Legislative

09 November

Washington State General Election Results

wsvma   |   Legislative

Statewide vote counts from Tuesday’s election were updated Thursday evening. There are 4.3 million registered voters in Washington State.  As of this evening 2.5 million votes have been counted for a statewide turnout of 58.59%. Almost 500,000 ballots remain on hand to be processed, while more ballots may be received in the next few days. Any ballots post- marked by election day will be counted. Expect overall turnout to reach 70% or higher by the time all ballots are counted. Legislature...

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17 August

VBOG adding an additional training option for veterinary medication clerks

wsvma   |   Legislative

The Washington Veterinary Board of Governors is updating existing regulations that adds an educational training option for veterinary medication clerks (VMC) to meet their training requirements for registration. Currently, VMCs must complete the on-the-job Model Training Program developed by the Veterinary Board of Governors and the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission. The proposed amendment is in response to a petitioner who requested additional options through educational training. Upon adoption of the rule, potential educational programs for VMCs must meet the same criteria...

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15 June

Prescription mandates: new bill, same problems

wsvma   |   Legislative

For several consecutive congressional sessions, the AVMA has led the charge to defeat legislation that would require veterinarians to provide written copies of all prescriptions for companion animals – even if not requested or wanted by the client. The misleadingly named “Fairness to Pet Owners Act” has had several sponsors over the years and has been introduced once again in both the House and Senate. Despite some language changes, the effect would be the same as in years past: this bill...

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01 June

Senate Bill 6196 and expanded veterinary services by WA shelters

wsvma   |   Legislative

In January, the Humane Society for Southwest Washington authored legislation, Senate Bill 6196, that would grant registered animal care and control agencies and humane societies in Washington the ability to provide full veterinary services to low income pet owners who fall below the 80% median income level. The intent of the legislation is to expand the law that currently limits shelter organizations to sterilization, vaccination and electronic identification. When a bill is introduced in the legislature that would affect veterinarians and...

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11 May

Political animals wanted

wsvma   |   Legislative

Well, not really, but we are in need of members who share an interest in veterinary issues as they intersect with the legislative process. 2018 is an election year and not just at the federal level. Elections for statewide offices are heating up. Members contribute money to the WSVMA-Political Action Committee (PAC) which is used to support candidates in the election that are friendly to veterinary issues, animal welfare and small business. For both the primary and the general election, the...

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13 April

Emergency volunteer veterinarians, CVI exemption removal and service animal bills signed into law

wsvma   |   Legislative

Following the close of the legislative session last month, Gov. Inslee signed veterinary and animal related bills into law. The Uniform Voluntary Health Practitioners Act was enacted, which will allow volunteer health practitioners, including veterinarians, who are licensed and in good standing in another state, to practice in Washington while an emergency declaration is in effect. Regardless of whether the practitioner is licensed in Washington or another state, they must provide services through a host entity, adhere to their scope...

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06 April

Legislation across the U.S. affects veterinary medicine

wsvma   |   Legislative

States continue to work through important veterinary issues including antimicrobial resistance, prescription drug monitoring programs, scope of practice, continuing education, and euthanasia. On the topic of antimicrobial resistance, a bill introduced in Illinois would allow a food-producing animal to receive a medically important antibiotic only if a licensed veterinarian has visited the farm operation within the past 6 months and the antibiotic is deemed necessary to treat or control the spread of a disease. In the face of a growing nation-wide opioid...

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23 March

Gender pay equity, sexual harassment, and criminal history disclosure laws adopted by Washington Legislature

wsvma   |   Legislative

Washington legislation that allows co-workers to freely discuss how much money they’re paid has been signed into law and will become effective mid-June. The new law is aimed at supporting gender pay equity by giving female employees the opportunity to find out whether they’re being undercompensated without fear of retaliation. Amendments made to the existing law apply to employers regardless of the number of employees and prohibit Washington employers from discriminating among employees with similar jobs by providing less wages and...

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09 March

Legislative session adjourns – HEAL-WA and opioid bills fail

wsvma   |   Legislative

The 2018 Washington State Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday March 8, the first on-time adjournment in several years. WSVMA’s Heal-WA legislation granting veterinarians and veterinary technicians access to the online medical publication program never made it out of the Senate. Despite overwhelming support from legislators, the WSVMA bill couldn’t compete with the over 800 bills introduced into the short 60-day session. The legislation will carry over to the 2019 legislative session where we’ll work for passage again. House Bill (HB)...

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16 February

Mid-session legislative report

wsvma   |   Legislative

Wednesday, February 14 was crossover for bills to pass out of the House of origin. Committee consideration now starts in committees of the opposite house.  Bills must be passed out of committee by February 23. HEAL- WA – WSVMA’s House Bill 2445, which opens access to online medical and veterinary journals for veterinarians and veterinary technicians, passed the House unanimously. It will be heard in the Senate Health Care Committee on February 22. Humane Societies - The WSVMA testified in opposition to...

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