Veterinary medicine.

(1) Existing law, the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act, provides for the licensure and registration of veterinarians and registered veterinary technicians and the regulation of the practice of veterinary medicine by the Veterinary Medical Board and makes a violation of the act a crime. Under existing law, the board consists of 7 members, 3 of whom are public members and 4 of whom are licensed veterinarians. Existing law makes the provisions establishing the board, and authorizing the board to appoint an executive officer, inoperative as of July 1, 2011, and repealed as of January 1, 2012. This bill would add one registered veterinary technician to the board, to be appointed by the Governor, and would make the provisions establishing the board and authorizing it to appoint an executive officer inoperative and repealed on January 1, 2014. (2) Existing law requires the board to appoint a voluntary, advisory multidisciplinary committee to assist, advise, and make recommendations for the implementation of rules and regulations necessary to ensure proper administration and enforcement of the act. Existing law makes the provision establishing this committee inoperative on July 1, 2011, and repealed as of January 1, 2012. This bill would eliminate those inoperative and repeal dates, thereby making the committee operative indefinitely. The bill would name the committee the Veterinary Medicine Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee, would eliminate its voluntary nature, and would require it to also assist the board in its examination, licensure, and registration programs. The bill would prescribe the committee's composition and would require members to serve 3-year terms, as specified. The bill would authorize the board to remove a member of the committee for continued neglect of duty, incompetency, or unprofessional conduct. (3) Existing law requires the board to establish the tasks that may be performed by a registered veterinary technician and requires a person performing those tasks to be registered by the board. This bill would provide an exemption from those provisions for specified veterinary technology students. The bill would also prohibit a person from using the title "registered veterinary technician" or "veterinary technician," or any other words, letters, or symbols with the intent to represent that the person is authorized to act as a registered veterinary technician, unless he or she has met certain requirements. Because a violation of this requirement would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the board to establish an advisory committee on issues pertaining to the practice of veterinary technicians known as the Registered Veterinary Technician Committee. The bill would make the Registered Veterinary Technician Committee inoperative as of the July 1 following the initial appointment of a registered veterinary technician to the board. (4) Existing law authorizes an unregistered assistant to operate radiographic equipment under the direct supervision of a registered veterinary technician or a licensed veterinarian. This bill would require an unregistered assistant to be trained in the area of radiation safety and techniques in order to operate radiographic equipment under the direct supervision of a registered veterinary technician or licensed veterinarian and would require the responsible managing licensee of a veterinary premises to maintain records of that training. Because a violation of this requirement would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law requires the attending or on-call veterinarian at a rodeo event to submit a brief written listing of any animal injury requiring veterinary treatment to the board within 48 hours of the conclusion of the event. This bill would add that reporting requirement to the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act and would also require any other veterinarian to report to the board within 7 days of rendering treatment to an animal known to be injured at a rodeo event. The bill would require the report to consist of specified information and would require the board to post a form on its Internet Web site for purposes of this requirement. Because a violation of these reporting requirements under the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing law exempts certain healing arts practitioners from liability for specified services rendered during a state of war, state of emergency, or local emergency. This bill would exempt veterinarians and registered veterinary technicians for services rendered to animals during a state of war, state of emergency, or local emergency. (7) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.