Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1038



By Senator Bradley





6-01686A-24 20241038__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to veterinary professional associates;
3 providing a short title; creating s. 474.2126, F.S.;
4 providing legislative findings; defining terms;
5 authorizing certain individuals to use the title
6 “veterinary professional associate”; authorizing such
7 associates to perform certain duties and actions;
8 prohibiting such associates from prescribing certain
9 drugs or controlled substances or performing surgical
10 procedures; providing exceptions; providing that
11 supervising veterinarians are liable for the acts or
12 omissions of veterinary professional associates under
13 their supervision and control; providing an effective
14 date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Veterinary
19 Workforce Innovation Act.”
20 Section 2. Section 474.2126, Florida Statutes, is created
21 to read:
22 474.2126 Veterinary professional associate.—
23 (1) The Legislature finds that the practice in this state
24 of veterinary professional associates, with their education,
25 training, and experience in the field of veterinary medicine,
26 will provide increased efficiency of and access to high-quality
27 veterinary medical services at a reasonable cost to consumers.
28 (2) As used in this section, the term:
29 (a) “Approved program” means a master’s program in
30 veterinary clinical care, or the equivalent, in the United
31 States or in its territories or possessions from an accredited
32 school of veterinary medicine.
33 (b) “Supervision” means responsible supervision and
34 control, and, except in cases of emergency, requires the easy
35 availability or physical presence of a licensed veterinarian for
36 consultation and direction of the actions of a veterinary
37 professional associate. For the purposes of this paragraph, the
38 term “easy availability” includes the ability to communicate by
39 way of telecommunication.
40 (c) “Veterinary professional associate” means a person who
41 has earned a master’s degree from an approved program or who
42 meets standards approved by the board and is authorized to
43 perform veterinary medical services delegated by a supervising
44 veterinarian.
45 (3) The title “veterinary professional associate” may be
46 used only by an individual who has successfully completed an
47 approved program.
48 (4) Unless otherwise prohibited by federal or state law, a
49 veterinary professional associate may perform duties or actions,
50 including those identified in s. 474.202(9) and (13), in which
51 he or she is competent and has the necessary training, current
52 knowledge, and experience to perform, as assigned by a
53 veterinarian licensed in this state while working under the
54 supervision of that veterinarian. A veterinary professional
55 associate may not do either of the following:
56 (a) Prescribe medicinal drugs or drugs as defined in s.
57 465.003(15) or a controlled substance listed in s. 893.03.
58 (b) Except for veterinary sterilizations or veterinary
59 dental surgeries, perform a surgical procedure.
60 (5) Each supervising veterinarian using a veterinary
61 professional associate is liable for any acts or omissions of
62 the veterinary professional associate acting under the
63 veterinarian’s supervision and control.
64 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.