BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date:May 12, 2008 |Bill No:AB |
| |1760 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas, Chair
Bill No: AB 1760Author:Galgiani
As Amended:May 6, 2008 Fiscal: Yes
SUBJECT: Veterinarians and registered veterinary
technicians.
SUMMARY: Requires the Veterinary Medical Board to offer
the state board examination at least twice a year; makes
other changes related to reciprocity and temporary
licensing requirements for out-of-state veterinarians;
clarifies the enforcement actions that may be taken against
a registered veterinarian technician; and makes other
technical and conforming changes to the Veterinary Medicine
Practice Act.
Existing law:
1)Provides for the examination, licensing, and regulation
of approximately 9,800 veterinarians and 4, 300
registered veterinary technicians by the Veterinary
Medical Board (VMB) in the Department of Consumer
Affairs.
2)Establishes the VMB which consists of seven members,
three of whom are public members and four of whom are
licensed veterinarians, and requires the Governor to
appoint the four licensed veterinarians and the Senate
Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly to
each appoint a public member.
3)Requires that the VMB shall, by means of examination,
ascertain the professional qualifications of all
applicants for licensure to practice veterinary medicine
in this state and shall issue a license to every person
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whom it finds to be qualified.
4)Requires the examination to consist of a licensing
examination that is administered on a national basis, a
state board examination, and an examination concerning
the statutes and regulations of the Veterinary Medicine
Practice Act (VMP Act) administered by the VMB.
5)Requires that the complete examination (the state board
examination) shall be given at least once each year and
shall include all such subjects as are included in the
curricula of veterinary colleges and may include such
other subjects as the VMB may by rule authorize and
direct.
6)Provides that the VMB may waive the examination
requirements as specified and issue a temporary license
valid for one year to an applicant to practice veterinary
medicine under the supervision of another licensed
California veterinarian if the applicant meets the
following requirements:
6) Holds a current valid license from another state
and has practiced clinical veterinary medicine for a
minimum of four years.
6) Is not under investigation nor been charged with an
offense or subject to administrative disciplinary
action by an agency or been subject to a judgment that
the VMB determines constitutes evidence of
incompetence or negligence.
6) Has no physical or mental impairment related to
drugs or alcohol and has not been found mentally
incompetent.
6) Has passed the national licensing examination.
6) Graduated from a veterinary college recognized by
the VMB.
6) Passes an examination concerning the statutes and
regulations of the VMP Act administered by the VMB.
6) Agrees to complete an approved educational
curriculum, as specified, on regionally specific and
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important diseases and conditions during the period of
temporary licensure.
7)Provides that the VMB shall issue a temporary license
valid for one year to an applicant accepted into a
qualifying internship or residency program that meets
specified requirements including graduation from a
veterinary college or possess a certificate issued by the
Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates.
This bill:
1)Specifies that the Governor appoint five members to the
VMB, including one public member.
2)Requires that the state board examination for licensure
as a veterinarian be given at least twice each year.
3)Provides for purposes of reciprocity, that the VMB shall
waive the examination requirements as specified and issue
a license (rather than a temporary license) to an
applicant to practice veterinary medicine if the
applicant meets the following requirements:
3) Holds a current valid license from another state
and has practiced clinical veterinary medicine for a
minimum of two (rather than four) years and completed
a minimum of 2,944 hours of clinical practice.
3) As stated in b), c), d), e),and f) of item #6
above.
3) Completes an approved educational curriculum, as
specified, on regionally specific and important
diseases and conditions during the period of temporary
licensure.
4)Provides that the VMB shall issue a temporary license
valid for one year to an applicant to practice veterinary
medicine under the supervision of a California licensed
veterinarian if the applicant meets the following
requirements:
4) As stated in a) of Item #3 above and b), c), d),
e), f) of item #6 above.
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4) Agrees to complete an approved educational
curriculum, as specified, on regionally specific and
important diseases and conditions during the period of
temporary licensure.
5)Provides that upon completion of the educational
curriculum, a temporary licensee shall submit an
application for full licensure accompanied by
verification of completion of that curriculum and all
applicable fees.
6)Provides that a certificate issued by the Program for the
Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalency may also
be used to qualify for a license, or a temporary license
for an applicant who is in an internship or residency
program, if they meet other requirements as specified.
7)Clarifies when the VMB may place on probation, revoke or
suspend the registration of a veterinary technician or
take other enforcement action as necessary against a
registered veterinary technician, including a citation
and fine.
