For each meeting of the VMB or the MDC, a CaRVTA Regulatory/Legislative Committee member is in attendance to report back on information that is important to our members, as well as to represent CaRVTA when appropriate.

• Veterinary Medical Board News (VMB)
• Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee News (MDC)

BILL UPDATES

SB969, a bill that provides for voluntary certification of groomers, was amended multiple times and sent back to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The consensus appears to be that while the goal is admirable, the bill is poorly written and needs a great deal of work.

AB610, the bill that extends the collection of pre- orders for the Spay & Neuter License plates by 1 year, has passed both houses of the legislature and was signed by the governor. The extension will allow for collection of pre-orders until June 30, 2013. A total of 7500 plates need to be ordered by the deadline for it to go into production. So far, there have been almost 5000 plates ordered.

AB1839, which will allow veterinary assistants to continue to administer controlled substances under indirect supervision if they are fingerprinted and background checked—and change their title to veterinary assistant from unregistered assistant, has passed the Assembly.The bill now heads to the Senate Business & Professions Committee. CaRVTA, CVMA, and the VMB all worked together to write this bill, so it was able to move through the Assembly on Consent.

AB2304, a bill that would have allowed unlicensed persons to clean animals' teeth without veterinary supervision died in the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee. CaRVTA was among the several organizations that opposed this bill.

CaRVTA's Regulatory/Legislative Committee Chair Nancy Ehrlich attended the most recent VMB meeting, where clarification was given on interactive and passive CE requirements. For RVTs, that means that 16 of the 20 hours of required CE in the 2 years prior to relicensure must be interactive. The remaining four hours of self-study may include such "passive" CE as reading industry journals or watching pre-recorded webinars. Some RACE-approved distance CE is passive, so RVTs must be careful when choosing CE programs to find at least 16 hours of approved interactive CE (live speakers and panels).

The VMB also announced a new policy for auditing required CE. Going forward, it will be sending notices to licensees 90-120 days prior to their relicensure dates, notifying individuals that they have been selected for a CE audit. This new procedure is intended to give licensees enough time to acquire the CE if they don’t already have it. In the past, audits were conducted after relicensure, causing some licensees to be suspended because they did not have the required CE. Approximately 10% of licensees are audited each year. RVTs should retain their CE certificates on file and not send them in with their license renewals, unless they have been notified that they are being audited.

The VMB meeting also featured a presentation by Dr. Tom Kendall, a member of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB). The AAVSB administers both the national veterinary licensing exam and the national Veterinary Technician Licensing Exam (VTNE), and it also is the parent association of the Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE). The AAVSB’s mission is to provide quality resources to veterinary regulatory agencies, professionals, and allied groups in the interest of public protection. It represents 57 jurisdictional regulatory boards, including all of the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and four Canadian provinces.

California is replacing its California RVT licensing exam with the national RVT exam (VTNE), plus a supplement on California jurisprudence, some time after January 1, 2013. The VMB staff intends to have a recommendation for its June 12 meeting as to when the transition should begin. Currently the California RVT licensing exam is offered on a daily basis. However, the VTNE is only offered during three separate one-month testing windows each year (Mar 15-Apr 15, Jul 15-Aug 15, Nov 15- Dec 15). The VMB staff is considering how to make the transition compatible with application deadlines for the VTNE and graduation dates from California RVT programs.

Due to the defeat of AB2304, the VMB had a lengthy discussion on how to improve enforcement against unlicensed activity, such as teeth cleaning without veterinary supervision. VMB staff explained their procedures when they receive a complaint about unlicensed activity. First, they investigate the complaint. Second, they send a Cease & Desist letter to the individual, giving them an opportunity to explain whether or not they are actually engaged in the unlicensed activity. If they are performing the activity and do not desist, they are issued a citation and fine. They may also be referred to the local District Attorney for criminal prosecution. The VMB passed a motion to direct its legal counsel to investigate further enforcement options. For information about how to file a complaint, go to www.vmb.ca.gov/consumers/comp_inf.shtml. If you prefer, you can contact CaRVTA's Regulatory/Legislative Liaison by sending an email to: rvtregs@carvta.org or calling (916) 244-2494 ext 210.

The VMB will be undergoing Sunset Review by the State Legislature in March 2013.The VMB's Sunset Report must be completed by November 2012, which doesn’t offer much time to complete the rather onerous document. Due to the time required to compile the statistics and other required information, the VMB has added an additional meeting on June 12 in Sacramento.

