BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 317 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 317 (Maienschein) As Amended August 26, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | 77-0 | (May 18, |SENATE: |38-0 | (September 1, | | | |2015) | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 317 Page 2 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 AB 317 Page 3 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 AB 317 Page 4 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 AB 317 Page 5 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