Another Session Comes to a Close Legislative Session Recap

By Cliff Miller, DVM, MVMA Legislative Chair and Julie r. Braun, MVMA Executive

MVMA representation has spent a lot of time at the Capitol this session advocating for the profession during our MVMA Veterinary Day at the Capitol and multiple hearings on different House and Senate bills. Bi-weekly updates with our legislative consultants and legislative chair along with daily text and phone calls with MVMA leadership made sure dangerous legislation didn’t slip through the cracks. With the session over, we are still monitoring bills that are on the governor’s desk for signing.

ANIMAL CHIROPRACTIC - A COMPRIMISING ADJUSTMENT

If we had not intervened, a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) would soon be able to practice on animals without veterinary involvement! We successfully defeated language that would have taken “animal chiropractic” out of the definition of veterinary medicine leaving the practice of chiropractics on animals with no regulatory oversite. A true animal welfare and public health concern.

After many years of defeating poorly written animal chiropractic bills, this year was different. With a bill sponsor who is very well liked in the House, this horribly written bill moved quickly to committee. Multiple MVMA members testified ruthlessly in opposition of the bill but just as many chiropractors testified in favor. With our legislative consultants working behind the scenes, we were able to get the opportunity to work with the bill sponsor on a compromise that was something we could live with if it passed. We had one short week to edit the bill and we made it bleed red. Fellow MVMA members, leadership, legislative chair, staff, and legal counsel worked tirelessly on a compromise which includes a required referral from a veterinarian who has a current veterinary client-patient relationship. The number of referrals can be limited by the veterinarian at the time of referral or after consultation with a DC. Furthermore, we fought to make sure that DCs practicing as “animal chiropractic practitioners” were regulated under the Mo Board of Chiropractic Examiners and carry their own liability AND returned the definition of veterinary medicine back to its original verbiage to include animal chiropractic. MVMA began the session in active pursuit to defeat HB 88. Ultimately, we monitored the bill after the changes to make sure language did not revert in any way. This bill is on the governor’s desk for signing.

LOCAL PREEMPTION ON PRACTICE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE –DID NOT PASS

By now you have likely heard about the MVMA Scope of Practice bill that has been filed for the past two years by Senator Justin Brown. Senate Bill 115 prevents a municipality from regulating the practice of veterinary medicine. You must dig into this and not just hear that this bill stemmed from the banning of feline declaws in St. Louis City and County (without any input from a veterinarian). The MVMA bill in no way is about declawing cats. We respect the fact that our members have differing opinions on this procedure. What this bill does is fight for your professional right to discuss and decide with your clients what treatments are available and best for their animals. The veterinarian and the owner of the animal should be able to make those decisions together without local governances interfering to tell a veterinarian what procedures they can and cannot do. Missouri already has a robust veterinary practice act enforced by a very dedicated Veterinary Medical Board. SB 115 passed the Missouri Senate, was passed in the House Government Accountability Committee, House Rules Committee, but did not make it on the House floor calendar in time before the end of the session.

Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program

Modifications were made to the Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program to increase the number of recipients from six to twelve and the amount from twenty thousand to thirty thousand dollars. This bill expands the sources of funding for the Veterinary Student Loan Payment Program to include any private grant, gift, donation, devise, or bequest of moneys, funds, real or personal property, or other asset. In addition, the bill renames the “Dr. Merrill Townley Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program” to the “Dr. Merrill Townley and Dr. Dan Brown Large Animal Veterinary

Student Loan Program”. The bill is on the governor’s desk for signing.

VETERINARY MEDICAL DIAGNOSTIC LAB FUNDING – PHASE 2

MVMA continues to advocate for the veterinary diagnostic lab in its second phase. With push from Senators Justin Brown, Lincoln Hough, and his Chief of Staff, Pat Thomas, we were encouraged to request funding in the form of line items in the appropriations bill. The long-standing need for the updated VMDL has been addressed with the ask of $43M for Phase 2. In addition, $25M was included in the appropriations bill to provide opportunities in workforce development and agricultural sectors with planning, design and construction of and used for training, education, technical support, and research located on the University of MissouriColumbia campus.

(DVM). This bill prevents a municipality from regulating dogs in a breedspecific manner. The sponsor’s intent with the legislation is to encourage good vicious dog laws, instead of breed specific laws. The House Local Government Committee voted on the bill “do pass” on May 2 and the bill did not advance further.

Other bills that MVMA watched closely.

TAX CREDIT FOR RESCUE ANIMAL ADOPTION – DID NOT PASS

House Bill 488 allows a taxpayer to receive a tax credit of up to $125 for animals adopted from a shelter.