The purpose of the Sunset Review by the legislature is to give licensing boards an opportunity to explain what they have been doing and to make recommendations for changes to their Practice Acts. The legislature can accept or reject the recommendations, make recommendations of their own, and can even eliminate a board if it feels that the board is not operating in the public's interest. The VMB will be accepting suggestions from interested parties—including CaRVTA—prior to the June 12 meeting. Our Reg/Leg Committee will be working on recommendations to present to CaRVTA's Board, so that we can provide our input for the VMB to consider. We will also have an opportunity to testify at the Sunset Hearing in March 2013.

The new RVT Sub-Committee of the VMB will be meeting in June to discuss RVT issues that are pending since the dissolution of the RVTC, including problems with Alternate Route applications and potentially approving Alternate Route Programs and the RVT school inspection process. Because this is only a 2–member sub-committee (Kim Williams, RVT, and Dr. Tom Kendall), it will not be meeting in public. However, the sub-committee will accept recommendations from interested parties. Our Reg/Leg Committee will be working on recommendations for the sub-committee prior to its June meeting.

The VMB also voted to hold a public hearing on the proposed new RVT School Regulations at their October 2012 meeting. The meeting will be held in Sacramento, not Paso Robles as originally planned, to give all interested parties an opportunity to testify. Because of staff shortages and priority issues, these regulations have been waiting for a hearing since July 2010. A letter was sent to all the RVT schools informing them about the proposed regulations to give them an opportunity to comment prior to this meeting. The VMB received only one comment.

The Radiation Safety Guide has been updated and should be available soon. The Safety Guide contains an open-book exam, which can be used by veterinary assistants to satisfy the new requirement that they receive radiation safety training prior to operating radiographic equipment. To fulfill this requirement, you can read the current guide and complete its exam here: www.vmb.ca.gov/forms_pubs/radguide.pdf. The requirement can also be satisfied by attending the Radiation Safety Training course available at our UC Davis/CaRVTA Back-to-School Conference in July or at the So Cal Poly/CaRVTA/Banfield RVT-Assistant Conference in September.

The VMB voted to expend the funds necessary to send a copy of the new Hospital Standards Self-Evaluation Checklist to every veterinary premise. They also agreed to send a notification to all RVTs regarding the mandatory CE requirements.

The next meetings of the VMB will be June 12, July 24-25, and Oct. 16-17, all in Sacramento.

NEW 2012 EMPLOYMENT LAWS AFFECTING CALIFORNIA VETERINARY HOSPITALS

The following are new 2012 employment laws that you should know:

• Pregnancy Disability Leave: SB 299 requires all employers with 5 or more employees to continue to maintain and pay for health coverage under a group health plan for an eligible female employee who takes Pregnancy Disability Leave up to a maximum of 4 months in a 12 month period. The health coverage should be maintained "at the level and under the conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment continuously for the duration of the leave."
• Willful Misclassification of Independent Contractors: SB 459 provides new penalties of between $5,000 to $25,000 for the "willful misclassification" of independent contractors.
• Notice of Pay Details: AB 459 requires employers to provide non-exempt employees, at the time of hire, a notice that specifies:
  1. The rate of pay and the basis, whether hourly, salary, piece commission or otherwise, including any overtime rate
  2. Allowance, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage, including meal and lodging allowances
  3. The regular pay day designated by the employer as required under the Labor Code
  4. The name of the employer, including any "doing business as" names
  5. The physical address of the employer's main office or principal place of business and any mailing address, of different
  6. The telephone number of the employer
  7. The name, address and telephone number of the employer's worker's compensation carrier
• Employee Unionizing and Right to Strike: An order by the National Labor Relations board has an impact on businesses in California. As of January 31, 2012, most private-sector employers must display an 11"x17" poster that provides information to employees about unionizing and their right to strike.

Dr. Grant Miller, DVM, CVMA Director of Regulatory Affairs, has written an article on RVT Title protection that appears in the current issue of California Veterinarian. Dr. Miller is also a Unit Coordinator for CAVMRC, the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps, which provides veterinary support to animals during disasters and emergencies.

Read the article
Learn more about CAVMRC at www.cavmrc.net

The VMB reports that the RVT Approved School regulations, which were approved by the VMB in July 2010, would most likely go for public hearing in July 2012. Executive Office Sue Geranen also discussed the need for regulations to cover Alternate Route Programs, since there were now quite a few of them. Approving these programs will make it easier for staff when reviewing applications from students from these programs. The regulations will be sent to RVT schools for their comments. The VMB hopes that the schools will make any comments at the April VMB meeting, so that the regulations will be ready for public hearing in July.

The VMB has also approved the proposal from the Controlled Drug Task Force, which allows unregistered assistants to continue to administer controlled and other drugs under Indirect Supervision. This bill requires that unlicensed persons be fingerprinted and background checked to be sure they do not have any drug or alcohol related felony convictions. It also allows the VMB, in consultation with the Board of Pharmacy, to restrict the access by unlicensed persons to any drug that is determined to be subject to substantial diversion. The bill also changes the term "unregistered assistant" to "veterinary assistant" throughout the Veterinary Practice Act.