8)Makes other various technical and conforming changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis of March 24, 2008:
1)This bill would increase licensing revenue by
approximately $25,000 in the first year, $50,000 in the
second year, and continue to grow by $25,000 a year as
100 new veterinarians are licensed each year.
2)Costs associated with computer programming changes and
workload increases would be approximately $85,000 from
2008-09, with an on-going annual cost of $70,000.
3)The Department of Consumer Affairs estimates this measure
will result in an increase of 100 veterinarians in
California each year. Currently, approximately 12% of
veterinarians treat farm animals. If the purpose of this
bill is to attract more agricultural veterinarians, this
legislation would result in approximately 12 more of
these veterinarians in the state each year with a net
annual cost of $3,750 per newly licensed agricultural
veterinarian.
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COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. The sponsor of this measure is the Western
United Dairymen (Sponsor) . As explained by the Sponsor,
the dairy industry is in short supply of "large animal"
veterinarians and has been for several years. Their
membership believes the overall shortage is due not only
to lack of graduates, but lack of incentives for
graduates to enter the veterinarian medical field. Large
animals, in particular dairy animals, require specific
and constant attention to their health and safety.
The Sponsor indicates that this bill makes simple
adjustments to the number of tests made available to
veterinarian school graduates, thereby providing an
"incentive" for graduates to test and license in
California, and hopefully to stay and practice here.
This measure will also encourage graduates, or applicants
for a license [from other states] to seek testing in
California. The Sponsor argues that the measure covers
the issuance of a temporary license and seeks to provide
timing alternatives for the applicant, providing somewhat
of a competitive incentive to test and practice in
California as opposed to locating their practices in
competing states.
The Author points out that this bill would authorize the
VMB to offer the licensing examination at least twice a
year, which would allow a greater number of candidates to
test for their license. The bill would also provide
different paths for licensed veterinarians from other
states to receive reciprocity. There are those
veterinarians who could apply for a license in California
and continue to practice in their state of origin and
then once they met all requirements, including
educational curriculum on regionally specific and
important diseases of California, they would qualify for
full licensure. Others who wish to practice immediately
in California would still be able to obtain a temporary
license and practice under the supervision of a
California licensed veterinarian while they are meeting
the educational curriculum requirements.
2.Background.
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2) Veterinarian Shortage. According to the Author,
there is a current veterinarian shortage in
California, particularly affecting the agricultural
communities. According to the California Veterinary
Medical Association , there are 7,500 practicing
veterinarians in California, with another 222
graduating from veterinary school. As the Author
explains, part of the shortage problem is the fact
that current law only requires the VMB to offer the
licensing examination once a year, thus driving
otherwise qualified veterinarians to leave the state
in order to test for their license and find
employment. The Author also argues that current law
is also very cumbersome to practicing veterinarians in
other states who would like to practice in California.
The current national shortfall of at least 1,500
veterinarians could grow to 15,000 or more over the
next 20 years. The shortage is especially dire in
California where there are about 17 veterinarians for
every 100,000 people, which is far below the national
average of 27 per 100,000. Further, as the Author
states, this current lack of licensed veterinarians
has a direct effect on the safety of our food supply.
While the demand for "food supply veterinarians" (Farm
Animal Veterinarians) is predicted to increase 12 to
13 percent in the next eight years, research shows
that there will most likely be a 4 to 5 percent
decrease of these types of veterinarians obtaining
jobs in our agricultural and farming communities.
Another reason for fewer food supply veterinarians is
that most veterinarians gravitate toward treating
small animals for various reasons. Primarily, small
animal veterinarians generally make more money from
pet owners that are willing to pay for expensive
treatments for sick or injured animals. Ranchers, on
the other hand, will tend to choose to slaughter a
sick or injured animal rather than invest in costly
veterinary care. For veterinarians with large student
loans, the ability to make a larger income to pay off
those loans could become a necessity. In addition to
the higher earning potential, working with small
animals can be less physically demanding for a
veterinarian. Treating animals that weigh over 1,000
pounds day in and day out can take a significant toll
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on a veterinarian's health.
The shortage of food supply veterinarians could also
directly affect the safety of the nation's food supply
because it is veterinarians that are responsible for
monitoring the health of livestock. The recent recall
of 143 million pounds of beef from Hallmark/Weston
Meat Packing Company in San Bernardino County has
greatly increased the awareness of the vulnerability
of the food supply and the need for increased
oversight and for more veterinarians willing to
provide the care and oversight of these animals.
