BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Senator Jerry Hill, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 317 Hearing Date: July 6, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Maienschein | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |June 30, 2015 Amended | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Bill Gage | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Veterinary medicine: temporary shelter. SUMMARY: Exempts a temporary shelter which is operated either by a licensed veterinarian from another state, or a state licensed veterinarian, that is providing care and shelter to animals during a declared state of emergency, from having to obtain a premises registration from the Veterinary Medical Board. Existing law, the Business and Professions Code (BPC): 1)Establishes the Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) within the Department of Consumer Affairs for the purpose of administering the Veterinary Practice Act (Act). (BPC § 4800 et seq.) 2)States that it is unlawful for any person to practice veterinary medicine in California without a valid, unexpired or unrevoked license, as specified. (BPC § 4825) 3)Requires all veterinarians, actually engaged and employed by the state, or a county, city, corporation, firm or individual practicing veterinary medicine, to secure a license issued by the VMB. (BPC § 4828) 4)Exempts the following from the provisions of the Act: AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 2 of ? a) Veterinarians while serving in any armed branch of the military service of the United States or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) while actually engaged and employed in their official capacity; b) Regularly licensed veterinarians in actual consultation from other states; c) Regularly licensed veterinarians actually called from other states to attend cases in this state, but do not open an office or appoint a place to do business; d) Veterinarians employed by the University of California, as specified; e) Students in the school of veterinary medicine of the University of California or the College of Western University of Health Sciences, as specified; f) A veterinarian who is employed by the Meat and Poultry Inspection Branch of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) while actually engaged and employed in his or her official capacity; or, g) Unlicensed personnel employed by the CDFA or the USDA, as specified. (BPC § 4830) 5)Requires the VMB to establish a regular inspection program that will provide for random, unannounced inspections and that the VMB shall make every effort to inspect at least 20 percent of veterinary premises on an annual basis. (BPC § 4809.7) 6)Requires that all premises where veterinary medicine, AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 3 of ? veterinary dentistry, veterinary surgery and the various branches thereof is being practiced shall be registered with the VMB. (BPC § 4853 (a)) 7)Defines "premises" as including a building, kennel, mobile unit or vehicle, as specified. (BPC § 4853 (b)) 8)Requires that all premises where veterinary medicine, veterinary dentistry, or veterinary surgery is being practiced, and all instruments, apparatus and apparel used in connection with those practices, shall be kept clean and sanitary at all times, and shall conform to those minimum standards established by the VMB. (BPC § 4854) 9)Provides that the requirements of licensure for health care practitioners in California shall not apply in a state of emergency, as defined under Section 8558 of the Government Code, for a health care practitioner licensed from another state who offers or provides health care for which he or she is licensed, if the emergency overwhelms the response capabilities of California health care practitioners and only upon the request of the Director of the Emergency Medical Services Authority (Director). (BPC § 900 (a)) 10) Specifies that the Director shall be the medical control and shall designate the licensure and specialty health care practitioners required for the specific emergency and shall designate the areas to which they may be deployed. (BPC § 900 (b)) 11)Requires health care practitioners from another state to provide, upon request, a valid copy of a professional license and a photographic identification issue by the state in which the practitioner holds a license before being deployed by the Director. (BPC § 900 (c)) 12)Requires health care practitioners from another state to also provide to the appropriate California licensing authority verification of licensure upon request. (BPC § 900 (d)) 13)Provides that health care practitioners from another state AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 4 of ? providing health care shall have immunity from liability for services rendered as provided in Section 8659 of the Government Code. (BPC § 900 (e)) Existing law, the Government Code (GC): 1)Specifies that any veterinarian or registered veterinary technician who renders services during any state of war emergency, a state of emergency, or a local emergency at the express or implied request of any responsible state or local official or agency shall have no liability for any injury sustained by any animal by reason of those services, regardless of how or under what circumstances or by what cause those injuries are sustained; provided, however, that the immunity herein granted shall not apply in the event of a willful act or omission. (GC § 8659) 2)Defines a "state of war emergency" as a condition which exists immediately, with or without a proclamation by the Governor, whenever this state or nation is attacked by an enemy of the U.S., or upon receipt by the state of a warning by the federal government indicating that such an enemy attack is probable. (GC § 8558 (a)) 3)Defines "state of emergency" as a 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 fire, flood, earthquake, drought, etc., which by reasons of their magnitude are likely to be beyond the control of services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any single county, city, city and county and requires combined forces of mutual aid region or regions to combat such emergency. (GC § 8558 (b)) 4)Defines "local emergency" as a duly proclaimed existence of conditions or disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of