In related veterinary practice news, the VMB approved a motion to seek legislation to include veterinarians in an existing law that covers the use of electronic medical records for all other health care professions. The law provides that all electronic medical records retain any indications of changes and that patients/clients be able to get access to these records just as they have access to their paper records. They also approved amending Sec. 4826 of the Practice Act, which defines the practice of veterinary medicine, to include "advertising" oneself as providing veterinary medical services. They also approved adding a new section to the Practice Act that would allow the VMB to prioritize its investigative and prosecutorial authority over unlicensed persons.

To help hospitals comply with the Minimum Standards Act, which now has VMB approval, the MDC developed a Hospital Standards Self-Check List, which the VMB has approved. Hospitals can use the checklist to assure that they are meeting the standards in advance of a hospital inspection. The checklist may be mailed out to interested parties, placed on the web site, or both.

Our Legislative Committee Chair Nancy Ehrlich attended the most recent VMB Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee meeting. The MDC dedicated most of its meeting on revisions to the Cite & Fine Guidelines. The MDC also created a list of priorities for its activities going forward, as requested by the VMB:

1. Cite & Fine Guidelines
2. Animal Rehabilitation (Physical Therapy) Regulations
3. Telemedicine Regulations

PUBLIC HEARING ON MINIMUM STANDARDS
Dr. Bill Grant, Chair of the Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee (MDC) presented the Committee’s final version of its recommendations for changes to the Minimum Standards, including:

• Changesto a variety of sections of the Practice Act
• Additions of new sections to define the duties of a Managing Licensee and standards for Small Animal Vaccine Clinics
• New requirements for Humane Treatment to minimize pain & discomfort
• Continuation of the Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship in the Absence of Client Communication
• Prescribing Drugs in the Absence of the Original Prescribing Veterinarian.

One of the recommended changes to existing language was to add the word "scaler" to the definition of instruments that are limited to use by or under the supervision of a veterinarian, when performing a preventative dental procedure. This recommendation brought much discussion during the Public Hearing by a variety of "anesthesia free teeth cleaners," who believed that by adding the word scaler to the regulations, the VMB would be increasing its authority to discipline unlicensed individuals who clean animals' teeth without veterinary supervision.

The VMB has already determined that scalers were included in the current language, but wanted to clarify the issue due to the misunderstanding of the regulations by many individuals.

CaRVTA made suggestions for clarification of the language in several sections. After the Public Hearing and discussion were concluded, the VMB voted to approve the recommendations of the MDC with the suggested changes made by CaRVTA. They authorized the staff to send out the required 15-day notice of the changes to the proposal, as well as an update to the Initial Statement of Reasons for the changes. Due to the large number of letters they received about the proposed changes, to which the VMB is required to respond, it will take at least 30 days to get the notice mailed out. The new language should appear on the VMB web site soon. It normally takes about 6 months for regulatory changes to complete the approval process, once they leave the VMB.

This was the final meeting of the VMB's Registered Veterinary Technician Committee (RVTC). The bill that placed an RVT on the VMB and added an additional RVT to the Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee (MDAC) eliminated the RVTC as of July 1, 2011.

The RVTC finalized its recommendations for regulations to supplement and more clearly define title protection for RVTs, as provided in the same legislation mentioned above. The RVTC passed a motion to the VMB that would:

Prohibit anyone who was not an RVT licensed in California from using the following titles:

1. RVT
2. Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT)
3. Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT)
4. Animal Health Technician (AHT)
5. Technician or Tech

Persons who are not RVTs may also not use the words certified, licensed or registered, in combination with the words tech, technician, aide or assistant while working in a clinical setting. An RVT who possesses a four-year degree in veterinary science, animal science or a closely related field may use the term “technologist” in place of “technician."

Persons who are not RVTs, may use the following designations in a clinical setting:

1. Unregistered assistant
2. Assistant
3. Aide
4. Veterinary aide
5. Kennel attendant or kennel assistant
6. Receptionist
7. Practice Manager
8. Technician Assistant

In addition, any person who does not provide medical care to an animal may utilize any common term that does not indicate the provision of animal medical care.

The term "nurse" shall not be used alone or in conjunction with "pet" or "veterinary" by any person in a clinical setting. An RN or LVN who works in a veterinary setting may use their titles or abbreviations provided that their status as an RVT or unregistered assistant is made clear to the public.

The RVTC adjourned for the final time at 3 PM , Wednesday, June 14, 2011. It will now be critical that CaRVTA remains active with the VMB to bring any issues of relevance to RVTs to their attention. Without the RVTC, CaRVTA’ s role is more important than ever.