Brief(1)
S.B. 145 would make numerous modifications to the Kansas Veterinary Practice Act. The major changes would:
1. clarify the definitions of "direct supervision" and "indirect supervision" as they relate to the supervision of veterinary employees;
2. clarify that a nonstudent employee, independent contractor, or any other associate of the veterinarian or a student in a school of veterinary medicine who has not completed at least three years of study and who performs prescribed veterinary procedures under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian or under the indirect supervision of a licensed veterinarian pursuant to rules and regulations of the Board of Veterinary Examiners (Board) is added to the list of permitted activities that do not require a license to practice veterinary medicine;
3. modify the section of law creating the Board of Veterinary Examiners to require that there be one member who is not a veterinarian rather than a representative of the general public;
4. direct the directors of the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association to submit the names of three or more qualified veterinarians to the Governor for appointment to the Board and would permit any other person to submit the name of one or more qualified veterinarians to the Governor for appointment to the Board;
5. modify some of the qualifications of the nonveterinarian member of the Board;
6. allow the Governor to remove any member of the Board upon recommendation of the Board;
7. add to the duties of the vice president of the Board the responsibility of overseeing budgetary and financial aspects of the operation of the Board;
8. allow the Board to issue subpoenas compelling the attendance and testimony of a veterinarian or the production of physical evidence relating to veterinary competence, unprofessional conduct, the mental or physical ability of a licensee to practice or the condition of a veterinary premise, and allowing the veterinarian within five days after service of the subpoena to petition the Board to revoke, limit, or modify the subpoena (the district court would be given jurisdiction, upon application by either the Board or the veterinarian being subpoenaed, to order appearance or to revoke, limit, or modify the subpoena);
9. modify the requirements that must be met in order for a person to be granted a license to practice if the applicant graduated from a school of veterinary medicine more than five years prior to the year in which the application is submitted, the applicant must show proof of active veterinary practice for at least 3,000 hours during the three years immediately preceding the application or has passed the examination or reexamination prescribed by the Board within the five years preceding the application;
10. require the Executive Director of the Board to notify the applicant, in writing, if it is found that the applicant is not a graduate of a school of veterinary medicine or does not possess a certificate issued by the Education Commission For Foreign Veterinary Graduates, or, is found not to be a person of good moral character;
11. allow the continuing education requirement to be waived for veterinarians while they are on active military duty during a time of national emergency which could not exceed the longer of three years or the duration of a national emergency and permit the Board to waive the payment of license renewal fees while on active military duty during a time of national emergency (also the continuing education requirement may be waived for an "impaired" veterinarian as defined by the Act);
12. modify the situations determined to constitute "unprofessional conduct";
13. allow the Board to revoke, suspend, or otherwise limit, condition, reprimand, restrict, or deny a license when there is determination that the veterinarian is impaired by a representative of the impaired veterinarian committee or by the Board after a hearing (impaired is defined in K.S.A. 47-846);
14. make failure to register a veterinary premise subject to a misdemeanor and upon conviction subject to a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $2,000 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days;
15. allow the Board to order the remedying of any violations of the Act or any rules and regulations of the Board and permit the Board to issue a cease and desist order upon determination that a licensee, registrant, or any veterinarian has violated any provision of the Act or any rules and regulations of the Board;
16. allow the Board to order the remedying of any violation of any provision of the Act or any rules and regulations adopted and to allow the Board to issue a cease and desist order upon Board determination that a licenced veterinarian or the holder of a premises registration has violated any order of the Board, any provisions of the Act, or any rules and regulations adopted;
17. authorize the waiving of the veterinarian privilege of confidentiality of practice when there is any investigation by the Board and any subsequent administrative disciplinary action brought by the Board;
18. require that the veterinary premise registrant notify the Board within 30 days of any change in the licensed veterinarian who is responsible for the operation and management of the veterinary premise;
19. require that each registrant of a veterinary premise have a policy which address emergency and after-hour veterinary services and require that each client be informed of the policy and notified of any change in the policy;
20. clarify that the costs of investigations and adjudications are paid prior to the amounts of civil penalties being credited to the Veterinary Examiners Fee Fund; and
21. repeal two sections of law (K.S.A. 47-823 and 1998 Supp. 47-826) and incorporate the provisions of those two sections into other sections of law.
Background
This bill was requested by a spokesperson for the Kansas Board of Veterinary Examiners (KBVE). Testimony from the Executive Director of the KBVE indicated that members of the Board and representatives of the Attorney General's Office worked on the proposed amendments to the Kansas Veterinary Practice Act. The Executive Director also stated that the Board had conducted meetings with the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, the Kansas Livestock Association, and the Kansas Farm Bureau and that the input received from these organizations was incorporated into the proposed legislation. The Director stated that the bill would allow the Board of Veterinary Examiners to fulfill its purpose in the Veterinary Practice Act by providing language that is clearer, simpler, more straightforward, and more effective.
Also appearing before the Committee in support of the legislation was the Public Consumer member of the Board of Veterinary Examiners, a representative of the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, and the large animal representative on the Board of Veterinary Examiners. Written testimony in support of the bill was received by the President of the Board of Veterinary Examiners and from the American Association of Veterinary State Boards. There were no opponents to the bill.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture amended the bill to clarify the definition of "family member" with respect to the qualifications of the nonveterinarian member of the Board of Veterinary Examiners and to clarify that the "outreach committee" referred to in the legislation is actually the "impaired veterinarian" committee.
The fiscal note on the bill indicates that there will be no fiscal impact on the Board of Veterinary Examiners.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html.