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Posted 18 August 2009
View mid-year report (PDF)
Veterinary State Legislative Mid-Year Report
August 18, 2009
American Veterinary Medical Association
Communications Division
State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Department
The 2009 legislative session has proven to be another busy year with states introducing and adopting over 1200 bills and regulations relating to veterinary medicine.
Although many states have adjourned for the year, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Wisconsin are still in regular session as of mid-August. In addition, Arizona, California, Illinois, and New York are in special session.
Animal cruelty is once again a hot topic in several states across the country. States continue to increase fines and punishment for animal cruelty offenses and strengthen animal fighting laws. Many states have also introduced legislation that would provide an exemption in animal cruelty laws for certain veterinary procedures.
Several states have also adopted bills relating to the reporting of animal abuse. A new law in Nebraska requires any animal health care professional, while acting in his or her professional capacity, to report any suspected animal abuse or neglect. Similarly, the Pennsylvania State Board of Veterinary Medicine adopted regulations requiring veterinarians to report repeated acts of negligence or animal abuse. A new law in Illinois requires cross-reporting of animal and child abuse and neglect by animal control officers, Department of Agriculture investigators, humane society investigators, and certain employees of the Department of Children and Family Services. Finally, a new law in Arkansas will provide civil and criminal immunity for individuals and veterinarians reporting cruelty to animals or aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat or horse.
States continue to introduce and adopt animal welfare laws in areas such as care of circus elephants, tethering laws, care of unwanted horses, and certain veterinary procedures such as tail docking and debarking.
Breed-specific legislation has been a hot topic in several states this year. The District of Columbia, Hawaii, Montana and Oregon all introduced bills that would have prohibited ownership of pit bulls. In addition, Florida and Massachusetts both introduced bills that would have allowed a city or town to regulate or ban a particular breed of dog. Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York introduced bills that would have prohibited insurance companies from cancelling or refusing to issue a policy based on the homeowner's ownership of a dog that has bitten a person or animal.
In addition, several states have been working to strengthen their dangerous dog laws. Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Virginia all adopted bills that will help regulate dangerous dogs and provide for procedures for declaring dogs dangerous.
Arkansas, Louisiana, North Dakota and Oklahoma all adopted the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act to provide for veterinary services in times of declared emergency. Several other states introduced similar state emergency plans for the evacuation and sheltering of household pets in times of emergency or disaster. Many of these bills would also provide immunity for volunteer medical professionals who provide services, including veterinarians.
States continue to change and update their animal euthanasia laws. Several states have introduced bills that would allow animal control agencies to possess animal euthanasia drugs and to certify euthanasia technicians. Meanwhile, West Virginia passed a law prohibiting the use of gas chambers and several other states have introduced similar bills.
Farm animal husbandry practices continue to be debated in several states. A new Georgia law prohibits any county, municipal corporation, consolidated government, or other political subdivision of the state to adopt or continue in effect any ordinance, rule, regulation, or resolution regulation the production of agricultural or farm products on any parcel of land five acres in size or greater. In addition, a new law in Maine prohibits a person from tethering or confining a sow during gestation or a calf raised for veal for all or the majority of a day in a manner that prevents the animal from lying down, standing up and fully extending the animal's limbs, and turning around freely. The new law becomes effective on January 1, 2011.
The Ohio legislature approved placing on the ballot before voters this November a proposed amendment to the state constitution designed to regulate the care of livestock in the state. The amendment would create a bi-partisan board charged with establishing guidelines for the care of livestock, and is seen as an alternative to a ballot initiative similar to Proposition 2 in California to severely restrict use of cages to house laying hens and eliminate veal and gestation-sow stalls.
Of particular note is a new law passed in Missouri that prohibits a political subdivision of the state and any local government, city or county, or any agency, authority, board, commission, department or officer thereof, from enacting any ordinance or promulgating or issuing any regulation, rule, policy, guideline or proclamation describing the relationship between persons and domestic animals as other than persons may or can own domestic animals. To date, Rhode Island is the only state that has passed a guardianship law for animals, although several municipalities and counties have done so.
States are continuing to address the shortage of large animal veterinarians by proposing and adopting legislation which provides economic incentives for veterinarians and veterinary students to work in underserved communities in large animal practices. This year, Illinois, Minnesota and Texas adopted loan repayment programs to address the shortage. Vermont adopted a bill which creates a committee to explore the potential for a loan repayment program and establishes the Vermont Large Animal Veterinarian Educational Loan Repayment Fund to be used for the purpose of ensuring a stable and adequate supply of large animal veterinarians throughout the state. New York, Oregon and South Dakota proposed legislation to create loan repayment programs but the bills were not adopted. A handful of other states introduced bills which create other incentives for veterinary students and revise existing loan repayment programs.
