, which previously listed dogs, cats, domesticated rabbits, guinea pigs, domesticated pigs and caged birds.
Regulatory developments
The Oklahoma Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners issued new rules regulating wholesalers and distributors selling, supplying or dispensing veterinary prescription drugs, and clarifying what are appropriate tasks for registered veterinary technicians and other employed assistants.
The West Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine established procedures to register and regulate veterinary technicians.
Chicago repeals foie gras ban
With Mayor Richard Daley running the vote, the Chicago City Council repealed its controversial ban on foie gras on May 14. The council voted 37-6 to repeal the two-year-old ban, which critics argued had made the city a national laughingstock. Alderman Thomas Tunney, a restaurant owner, asked for the vote on the measure that had prohibited restaurants from serving the delicacy.
Court watch
Menu Foods and other pet food makers and retailers involved in last year's massive pet food recall agreed to set up a $24 million cash fund to compensate pet owners, according to a proposed settlement filed in federal court on May 22. The fund is expected to compensate thousands of pet owners in the U.S. and Canada who bought recalled pet foods made by Menu and 11 other companies. This sum is in addition to $8 million that pet food makers have already paid to pet owners. Legal fees and expenses, which haven't been determined, will come out of the fund. The settlement, negotiated over the past seven months, would resolve more than 100 lawsuits filed by more than 250 plaintiffs.
Veterinarian wins Oregon congressional primary
State Sen. Kurt Schrader, a veterinarian, won the Democratic nomination on May 20 in Oregon's 5th Congressional District in a landslide victory. The senator from Canby, Ore. collected more than half of the vote in a three-way primary, and will face Republican Mike Erickson in the November general election. "It's pretty overwhelming. I could not have expected that margin of victory in a Democratic primary," Dr. Schrader said. He has served in the state senate since 2003 and still works as a veterinarian with clinics in West Linn and Oregon City.
The link at the top of the page takes you to the latest chart of significant pending bills and regulations from around the country. Thank you for keeping us informed on legislative developments in your state.
View legislative update (PDF)
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