BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 317
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Susan Bonilla, Chair
AB 317
(Maienschein) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Veterinary medicine: temporary shelter facility.
SUMMARY: Exempts an organization, that establishes a temporary
shelter facility for the purpose of providing veterinary medical
care, shelter and food and water during a state of emergency by
a veterinarian licensed in another state, from a premises
registration permit if the shelter meets certain conditions,
including posting a notice about the use of a temporary shelter,
complying with sanitary standards and ceasing operation within
60 days of establishment.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Permits a health care practitioner licensed in another state
or territory of the United States (US) who offers or provides
health care for which he or she is licensed, if the health
care is provided only during a state of emergency as
specified, when an emergency overwhelms the response
capabilities of California health care practitioners and only
upon the request of the Director of the State Emergency
Medical Services Authority (EMSA). (Business and Professions
Code (BPC) Section 900)
2)Requires all premises where veterinary medicine, veterinary
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dentistry and veterinary surgery are being practiced to be
registered with the Veterinary Medical Board (VMB). (BPC
Section 4853)
3)Defines "premises" as a building, kennel, mobile unit or
vehicle as specified. (BPC Section 4853)
4)Requires all premises where veterinary medicine, veterinary
dentistry or veterinary surgery is practiced, and all
instruments, apparatus and apparel used in connection with
those practices, to be kept clean and sanitary at all times
and conform to minimum standards established by the VMB. (BPC
Section 4854)
5)Authorizes the VMB to suspend or revoke registration of a
veterinary premise when the licensee manager, as specified,
ceases to become responsible for management of the registered
premises and no substitution is available, or when the
licensee manager's license has been suspended or revoked.
(BPC Section 4853.6(a)(b))
6)Permits the VMB to inspect, at any time, the premises on which
veterinary medicine, veterinary dentistry or veterinary
surgery is practiced. However, the VMB's inspection authority
does not extend to premises that are not registered with the
VMB. (BPC Section 4809.5)
7)Defines "State of war emergency" to mean the condition which
exists immediately, with or without a Governor's proclamation,
whenever the state or nation is attacked by an enemy of the US
or upon a warning from the federal government indicating that
such an enemy attack is probable or imminent. (Government
Code (GC) Section 8558).
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8)Defines "State of emergency" to mean the duly proclaimed
existence of conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the
safety of persons and property within the state caused by such
conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic,
riot, drought, sudden and severe energy shortage, plant or
animal infestation or disease, the Governor's warning of an
earthquake or volcanic prediction, an earthquake, or other
conditions, other than conditions resulting from a labor
controversy or conditions causing a "state of war emergency,"
which, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be
beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and
facilities of any single county, city and county, or city and
require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions
to combat, or with respect to regulated energy utilities, a
sudden and severe energy shortage requires extraordinary
measures beyond the authority vested in the California Public
Utilities Commission. (GC Section 8558)
9)Defines "Local emergency" to mean the duly proclaimed
existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the
safety of persons and property within the territorial limits
of a county, city and county, or city, caused by such
conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic,
riot, drought, sudden and severe energy shortage, plant or
animal infestation or disease, the Governor's warning of an
earthquake or volcanic prediction, an earthquake, or other
conditions, other than conditions resulting from a labor
controversy, which are or are likely to be beyond the control
of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of that
political subdivision and require the combined forces of other
political subdivisions to combat, or with respect to regulated
energy utilities, a sudden and severe energy shortage requires
extraordinary measures beyond the authority vested in the
California Public Utilities Commission. (GC Section 8558)
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THIS BILL:
1)Exempts an organization that establishes a temporary shelter
facility, in order to provide veterinary medical care,
shelter, and food and water during a state of emergency by a
veterinarian, who is regularly licensed from another state,
from a premises registration requirement if the following
conditions are met:
a) A notice is posted in a conspicuous location stating
that the temporary shelter facility is being used for the
diagnosis and treatment of animals affected by the state of
emergency and that the diagnosis and treatment is provided
by a veterinarian who is licensed in another state or
territory of the US;
b) The temporary shelter facility complies with sanitary
requirements, as specified; and,
c) The temporary shelter ceases operations within 60 days
after its establishment unless the VMB grants an extension
of this date to protect the public health and safety of the
animals within the temporary shelter.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). According to
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the author, "?an overwhelming number of Americans reported on
a recent poll that they would not evacuate their homes during
a disaster if it means leaving their pets behind. It is
important that we authorize animal welfare responders to
establish temporary facilities to ensure the health and safety
of Californians as well as their animals.
Mid-disaster is no time to try to grapple with these
logistical issues - [this bill] will make California prepared
to evacuate every person and every pet when confronted by our
next wildfire, flood, mudslide or other major disaster."
2)Background. The author notes that 2015 marks the 10th
anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The disaster highlighted
awareness across the nation about the need to deploy resources
to provide services for displaced or lost animals including
proper care and shelter during an emergency. According to the
sponsor, in the event of Hurricane Sandy, many individuals had
to move to temporary shelters which did not always allow
animals. The ASPCA reports that it established temporary
shelters to house those animals along with stray animals.