a county, city, city and county caused by such conditions as specified above. (GC § 8558 (c)) This bill: 1)Provides that a temporary shelter shall be exempt from the registration requirements of Veterinary Medicine Act if all of AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 5 of ? the following requirements are met: a) The temporary shelter is established to provide care and shelter to animals displaced by a state of emergency, as defined, and only provides care and shelter to those animals, and, if possible, is located near an American Red Cross shelter, or other equivalent shelter, that houses persons displaced by the state of emergency. b) The temporary shelter is operated by either of the following: i) A veterinary health care practitioner licensed or certified by, and in good standing in another state, district or territory who is deployed to the state pursuant to the state of emergency. ii) A veterinary health care practitioner licensed or certified by, and in good standing in this state who responds to a state of emergency, as defined. c) The temporary shelter complies with the requirements for veterinary premises to maintain sanitary conditions, as specified. d) The temporary shelter does not operate beyond a 60-calendar-day period, however, the Director of Emergency Medical Services Authority may grant an extension of that period in 30-calendar-day increments until the state of emergency is concluded. e) Requires that within 30 calendar days after a temporary shelter exempt for premises registration requirements ceases operation, that the party responsible for the temporary shelter file a report with the VMB containing specified information. FISCAL EFFECT: This bill has been keyed "fiscal" by Legislative Counsel. According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations analysis dated May 6, 2015, this bill will result in minor and absorbable costs to the VMB. COMMENTS: AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 6 of ? 1. Purpose. This measure is sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). According to the Sponsors, "Hurricane Katrina and polls have clearly shown that ensuring that pets have a safe place to go during a disaster is imperative to ensuring that people evacuate out of harm's way. In the wake of Katrina a poll conducted by the Fritz Institute showed that 44% of New Orleans' residents did not initially evacuate because they would not leave their pets. Similarly, a Lake Research Partners poll commissioned by the ASPCA found that 42% of Americans would not evacuate without their pets and an American Humane Association poll found that 47% of Americans said they would refuse assistance during a disaster if it meant leaving their pet. Clearly, having the ability to ensure that veterinary responders can establish temporary shelters when they are called upon by the Director of the Emergency Medical Services Authority is critical to ensuring that all Californians evacuate out of impacted areas. This is extremely important for emergency responders who are put at more peril when they have to rescue individuals who did not initially evacuate due to a desire not to abandon their pets. Current CA law clearly authorizes veterinarians to respond from out of state when called upon, but it does not authorize temporary shelters. According to the AVMA, in 2013 roughly 53% of Californians owned pets making the need for shelters even more paramount. From Hurricane Katrina, to the devastating tornadoes in Missouri, to Hurricane Sandy, we have found that temporary shelters are critical in ensuring not only the maximum number of animals can be saved, but also ensuring the public safety of pet owners. This is why disaster responders like the American Red Cross and the CA Professional Firefighters, among others, are supporting AB 317." 2. Use of Temporary Shelters. Under Section 4853 of the BPC, it is required that all premises where veterinary medicine is being practiced to obtain a premises permit from the VMB. There are currently over 3,000 licensed premises in California. 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 to four AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 7 of ? weeks. This bill will exempt temporary animal care shelter facilities from premises requirements as long as the shelter provides care and shelter to animals displaced by a state of emergency, the shelter is operated by a licensed veterinarian from another state who is deployed to the state pursuant to the state of emergency, or by a state licensed veterinarian who is responding the state of emergency, provides clean and sanitary conditions as required by the VMB, and meets other requirements as specified. The temporary shelter shall not be allowed to exist for longer than 60 days unless it is determined that a longer period is necessary by Director of the Emergency Medical Services Authority. It should be noted, that any requirement for the VMB to inspect these temporary shelters would be difficult. Currently, the VMB can only inspect, or is required to make every effort to inspect, about 20 per cent of veterinary premises on an annual basis. Also, during two of the major floods that hit Sacramento in the 80's and 90's, temporary shelters (many of them on city or county fairgrounds) were usually established over-night to house animals without any oversight considered necessary by the VMB, and were kept open for at least 60 to 90 days to allow animal owners the opportunity to claim their animals. 