BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 317
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
317 (Maienschein)
As Amended August 26, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 77-0 | (May 18, |SENATE: |38-0 | (September 1, |
| | |2015) | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: B. & P.
SUMMARY: Exempts a temporary shelter which is operated either
by a licensed veterinarian from another state, or a
California-licensed veterinarian, that is providing care and
shelter to animals during a declared state of emergency, as
specified, from having to obtain a premises registration from
the Veterinary Medical Board (VMB). Specifically, this bill:
1)Exempts a temporary shelter from a premises registration
requirement, as specified, if the following conditions are
met:
a) The temporary shelter is established to provide care and
shelter to animals displaced by a state of emergency, as
specified, 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
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following:
i) A veterinary health care practitioner licensed or
certified by, and in good standing in, another state,
district, or territory of the United States, who is
deployed pursuant to Business and Professions Code (BPC)
Section 900; or,
ii) A veterinary health care practitioner licensed or
certified by, and in good standing in, this state who
responds to a state emergency, as specified;
c) The temporary shelter complies with specified sanitation
requirements; and,
d) The temporary shelter does not operate beyond a
60-calendar-day period per state of emergency.
e) The temporary shelter is deployed in a manner that is
consistent with the sheltering guidelines established by
the California Animal Response Emergency System (CARES).
2)Requires, within 30 calendar days after a temporary shelter
exempt from premises registration requirements ceases
operation, the party responsible for the temporary shelter to
file a report with the VMB containing the date, place, type,
and general description of the care provided at the shelter,
and a listing of the veterinary health care practitioners who
participated in providing that care.
3)Permits the VMB to inspect a temporary shelter as specified.
The Senate amendments revise the requirements to allow the
establishment of a temporary shelter, exempt from premises
registration requirements, if specified conditions are met.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
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Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). According to 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."
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. Under current law, BPC Section 4853
requires all premises where veterinary medicine is practiced to
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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, in the event of a declared state
of emergency, this bill would exempt organizations from having a
premises permit as long as they meet certain requirements
including the shelter is operated by a veterinarian who is
licensed in another state and has been deployed to California,
or by a California-licensed veterinarian; the shelter complies
with current sanitary requirements; the shelter does not operate
beyond 60 calendar days; requires the party responsible for the
temporary shelter to file a report with the VMB, as specified;
and, permits the VMB to inspect the temporary shelter at any
time.
As highlighted on the Web site,
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 Government Code Section 8858.
Emergency Declarations. The Governor has the authority to 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
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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 Government Code Section 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 the event of a declared state of emergency, this bill would
authorize temporary shelter facilities to operate in California
for a limited period of time without a premises permit as
required for all other animal veterinary care services.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0001873