2) Other State's Legislation. Currently, 8 states
(including Ohio and Pennsylvania) are attempting to
address the shortage of agricultural veterinarians by
offering student loan forgiveness programs and 8 other
states are considering similar legislation to provide
easier reciprocity.
2) Previous Legislation. SB 2003 (Knight, Chapter
1070, Statutes of 1998) required the VMB to issue a
temporary license to practice veterinary medicine,
changed the requirements for the examination of
applicants, required and authorized the VMB to set and
appropriate the examination and licensing fees, and
created a one-year temporary license for applicants
accepted into a qualifying internship or residency
programs.
SB 969 (Aanestand, 2007) provided similar changes
related to reciprocity and temporary licensing
requirements for out-of-state veterinarians. This
language was removed from the measure in Senate
Appropriations Committee last year. There was concern
over a fee increase for the examination and the
temporary license which would be necessary to cover
the workload of the VMB.
2) Related Legislation this Session. SB 1205
(Aanestad) establishes an advisory committee to the
Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) to make recommendations
to the VMB regarding the implementation of rules and
regulations by the VMB; makes changes to the
registered veterinary technicians committee; clarifies
that the equivalent of education considered by the VMB
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must be educational or a combination of education and
clinical experience; prioritizes cases handled by the
VMB for purposes of investigation and prosecution;
provides reasonable opportunity for a veterinarian to
comply with any deficiencies found during the VMB's
inspection of their premises; and, for the VMB to cite
for minor infractions, rather than for negligence when
a minor violation occurs. This measure failed passage
in this Committee on April 14, 2008.
SB 1584 (Padilla) would allow an increase in the maximum
amounts that the VMB may set for certain specified
fees and would delete the provision of existing law
requiring the VMB to set and collect a fee for the
national licensing examination, and would require an
application fee to be paid by a school or institution
seeking approval of RVT curriculum. SB 1584 is set
to be heard also in this hearing. This measure passed
this Committee by a vote of 5 to 3 and is currently on
Third Reading on the Senate Floor.
3.Arguments in Support. The Veterinary Medical Board (VMB)
supports the changes in this measure to require the state
board's licensing examination to be given twice each
year, to update the reciprocity licensing requirements
and to include updates on various other sections of the
VMP Act, including the VMB's enforcement provisions.
The California Veterinary Medical Association is in
support of this measure and believes that this bill will
provide more opportunities for students at UC Davis and
Western University of Veterinary Medicine in Southern
California to take the VMB's examination closer to
graduation from veterinary school by providing the exam
at least twice annually. The CVMA also believes that
lowering the clinical experience requirement to two years
with a minimum of 2,944 hours of clinical practice versus
the current four-year requirement, will remove an
additional barrier for veterinarians wanting to practice
in California.
The California Farm Bureau (CFB) is in support of this
measure and also indicates from their standpoint that
there is a growing shortage of veterinarians in
production agriculture, academia, and regulatory medicine
throughout the U.S. and that the CFB believes this bill
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can be a piece towards helping solve the growing shortage
of veterinarians. According to the CFB, veterinarians
are critical for preventative herd health medicine and
for treatment of sick and injured livestock; they not
only handle diseases that affect animals but also deal
with diseases that are transferable between humans and
animals. Veterinarians are also critical in detecting
and in responding to emerging infectious disease
outbreaks such as West Nile Virus and Avian Influenza.
With this in mind, as CFB states, the current
veterinarian shortage is even more alarming.
The California Cattlemen's Association (CCA) is in
support of this measure and state that their beef cattle
producers are also experiencing a shortage of food animal
veterinarians and that their producers feel the impact of
this shortage in many ways. Some are experiencing delays
in scheduling of routine services such as pregnancy
checks while others may have trouble getting routine
health testing that must be completed by veterinarians
while others may be experiencing delays in other types of
treatment areas. CCA believes that this bill begins to
alleviate a bit of this pressure by streamlining the
process by which veterinarians are able to become
licensed in California and is a first step in ensuring
that they have the necessary food animal veterinarians
needed to perform vital services, including those
performed by state and federal agencies involved in food
safety and inspection programs.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
Western United Dairymen (Sponsor)
California Cattlemen's Association
California Farm Bureau
California Veterinary Medical Association
California Veterinary Medical Board
Pacific Egg & Poultry Association
Opposition:
None on file as of May 8, 2008.
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Consultant: Bill Gage