BILL ANALYSIS
AB 107
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 107 (Galgiani) - As Introduced: January 12, 2009
Policy Committee: Business and
Professions Vote: 10 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes to the Veterinary Medicine
Practice Act and the Veterinary Medical Board (VMB), which
governs veterinarians practicing in California. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires the governor to appoint one public member to the VMB.
2)Requires the VMB to waive the examinations requirements for
out-of-state veterinarians who wish to practice in California
and meet certain requirements.
3)Requires the VMB to offer a licensing examination at least
twice a year.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Costs associated with computer programming changes and
workload increases would be approximately $110,000 from the
Veterinary Medical Board Contingent Fund for 2009-10 with an
on-going annual cost of $70,000 from the same fund.
2)This bill would increase licensing revenue by approximately
$25,000 in the first and second years, growing to $50,000 in
2011-12 and continuing to grow by $25,000 a year as 100 new
veterinarians are licensed each year.
3)The Department of Consumer Affairs estimates this will result
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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
12 more of these veterinarians in the state each year with a
net annual cost of $3,750 per newly licensed agricultural
veterinarian.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is primarily designed to increase the
number of veterinarians and veterinary technicians who treat
farm animals in California. The sponsors, the Western United
Dairymen (WUD) and the California Cattlemen's Association,
that there is a lack of agricultural veterinarians in
California, which is adversely impacts, the dairy industry.
They believe contend shortages are not only due to a decline
in the number of graduates, but also because there are no
incentives for large animal/agricultural veterinarians to
practice in California.
According to the California Veterinary Medical Association
(CVMA), there are approximately 7,500 veterinarians in
California and 222 graduate from veterinary schools in the
state each year. The author notes that in order to combat the
shortage of agricultural veterinarians it is critical that the
state find a way to keep veterinarians who graduate from
California's veterinary schools, and to attract veterinarians
from other states.
This bill provides a modest incentive for veterinarians by
requiring the VMB to offer the licensing exam more often and
by waiving examination requirements for out-of-state
veterinarians who wish to relocate to California. However,
these incentives are not specifically targeted to agricultural
veterinarians; they are available to all veterinarians wishing
to practice in the state.
2)Large-Animal Veterinarian Shortage . The nation is currently
facing a shortage of large-animal veterinarians who treat farm
animals. According to recent studies conducted for the
American Veterinary Medical Association, it is expected that
the demand for "food supply" (agricultural) veterinarians will
increase by as much as 14 percent by 2016 and that at the same
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time the nation will have an ongoing decrease of 4 to 5
percent annually in the number of veterinarians willing to
treat farm animals.
Most veterinarians gravitate toward treating small animals for
various reasons. Small animal veterinarians generally make
more money from pet owners who are willing to pay for
expensive treatments for sick or injured animals. Ranchers, on
the other hand, tend 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 is less physically demanding.
The shortage could directly affect the safety of the nation's
food supply as veterinarians are responsible for monitoring
the health of the livestock. The recent recall of 143 million
pounds of beef from the 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 care for these animals.
3)Other States' Legislation . Currently, eight states (including
Ohio and Pennsylvania) are attempting to address the shortage
of agricultural veterinarians by offering student loan
forgiveness programs and eight other states are considering
similar legislation.
4)Prior Legislation . This bill is virtually identical to AB 1760
from 2008 that was vetoed due to the late passage of the
2008-09 budget. In the message the governor wrote, "I am only
signing bills that are the highest priority for California.
This bill does not meet that standard and I cannot sign it at
this time."
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081