VETERINARIANS & VET TECHS                                            H.B. 4408 (H-3) & 4999 (H-1):

                                                                                                    SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                                      REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

House Bill 4408 (Substitute H-3 as reported without amendment)

House Bill 4999 (Substitute H-1 as reported without amendment)

Sponsor:  Representative Kathy Crawford (H.B. 4408)

               Representative Edward McBroom (H.B. 4999)

House Committee:  Agriculture

Senate Committee:  Agriculture

 

CONTENT

 

House Bill 4408 (H-3) would amend the Public Health Code to require a licensee seeking renewal of a veterinarian's license or a veterinary technician's license to furnish the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs with evidence that he or she had attended at least 45 hours or 15 hours, respectively, of continuing education courses approved by the Board of Veterinary Medicine during the preceding three years.

 

The bill also specifies that the license cycle for a veterinarian's license and a veterinary technician's license would be three years.

 

House Bill 4999 (H-1) would amend the Public Health Code to do the following:

 

 --    Prohibit a practitioner from dispensing a prescription written by a veterinarian prescriber licensed to practice in another state unless the prescription was issued by a veterinarian prescriber authorized under that state's law to practice veterinary medicine and to prescribe controlled substances.

 --    Increase application and license fees for a veterinarian's license and a veterinary technician's license, effective December 31, 2018.

 --    Specify that the term "prescription" would apply to an order for a drug written and signed by a veterinarian prescriber licensed to practice veterinary medicine in another state.

 --    Allow a pharmacist to dispense a prescription ordered a veterinarian prescriber in another state, if the pharmacist determined that the prescription met certain conditions.

 --    Allow the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to deliver or serve a communication by electronic mail if a licensee or registrant provided an electronic mail address to the Department and authorized it in writing to deliver communications at that address.

 --    Allow the Department to send a renewal notice by electronic mail if the licensee or registrant authorized it.

 

The fee increases would be as follows:

 

 --    Application processing fee, veterinarian: $20 to $25.

 --    Application processing fee, veterinary technician: $10 to $15.

 --    Annual license fee, veterinarian: $50 to $75.

 --    Annual license fee, veterinary technician: $20 to $40.

 

The bills are tie-barred, and each bill would take effect 90 days after its enactment.

 

Proposed MCL 333.18813 (H.B. 4408)                                  Legislative Analyst:  Jeff Mann

MCL 333.7405 et al. (H.B. 4999)


FISCAL IMPACT

 

The bills would have a positive fiscal impact on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and no fiscal impact on local units of government. Section 16317 of the Public Health Code allows the Department to adjust health professions fees to reflect changes in State employee wage costs. Currently, the fee to renew a veterinarian license is $55 per year, and per-year the renewal fee is $25 for a veterinarian technician. Increasing these fees to $70 and $40, respectively, would generate approximately an additional $100,000 each year beginning in 2019, which would support the licensure of health professionals. Currently, the licensure of veterinarians operates at a loss of approximately $27,000 per year, so it is effectively subsidized by fees paid by other health professionals. The change in license application fees in the bill would have no fiscal impact as those fees are identical to what is already charged under the provisions of Section 16317.

 

Date Completed:  2-16-16                                                     Fiscal Analyst:  Josh Sefton

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.