This bill aims to make it clear that an organization seeking
to establish a temporary shelter facility, for the purpose of
animal care during a state of emergency, as determined by the
appropriate authority, will be exempt from the current
premises requirements for veterinary care facilities as long
as specific conditions are met.
Veterinary Medical Board. The VMB's mission is to protect
consumers and animals through development and maintenance of
professional standards, licensing of veterinarians, registered
veterinary technicians and premises, and diligent enforcement
of the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act. To that end, the VMB
licenses and regulates veterinarians, registered veterinary
technicians, veterinary hospitals and mobile practices.
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Under current law, BPC Section 4853 requires all premises
where veterinary medicine is practiced to obtain a premises
permit from the VMB. There are currently over 3000 licensed
premises in California and more than 11,000 licensed
veterinarians. 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, business owner information and a $200 registration fee.
The VMB reports that the application process for a premises
permit takes between three and four weeks. In the case of a
declared state of emergency, this process could be viewed as
prohibitive for organizations to apply for and receive the
appropriate premises license currently required to provide
veterinary services.
In order to alleviate the potential barrier for organizations
to establish temporary shelters for the sole purpose of
veterinary medical care, shelter, food and water for emergency
animal assistance, this bill would exempt organizations from
having a premises permit as long as they post a notice that
the shelter is temporary, it complies with the sanitation
standards under existing law and the shelter ceases to exist
within 60 days after its establishment unless the VMB grants a
specific exemption.
As highlighted on the website,
http://www.ready.gov/caring-animals , most shelters for people
do not allow animals due to public health reasons; therefore,
pet emergency planning is necessary. As written, in order for
a temporary shelter to be established without the proper
premises permit, this bill would require a declaration of a
state of emergency order as defined in GC Section 8858.
Emergency Declarations. The Governor has the authority to
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issue emergency declarations for state of emergencies and
state of war emergencies. Local emergencies are declared by
the local governing body of a city, county or city and county.
Under current law, emergencies may be declared for multiple
reasons, including fires, floods, earthquakes, and storms or
riots, among others. Under the provisions of this bill, an
organization would be authorized to establish a temporary
shelter and be exempt from the premises requirement for any
state of emergency declaration ordered as defined in GC 8558.
Disasters and Animals. As noted, the Hurricane Katrine
disaster of 2005 heightened the awareness and need for
effective emergency plans at the local, state and federal
level, including emergency plans for pets. As a result, the
Federal Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of
2006 was passed, which amended the Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act to include that state and local
emergency preparedness planning address the needs of
individuals with household pets and service animals following
a major disaster or emergency. In addition, the need for pet
care in the event of emergencies led several animal welfare
and animal care organizations to establish disaster response
teams to provide emergency assistance including the ASCPA and
the Veterinary Medical Association among others.
In the event of a declared state of emergency, this bill would
authorize temporary shelter facilities for the purpose of
providing veterinary medical care, shelter and food and water
to operate in California for a limited period of time without
a premises permit as required for all other animal veterinary
care services.
3)Current Related Legislation. AB 316 (Maienschein) of the
current legislative session, permits a veterinarian licensed
in another state to be called into California by law
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enforcement, animal control or a humane officer, 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. STATUS: This bill
is pending in the Assembly Committee on Business and
Professions.
4)Previous Related Legislation. AB 1810 (Hayashi), Chapter 538,
Statutes of 2010, exempted from liability veterinarians or
registered veterinarian technicians who provide services
during any state of war emergency, a state of emergency, or
local emergency, among numerous other provisions.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
writes in support, "[this bill] clarifies existing disaster
response law to ensure that veterinarians licensed in another
state that have been called on by California to respond to a
declared emergency have the ability to establish temporary
animal shelters. [BPC Section] 900 authorizes the CalEMSA to
request health professionals from other states to assist during
a declared emergency. However, it is unclear whether that
section authorizes veterinarians to establish temporary shelters
to house displaced animals."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:
None on file.
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POLICY ISSUE:
As currently written, this bill will exempt organizations that
establish a temporary shelter facility to provide veterinary
medical care, shelter, food and water during a state declared
emergency by a veterinarian licensed in another state to be
exempt from the premises permit required by existing law.
However, it is unclear if an organization that establishes a
temporary facility for veterinary medical care after a declared
emergency would be exempt from the premises requirement if the
organization used California-licensed veterinarians. The author
may wish to consider clarifying that a temporary shelter
established after a declaration of an emergency could be exempt
from the premises permit if they used a California-licensed
veterinarian as well.
AMENDMENT:
As currently written, this bill permits a temporary shelter to
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exist for the sole purpose of providing veterinary medical care
in the event of a state-declared emergency and permits the care
of those animals to be conducted by a veterinarian who is
regularly licensed in another state. In order to make it clear
that the veterinarian practicing from another state has an
active license and has not been disciplined, the author may wish
to include a provision that the veterinary license be in good
standing and not be subject to disciplinary actions in another
state.
On page 2, line 7, after "licensed" insert: in good standing
REGISTERED SUPPORT:
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(sponsor)
Contra Costa Humane Society
RedRover
Tony La Russ's Animal Rescue Foundation
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REGISTERED OPPOSITION:
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301