FVMA LEGISLATIVE CHAIR'S MID-SESSION REPORT By Dr. Richard B. Williams
Our 2020 FVMA delegates inside the state Capitol building
At the midway point of the 2020 Florida legislative session, the FVMA continues to monitor nearly 40 different bills relating to the veterinary medical profession, animal welfare, student loans, and appropriations. Two of these bills have been the major focus of the FVMA Legislative Committee and Executive Board for the past several weeks. The first of these bills is Senate Bill 366/House Bill 1015. The FVMA introduced this bill in both the Senate and the House of Representatives these past several years. The bill is meant to address deficiencies in the “Practice Act” as to what constitutes a valid client/patient relationship, and establish a definition of a physical examination. Unfortunately, the House has refused to allow our bill to move forward, as they believe it could be restrictive to unregulated telemedicine, which they seek. Thus,
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we are once again at a stalemate with leadership this year, and we have been told our bill will “go nowhere.” The next bill is one which the FVMA strongly opposed as originally written. SB1044/HB621 (commonly referred to as “Allie’s Law”) is an anti-animal cruelty bill involving only dogs and cats. It was presented to us as a simple bill that every veterinarian in the state should support, and it had many co-sponsors in both the House and Senate. Unfortunately, Allie’s Law was not that simple. It was found to be a bill which required mandatory reporting of animal cruelty, without reporter protection for the veterinarian. It also required that the veterinarian either report without direct knowledge of actual abuse, or that the veterinarian contact individuals suspected of abuse and require them to have their pet examined within 24 hours. This places our veterinarians in a
