BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 316
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
316 (Maienschein)
As Amended September 1, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(May 18, 2015) |SENATE: | 36-2 |(September 2, |
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Original Committee Reference: B. & P.
SUMMARY: Permits a veterinarian licensed in another state to be
called to California by a law enforcement agency or animal
control agency to attend to cases of animal cruelty or animal
fighting as requested, and permits the establishment of
temporary shelters for the purpose of assisting in the
investigation. Specifically, this bill:
1)Exempts, from licensure requirements, a regularly licensed
veterinarian who is called from another state by a law
enforcement agency or animal control agency to attend to cases
that are a part of an investigation of an alleged violation of
federal or state animal fighting or animal cruelty laws within
a single geographic location if the law enforcement agency or
animal control agency determines that it is necessary to call
the veterinarian in order for the agency or officer to conduct
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the investigation in a timely manner.
2)Provides that when determining whether it is necessary to call
a veterinarian from another state, consideration must be given
to the availability of veterinarians in California to attend
to these cases.
3)Requires the agency, department or officer that calls a
veterinarian to this state to notify the VMB (Veterinarian
Medical Board).
4)Permits a regularly licensed veterinarian who is called from
another state to attend to cases that are a part of
investigation, described in 1) above, to provide veterinary
medical care for animals that are affected by the
investigation within a temporary shelter facility, as
specified.
5)Exempts a temporary shelter or facility from premise
requirements if all of the following conditions are met:
a) The temporary shelter facility is established solely for
the purpose of investigation;
b) The temporary shelter facility provides veterinary
medical care, shelter, food and water only to animals that
are affected by the investigation;
c) The temporary shelter complies with specified sanitary
requirements;
d) The temporary shelter exists for not more than 60 days,
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unless the law enforcement agency, or animal control agency
determines a longer period of time is necessary to complete
the investigation; and,
e) Within 30 calendar days upon completion of the provision
of veterinary health care services at a temporary shelter
facility, the veterinarian called from another state by a
law enforcement agency or animal control agency to attend
to a case must file a report with the VMB containing the
date, place, type, and general description of the care
provided, along with a listing of the veterinary health
care practitioners who participated in providing that care.
6)Permits the VMB to inspect temporary facilities.
The Senate amendments delete the requirement that a temporary
shelter facility place a notice about the use of the facility,
delete the authorization for a humane officer to call a
veterinarian to California, require within 30 calendar days upon
completion of providing veterinary care services at a temporary
shelter, the veterinarian called in from another state to report
specified information to the VMB, and make other technical and
clarifying changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, no significant fiscal impact is anticipated to the
Board of Veterinary Medicine. The amendments delete the
requirement for authorization from the Board, which eliminates
the need for upgrades to the Board's licensing system.
COMMENTS: This bill is sponsored by the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). According to the
author, "Large scale animal cruelty cases like animal fighting
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busts, hoarding arrests and puppy mill raids can quickly
overwhelm a local government's resources. These cases are hard
to predict and can occur in a diverse range of locations, making
planning and budgeting very difficult. The average cruelty case
lasts about 45 to 50 days and consists of an average of 461
animals at a cost of $28 per animal per day. At 45 days, the
average cost of caring for these animals is nearly $600,000.
"Additionally, these cases can also overwhelm the local
veterinary resources. Local veterinarians play a key role in
assisting with the care of seized animals, but local
veterinarians typically have paying jobs or practices that they
must return to. This limits the amount of time they can commit
to cases like these. The combination of huge costs of care for
seized animals and the potential to deplete local veterinary
resources can be a huge deterrent for agencies wishing to
investigate a case of large scale animal cruelty in their
community."
Background. Under current law, there are a limited number of
persons who are exempt from California's veterinary licensure
requirements when practicing veterinary services in California.
Exempt individuals include persons such as veterinarians
providing services in the military, licensed veterinarians who
have been called in from out of state to assist with certain
cases, veterinarians or persons employed at the University of
California for teaching purposes or other education research and
persons employed by federal and state agencies such as the
United States Department of Agriculture and the California
Department of Food and Agriculture. Without one of these
specific exemptions, any other person practicing veterinary
medicine in California is required to have a California-issued
veterinary license. This bill seeks to add veterinarians
licensed, in good standing, in another state who are called to
California to assist in the event of a large-scale animal
cruelty or animal fighting case to be exempt from California's
licensure requirement. Only a law enforcement agency or an
animal control agency would be permitted to call a veterinarian
into California for these purposes. In addition, this bill
would permit the veterinarian licensed outside of California to
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treat animals in a temporary shelter, as long as the shelter has
only been established as a part of the investigation and abides
by specific requirements.
Consultants from Out-of-State. The exemption under Business and
Professions Code Section 4830(a)(3) governing out-of-state
veterinarians acting as consultants in California was designed
to provide California-licensed veterinarians with the
flexibility to utilize the experience of an out-of-state
veterinarian with a particular skill. According to the VMB, the
intent of the authorization to allow veterinarians from outside
of California was to enhance the practice of veterinary medicine
while limiting unlicensed practice. Veterinarians who are
called into California are not permitted to establish a practice
in state or practice on animals outside of the consultation
request without obtaining the appropriate license to practice in
California. This bill would specifically exempt from California
licensure requirements veterinarians called in by a law
enforcement agency or an animal control agency in the event of a
large-scale animal cruelty or animal fighting case. However,
this bill would require those entities to consider the
availability of a local veterinarian when determining when
outside assistance is warranted. In addition, if those entities
called-in a veterinarian from another state, they would be
required to notify the VMB.
Animal Cruelty Cases. According to the sponsor, large-scale
animal cruelty cases can overwhelm the resources of the local
authorities responding to these cases. Resource challenges are
not strictly monetary but also become challenges related to
caring for the large number of animals that most likely have
health concerns and other issues.
Animal welfare organizations like the ASPCA, among others, have
response teams in place, including veterinarians, to assist
local agencies in cruelty cases or emergency disaster situations
in other states, but often, the veterinarians are only licensed
in their home state. This bill would provide a specific
exemption to allow those veterinarians to be called to
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California in the event of a large-scale cruelty case to
practice in California without a California-issued license.
Calling-in Veterinarians. In the event of an animal cruelty or
abuse case, the entities responsible for handling these cases
are local law enforcement, animal control directors and other
local resources. These entities typically work together to
determine the appropriate steps and process for dealing with
animal cruelty or abuse cases. This bill proposes that only a
law enforcement agency or an animal control agency would be
permitted to call in veterinary assistance from out of state to
assist with a cruelty or animal fighting case investigation.
Temporary Shelters. Under current law, Business and Professions
Code Section 4853 requires all premises where veterinary
medicine is being practiced to obtain a premises permit from the
VMB. In order to obtain the premises permit, applicants must
submit an application which needs to include the type of
practice, the number of employees, the business model, and
business owner information, along with a $200 registration fee.
The VMB reports that the application process for a premises
permit takes between three and four weeks. This bill will
exempt temporary animal care shelter facilities from premises
requirements as long as the shelter provides veterinary medical
care, shelter, food and water only to the animals affected by
the investigation, the temporary shelter complies with sanitary
requirements, and the temporary shelter does not exist for
longer than 60 days.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0002003
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