ANIMAL

CONFISCATION – DID NOT PASS

House Bill 630 did not include our language to protect the veterinarian from the financial responsibility of the confiscated animal if the accused party was found innocent. This bill was passed by the Missouri House by a vote of 10251. The Missouri Senate did not take up this issue and it did not reach final passage.

A simple “thank you” doesn’t seem sufficient for all the work that has been put in behind the scenes from our Legislative Committee Chair, Dr. Cliff Miller, the MVMA Board of governors, and a patchwork of veterinarians from across the state for their time and input throughout the session. Your voices are loudest together and on behalf of the veterinarians across the state, THANK YOU!

Because these requests were not part of the governor’s original budget, it is possible the governor will line item veto these fundings. The request also included naming the VMDL building after the late Senator Dr. Dan Brown. The governor has until June 30, 2023, to consider the legislative budget and veto specific line items.

Veterinary Technician Programs

Because budget money was in surplus this year, we reached out to the Missouri accredited technician schools for a financial wish list. These five budget lines ($3.875M) and the appropriations to these community colleges will allow the schools to plan and advance their respective programs to produce more veterinary tech positions and help address the workforce issue.

BREED SPECIFIC BANS ON DOGS BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS – DID NOT PASS

This year HB 296 was carried out by our very own Representative Kent Haden

INDUCING THE DEATH OF A DOG OR CAT –DID NOT PASS

House Bill 755 - Inducing the death of a dog or cat must be performed by a licensed veterinarian or a physician. A lay person properly trained in the methods of inducing the death of a dog or cat may also induce the death if under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian or physician. This bill also specifies that the sole method for inducing the death of a dog or cat in an animal control agency, animal shelter, or pound is the injection of sodium phenobarbital or its derivative. The MVMA testified for informational purposes stating changes need to be made in supervising of a lay person administering of lethal controlled drugs. The MVMA also noted the current difficulty at times of obtaining supplies of sodium phenobarbital due to shortages and supply chain issues. The committee later changed the bill to remove the provision allowing a lay person to administer the dosage and then voted the bill “do pass”. HB 755 did not receive a hearing in the House Rules Committee.

POTENTIAL GENE THERAPY PRODUCTS – DID NOT PASS

The House Emerging Issues Committee held public hearings to discuss HB 1169. The bill requires product disclosures for any products that could act or has been exposed to process that could be resolute in the product potentially acting as a gene therapy, to be labeled with the words “Potential Gene Therapy Product,” and requires informed consent for medical intervention, vaccine, drug, or genetic modification products. Many allied and industry groups opposed the bill. Several other states have reached out to MVMA for more information on this bill. After considerable debate, the committee did not pass the bill by a 4-10 vote.

ANIMAL ABUSE AND NEGLECT REPORTING – DID NOT PASS

Senate Bill 91 requires animal control officers and animal humane investigators to be mandated reporters in cases of abuse and neglect of children, the elderly, and other vulnerable people. The legislation also ensures that adequate training be provided. Following the public hearing, no further action was taken on the bill. MVMA was able to have veterinarians exempt from this mandate in the Senate version but the House bill did not

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(Legislative-cont. from page 21) include our exemption and was referred to committee very late in the session.

RECIPROCITY – DID NOT PASS

Licensure based on work experience for at least 3 years in a profession in another state can submit application with work history to relevant oversight body in Missouri. The application must be reviewed within 45 days and any examination, education, or experience requirements must be waived by the oversight body. This bill was sent to the committee but was never heard.

CONTINUING EDUCATION EXEMPTION –DID NOT PASS

SB 361 Exempted licensees who hold a current valid license and actively participated in the practice of the occupation for no less than one thousand hours every twelve months of reporting period. Referred to committee but never heard.

OPIOID REGULATIONS – DID NOT PASS

Opioid tapering protocols, instructions on when to decrease opioid doses, tapering strategies, would be regulated through the Dept. of Health & Senior Services. Appointed to committee late in the session and never heard.

On The Federal Forefront Combating Illicit Xylazine

MVMA is working closely with the AVMA to support passage of S. 993/ H.R. 1839 – the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act. H.R. 1839 would engage the DEA to address the emerging public health threat posed by illicit xylazine while preserving veterinary access to this essential prescription animal sedative. We have sent statements of support to our Congressional delegation to encourage the bill to move forward. We have also been in communication with Governor Parson to avoid any premature action on this important topic.

A list of the 2023 session bills can be found at https://www.movma.org/ page/LegislativeSession2023.