3. ASPCA Involvement and Other Animal Welfare Responders to Natural Disasters. As stated by the ASPCA, "[a]s we mark the 10th anniversary this August of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it wrought on the Gulf States, there is one lesson from that disaster that is very clear: temporary animal shelters are extremely important to the success of a disaster deployment. The Louisiana SPCA estimates that roughly 8,500 animals were housed and treated at the temporary shelter facility located at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center, where many animal welfare groups, including the ASPCA, converged to assist with rescue efforts. Every morning at 5:30am the welfare groups would mobilize and head out into the disaster area to rescue stranded animals, returning at dark with animals ranging from companion animals to livestock. Rescuers were required to don heavy protective gear in order to wade through potentially hazardous waters and endure an historical stretch of 100+ degree days and equally high humidity. Overall, the Louisiana SPCA estimates that a total of 15,500 animals were rescued, when including AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 8 of ? animals that did not enter the Lamar-Dixon facility, and it is likely that well over a quarter of a million animals were impacted but not treated throughout the Gulf State impact zone." In New Orleans alone, as noted by the ASPCA, it is estimated that 104,000 pets were left behind to weather the storm - only 15%-20% of rescued animals were reunited with their owners. "The difficulty of re-uniting animals with their owners demonstrates the need to co-locate animal shelters with human shelters as much as possible. This is why the American Red Cross, a supporter of AB 317, and the ASPCA are working diligently in California to ensure that disaster response plans include the ability to co-locate whenever possible and it is why recent amendments to AB 317 include a directive to co-locate whenever feasible." Additionally, as the ASPCA states, "Katrina and subsequent polls have taught us that most Americans simply will not evacuate unless their animals can come with them, increasing the risk to emergency responders. A poll conducted by the Fritz Institute found that 44% of New Orleans' residents did not initially evacuate because they would not leave their pets. Similarly, a Lake Research Partners poll commissioned by the ASPCA found that 42% of Americans would not evacuate without their pets and an American Humane Association poll found that 47% of Americans said they would refuse assistance during a disaster if it meant leaving their pet. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, roughly 53% of Californians own pets - clearly, having the ability to ensure that veterinary responders can establish temporary shelters when they are called upon by the State is critical to ensuring the safety of not only Californians but California's brave emergency responders." Katrina, as indicated by the ASPCA, also resulted in passage of the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, which requires states seeking FEMA assistance to accommodate pets and service animals in their plans for evacuation residents facing disasters. Clearly, temporary shelters are a critical component of disaster response. Since Katrina, the ASPCA and other animal welfare responders have assisted in other major disasters around the country, AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 9 of ? including: Hurricane Gustav (2008). In August 2008, the Louisiana State Animal Response Team contacted the ASPCA to assist in pre-storm evacuation and sheltering of animals in the wake of Tropical Storm Gustav. The state declared a pre-storm state of emergency and asked the ASPCA Field Investigations and Response Team to deploy to the site of their Mega shelter in Shreveport, LA. In just the first 2 days of the ASPCA's deployment to Shreveport, the ASPCA had checked more than 800 animals into the shelter. Team members from the ASPCA and the American Humane Association took turns pulling 12 hour shifts to care for evacuated animals. The ASPCA also deployed one of our Disaster Response Trailers to the area and in total distributed more than $50,000 in emergency grants to responders for assistance with the evacuation. EF5 Tornado - Joplin, MO (2011). The Joplin tornado cut a mile wide swath of destruction that ultimately left 150 people dead and destroyed many more homes and livelihoods. As the Joplin Humane Society's shelter space was maxed out, the ASPCA assisted and created more housing space by establishing a temporary shelter facility to care for lost animals. In total, nearly 1300 animals came through the temporary shelter, many of which were reunited with their families. To aid in recovery, the ASPCA granted the Joplin Humane Society $100,000 as well as continued to assist in placing animals in new homes. In addition to the ASPCA and Joplin Humane Society, responders from across the country assisted including many from California like: the CA Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps, Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, Sacramento SPCA, Riverside County Animal Services, Tony LaRussa's ARF (Walnut Creek) to name a few. Hurricane Sandy (2012). Seven years after Katrina, the Northeast was devastated by the category 3 Hurricane Sandy, which impacted 24 states and caused widespread damage to homes, public infrastructure and even left portions of Manhattan in the dark. The ASPCA worked in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Veterinary Response Team, the NYC AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 10 of ? Veterinary Emergency Response Team, Animal Care and Control of NYC and the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals to establish and manage a temporary housing facility for animals impacted by the storm. Hundreds of animals were housed at the facility - animals ranged from strays where the owner was unknown to animals whose owners were known but who had to evacuate their homes. Many of the animals were ultimately re-united with owners while others were transferred to the ASPCA adoption center and other rescue partners. Through the ASPCA Emergency Grant Program, the ASPCA provided over 40 grants totaling over $350,000 to organizations responding to, or impacted by Hurricane Sandy. As further stated by ASPCA, California is prone to disaster, and in the wake of Katrina many reports circulated about the devastating impact a similar collapse of our levee system would have on Sacramento and the Delta region. Robert Bea, professor of engineering at U.C. Berkeley was quoted in a NY Times article as recently as 2011 stating that "[i]n terms of damage, death and long-term cost, a rupture of the delta levees would be far more destructive than what happened in Hurricane Katrina." Animals would be among the casualties, and with polls indicating a strong desire of Americans to shelter in place unless their pets can evacuate with them, temporary shelters are critically important. This past May, FEMA's National Response Coordination Center ran a disaster response exercise focused on a large magnitude earthquake centered in the Los Angeles region, as noted by the ASPCA. Early findings demonstrate that the earthquake would result in more than 300,000 animals needing care and shelter. 