BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1584| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 1584 Author: Padilla (D) Amended: 8/14/08 Vote: 21 SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEVEL. COMMITTEE : 5-3, 4/14/08 AYES: Ridley-Thomas, Calderon, Corbett, Simitian, Yee NOES: Aanestad, Denham, Harman NO VOTE RECORDED: Florez SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-5, 4/28/08 AYES: Torlakson, Cedillo, Corbett, Florez, Kuehl, Ridley-Thomas, Simitian, Yee NOES: Cox, Aanestad, Dutton, Runner, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Ashburn, Oropeza SENATE FLOOR : 21-15, 5/12/08 AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Ducheny, Florez, Kehoe, Kuehl, Lowenthal, Migden, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Perata, Ridley-Thomas, Romero, Scott, Simitian, Steinberg, Torlakson, Wiggins, Yee NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Battin, Cogdill, Correa, Cox, Denham, Dutton, Harman, Hollingsworth, Maldonado, Margett, McClintock, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Machado, Oropeza, Runner, Vincent ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-27, 8/18/08 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Veterinary medicine: fees SOURCE : Veterinary Medical Board CONTINUED SB 1584 Page 2 DIGEST : This bill increases the fee amount charged for veterinarian licensing, registered veterinary technician registration, registered veterinary technician schools and creates new fees to be paid by these licensees for services provided to them by the Veterinary Medical Board. Assembly amendments require the Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) to appoint a voluntary, advisory, multidisciplinary committee to assist, advise, and make recommendations for the implementation of rules and regulations necessary to ensure proper administration of the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act, specify the membership terms and the composition of the Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) committee, amends the RVT exam eligibility requirements, require the VMB to prioritize its investigative and prosecutorial resources, establish a priority list for investigative and prosecutorial resources, require the VMB to report annually and make publicly available the number of disciplinary actions it takes, as specified, specify that veterinarians designated by the VMB to review and investigate allegations must be employed by the state either full time or part time and have not been out of practice for more than four years, require the VMB to provide a notice of deficiencies and a reasonable time for compliance prior to further action for any violations found as a result of an inspection, permit the VMB to issue an interim suspension in case where violations represent an immediate threat to the public and animal health and safety, and require the VMB to consider, in making regulations covering the assessment of civil penalties, whether a violation is minor. ANALYSIS : Existing Law 1. Provides for the licensing and regulation of veterinarians, registered veterinary technicians and veterinary hospitals by the VMB in the Department of Consumer Affairs. 2. Requires the VMB to establish an advisory committee on SB 1584 Page 3 issues pertaining to the practice of veterinary technicians, to be known as the RVT Committee. 3. Provides that the duties of the RVT Committee include, among other things, advising and assisting the VMB in: A. The examination of applicants for veterinary technician registration. B. The inspection and approval of schools. C. Developing regulations to establish animal health care tasks and the appropriate degree of supervision. 4. Requires the VMB to set (by regulation) and collect various fees, including, but not limited to, a licensing examination fee for veterinarians, a registration fee for veterinary technicians, a diversion program registration fee, and an application fee for schools seeking approval of a registered veterinary technician curriculum. 5. Requires the VMB to establish diversion program (Program) criteria and provides that the Program cannot accept more than 100 participants. Additionally, authorizes the VMB to establish diversion evaluation committees (DEC) and provides for the DEC composition and duties. This bill: 1.Requires the VMB to appoint a voluntary, advisory, multidisciplinary committee to assist, advise, and make recommendations for the implementation of rules and regulations necessary to ensure proper administration of the Act. The committee shall consist of no more than nine members, appointed by the VMB. 2.Specifies the membership terms and the composition of the RVT committee. 3.Amends the RVT exam eligibility requirements to permit that education or a combination of education and SB 1584 Page 4 clinical experience may constitute the equivalent of the current graduation requirement, as specified. 4.Increases the regulatory ceiling on certain fees for RVTs, veterinarians, and veterinary premises. 5.Requires a school or institution to pay for the actual costs of an onsite inspection conducted by the VMB, as specified. 