States have also begun to limit the authority of local governments to regulate professional practice by health care providers. Both California and Tennessee adopted bills which would bar local governments from prohibiting or restricting the authorized practice of veterinary medicine.
Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York introduced legislation which would allow for the recovery of non-economic damages in litigation involving injury to or the death of companion animals due to intentional or negligent acts. As we have seen in prior years, none of these bills were adopted.
The link between domestic violence and animal abuse continues to be a popular issue in state legislatures. So far this year, Hawaii, North Carolina, and Washington adopted bills which would amend the statutes governing domestic violence orders of protection and temporary restraining orders to allow for the care, treatment and custody of companion animals. Thirteen other states introduced similar bills that have not yet been adopted.
In response to increased media attention on puppy mills, state legislatures proposed and adopted a variety of bills which license and regulate commercial breeders, protect consumers who purchase companion animals from pet retailers and breeders, regulate the sale of companion animals, and provide stricter standards for kennels and boarding and grooming facilities. Ten states adopted legislation to address these issues, while 21 other states introduced but did not pass legislation.
This year, states continued to authorize the creation of a trust to provide for the care of an animal alive during the lifetime of a settlor. Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan and Vermont adopted legislation providing for pet trusts, while five other states introduced but did not adopt legislation to create or modify existing pet trust laws.
Pharmacy issues have again generated numerous bills and regulations which address (1) the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances, (2) veterinary prescriptions, (3) electronic prescribing systems, (4) prescription monitoring programs, and (5) drug disposal programs. Most notably, Minnesota adopted legislation which exempts veterinarians from laws governing prescription monitoring programs and electronic prescribing programs and Illinois adopted legislation which exempts veterinary hospitals and clinics from certain requirements under the Pharmacy Practice Act.
Alabama, Arkansas, and North Carolina adopted legislation addressing rabies vaccination requirements, while eight other states introduced but did not adopt rabies vaccination bills. North Carolina's adopted bill provides that rabies vaccines may be administered only by a licensed veterinarian, a registered veterinary technician under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian, or a certified rabies vaccinator. In contrast, Maine introduced a bill which would allow a veterinarian to sell rabies vaccine to a licensed kennel owner and allow licensed kennel owners to vaccinate their own dogs under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian, and New York introduced bills which would allow livestock owners to directly purchase killed rabies vaccine and to administer the rabies vaccine to their livestock.
A number of states adopted legislation that affect the scope of practice for veterinarians, as well as expand the number of states allowing complementary and alternative medicine to be performed by non-veterinarians. Specifically, Colorado adopted a bill which allows a registered licensed chiropractor to perform animal chiropractic when such chiropractic diagnosis and treatment is consistent with the scope of practice for chiropractors and the animal has been provided a veterinary medical clearance by a licensed veterinarian. In addition, Nebraska, New Hampshire and Utah adopted bills which allow licensed physical therapists to practice animal physical therapy with certain educational requirements, certification, and veterinary referrals and supervision.
In continuing efforts to control the animal population, states introduced and adopted bills which amend existing spay/neuter laws and require sterilization under specified circumstances. Arizona and Illinois now require the sterilization of dogs and cats prior to release from a county, city or town pound or adopted from an animal shelter or animal control facility. Four other states introduced but did not adopt similar legislation requiring sterilization prior to release or adoption from a shelter or pound, while five states (Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas) introduced legislation that would provide mandatory sterilization laws for all dog and cat owners, with certain exceptions.
In a difficult economic year, states were still able to pass legislation exempting certain veterinary services and drugs from sales taxes. States created exemptions for animal drugs (Georgia, Iowa, West Virginia), veterinary services (Iowa), and grooming services performed by a licensed veterinarian (Nebraska).
States have begun to address the unwanted horse problem which was created by federal legislation banning horse processing facilities. States adopted resolutions and bills which (1) encourage the continuation of and urge that restrictions be lifted on horse processing facilities, (2) urge the U.S. Congress to oppose federal legislation that interferes with a state's ability to direct the transport or processing of horses, (3) create a crime of animal abandonment for owners who leave horses at a location without providing minimum care, and (4) create an amnesty program allowing horse owners to turn over horses to certain governmental agencies if the owner is no longer able to care for the horse.
State legislatures and regulatory bodies have introduced and adopted bills and regulations concerning veterinary technicians and veterinary licensure. States adopted bills relating to education, continuing education, examination, eligibility, license renewal, and practice requirements for veterinary technicians and veterinarians.
For more details on specific legislation or regulations, see below for a comprehensive report organized by topic.
View mid-year report (PDF)
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