4.Current Related Legislation. AB 316 (Maienschein) Exempts from state licensure veterinary health care practitioners who are licensed or certified in good standing from another state and who offer veterinary services in the event of a "cruelty incident," as defined, and allows the sponsoring entity to operate a temporary shelter in order to provide care to animals seized as a result of a cruelty incident. ( Status : The bill is also set for a hearing before this AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 11 of ? Committee on July 6.) 5.Prior 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 way emergency, as state of emergency, or local emergency, among numerous other provisions. 6.Arguments in Support. According to the Sponsors the ASPCA , this measure "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. Business and Professions Code 900 currently authorizes the State Emergency Medical Services Authority to request health professionals, including veterinarians, from other states to assist during a declared emergency. However, existing law is unclear whether those veterinarians called into assist during a declared state of emergency can establish temporary shelters to house displaced animals. In fact, existing law is unclear whether even California licensed veterinarians can establish shelters during a disaster deployment - AB 317 will clarify that both in state and out of state veterinary responders can utilize temporary shelters during a declared state of emergency. The Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), the California Animal Control Directors Association , the California Professional Firefighters and other supporters of this measure indicate that one of the most significant natural disasters in our nation's history was Katrina and one that presented many difficulties for responders. The challenges faced in the Gulf States ten years ago would appear again when Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the Northeast in 2012. Sandy displaced thousands of people and pets, caused nearly 300 deaths, and plunged parts of the U.S. into darkness for weeks. Both events, in addition to other disasters across the country have also demonstrated the need to deploy resources to provide displaced or lost animals with proper care and shelter. Temporary shelters are critical for the health and welfare of Californians since many people will not evacuate during a natural disaster without their beloved animals and some actually to go back to try and retrieve their pet. Temporary shelters are critical to ensuring that people will feel safe about evacuating when they need to evacuate. Also, AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 12 of ? many shelters cannot handle all the animals impacted; this measure will ensure that both veterinarians in California and those from another state, if requested by State Emergency Medical Services Authority, can establish temporary shelters to house and treat displaced animals and assist in their return to their rightful owners. 7.Arguments in Opposition. The California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) is opposed to this measure and believes that exemption from a California veterinary premises permit should only be used when there is no other alternative. "After careful deliberation and several meetings with the bill's sponsors, the CVMA believe the need for out-of-state veterinarians to provide veterinary medical care in a temporary shelter facility established by an organization during a state of emergency has not been demonstrated. Further, we think AB 317 does not provide sufficient protection for animals and consumers." CVMA is concerned that there is no provision for the VMB to take disciplinary action against the veterinarian or inspect the temporary facility. CVMA goes on to state that "[t]here are more than 9,200 licensed veterinarians in California. The California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps (CAVMRC) has more than 750 members and is integrated into the California Emergency Management System. The CAVMRC provides training and resources for veterinary professionals to respond to the needs of animals during a disaster. Additionally, the California Animal Response Emergency System (CARES), which operates under the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is a state emergency for animals. These two systems along with private practice and shelter veterinarians in California have historically met the shelter and housing needs of animals displaced during a disaster through private veterinary facilities, animal control, and SPCA facilities or temporary facilities." The VMB is also opposed to this measure and argues that "AB 317 restricts the Board's ability to ensure that any organization entering California to provide veterinary care during a declared emergency is qualified to do so by meeting even the basic minimum facility standards." The VMB further states that exempting a facility from registration and further inspection by the Board, potentially exposes animals and the AB 317 (Maienschein) Page 13 of ? public to unsanitary conditions where serious harm may come to the very animals the temporary shelter is designed to protect. The VMB is also concerned that this measure would seriously limit the Board's enforcement ability to respond to an adverse situation if a temporary shelter failed to provide safe and efficacious veterinary care. Since current law restricts the Board's inspection authority to only those premises that are registered with the Board, there would be little to no recourse through the state should an animal be injured or harmed at an unregistered shelter. SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION: Support: American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Sponsor) American Red Cross California Animal Control Directors Association California Professional Firefighters County Health Executives Association of California Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation Opposition: California Veterinary Medical Association California Veterinary Medical Board -- END --