6.Requires every person registered by the VMB who changes his/her mailing address to notify the VMB of the new mailing address within 30 days of the change. States that the VMB shall not renew the registration of any person who fails to comply with this section unless the person pays a penalty fee. 7.Requires the VMB to prioritize its investigative and prosecutorial resources to ensure that the most problematic veterinarians and RVTs are identified and disciplined expeditiously. 8. Establishes a priority list for investigative and prosecutorial resources. 9.Requires the VMB to report annually and make publicly available the number of disciplinary actions it takes, as specified. 10.Requires VMB to provide a notice of deficiencies and a reasonable time for compliance prior to further action for any violations found as a result of an inspection. 11.Permits the VMB to issue an interim suspension in case where violations represent an immediate threat to the public and animal health and safety. 12.Requires the VMB to consider, in making regulations covering the assessment of civil penalties, whether a violation is minor. Background Funding Board Operations . The VMB licenses and regulates SB 1584 Page 5 approximately 17,000 licensees including, approximately 9,800 veterinarians, 4,200 registered veterinary technicians and 2,600 veterinary hospitals. The VMB has remained within its statutory limits and has not sought legislation to increase the fee ceilings since 1992 (in over 16 years). According to the VMB, it increased its fees through the regulatory process on October 1, 2007, to the current statutory maximums, not to fund new programs, but to cover increasing costs of existing business operations. The fee increase in October 2007 was minimal due to the current statutory fee ceilings and is not sufficient to offset a dwindling Contingent Fund. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis: 1. Annual special fund revenues of $480,000 from increased fees ($440,000) and additional citations ($40,000). [VMB Contingent Fund] 2. Special fund costs of $170,000 in 2009-10 and $150,000 in 2010-11 for one position to support the advisory committee and for presumed additional citations and appeals related to a more targeted enforcement program. SUPPORT : (Verified 5/20/08) California Veterinary Medical Board (source) California Veterinary Medical Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the Veterinary Medical Board, it understands that fee increases impact business, the profession and consumers and does not propose increases without considering all options. However, now, based on projections of a Contingent Fund deficiency by the year 2011-2012, outlined in fund conditions projections prepared by the Budget office of the Department of Consumer Affairs, the VMB believes it must request an increase in its fee ceilings. The VMB states that the proposed fee ceilings are based on an annualized inflation rate of three SB 1584 Page 6 percent. The VMB is mandated by law to maintain a minimum of three months of revenue in its Contingent Fund to insure funding for existing programs and to offset increases in the cost of doing business. For example, according to the VMB, in the last few years the hourly rate for the Office of the Attorney General increased from $139 to $158, increasing the annual expenditure from $240,000 to $425,000. The VMB points out that other expenditure increases over the last few years include examination development costs, employee compensation and benefits, retirement, worker's compensation, rent and advancements in information technology systems. Additionally, a transition to online licensing, scheduled to begin in 2010, required a conversion to an automated Applicant Tracking System and a one-time cost in 2007 of $83,000. Operating cost increases are deducted directly out of the VMB's Contingent Fund. According to the VMB, it is continually evaluating ways to control or reduce expenditures and maintain a viable Contingent Fund. Currently, the VMB has reduced the number of examination development workshops each year and is considering the possibility of using the national veterinary technician examination instead of a California examination. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Aghazarian, Arambula, Beall, Berg, Brownley, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeSaulnier, Dymally, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Huffman, Jones, Karnette, Krekorian, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Ma, Mendoza, Mullin, Nava, Nunez, Parra, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Solorio, Swanson, Torrico, Wolk, Bass NOES: Adams, Anderson, Benoit, Berryhill, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Fuller, Gaines, Garcia, Horton, Houston, Huff, Jeffries, Keene, La Malfa, Maze, Nakanishi, Niello, Plescia, Silva, Smyth, Spitzer, Strickland, Tran, Villines, Walters NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee, Garrick, Sharon Runner, Soto SB 1584 Page 7 JJA:do 8/21/08 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****