BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Tom Torlakson, Chairman

                                           969 (Aanestad)
          
          Hearing Date:  5/21/07          Amended: 5/16/07
          Consultant:  Bob Franzoia       Policy Vote: B,P&ED 6-0
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          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: SB 969 would reduce the requirements for a  
          veterinarian to obtain a temporary license to practice in  
          California by requiring the Veterinary Medicine Board (VMB) to  
          waive specific clinical practice requirements relating to period  
          and hours of practice.  The bill would require the VMB to waive  
          the exam requirements and issue a license to a person who agrees  
          to complete an approved educational curriculum on regionally  
          specific and important diseases and conditions during the first  
          year of licensure.  The bill would, until January 2102,  
          authorize a registered veterinary technician and an unregistered  
          assistant to administer a drug, except for the induction of  
          anesthesia, under the direct or indirect supervision of a  
          licensed veterinarian. 
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          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
           Major Provisions         2007-08      2008-09       2009-10     Fund
           Temporary veterinary license      $76         $65       $65  
          ongoing                Special*
          Revenue                +$9        +$18        +$18      Special*
          * Veterinary Medical Board Contingent Fund 
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          ____
          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill would require the VMB to waive  
          examination requirements and issue a temporary license to an  
          applicant who (1) has either graduated from a veterinary college  
          recognized by the board or possesses a certificate issued by a  
          specified commission or by the Program for Assessment of  
          Educational Equivalence and, (2) within three years immediately  
          preceding filing and application, has practiced clinical  
          veterinary medicine for a minimum of two years and completed a  
          minimum of 2,944 hours of clinical practice.  

          Beginning 2007-08, the VMB will have a reserve of $618,000  
          (equal to 3.3 months of operation).  By 2011-10, the reserve  
          will be negative.  This bill, which will impose new licensing  
          and enforcement workload associated with issuing an estimated  










          100 new temporary veterinary licenses annually, will exacerbate  
          VMB revenue problems.

          Under Business and Professions Code 4905 (d), the fee for the  
          Veterinary Medicine Practice Act exam, which is set by  
          regulation in an amount the VMB determines reasonably necessary  
          to provide sufficient funding, is capped at $50.  The fee, which  
          is currently set at $35, is scheduled to increase in September  
          2007 to the cap.  Under this same section (4905 (g)), the fee  
          for a temporary license is capped at $125.  Because of the  
          increased costs associated with offering more Veterinary  
          Medicine Practice Act exams and processing more temporary  
          licenses, staff recommends (1) the statutory cap on the exam be  
          increased to $100 and, (2) the statutory cap on the temporary  
          license be increased to $250.  Though increasing the caps will  
          enable the VMB to recover some fee revenue to compensate for the  
          additional requirements placed on the VMB by the provisions of  
          the bill, no fee increases will occur unless the VMB adopts the  
          necessary regulations.