SB 2798 will be heard on Wednesday February 23, 2022 at 9:30am by the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection via videoconference. Please submit written testimony in support of this bill which will amend Chapter 471, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to better define the practice and parameters of veterinary medicine and veterinary telemedicine to protect Hawaii consumers and their pets from inadequate, improper, or unlicensed veterinary care. In addition, to address the current shortage of licensed veterinarians in Hawaii, this bill will also provide for the temporary permitting of out-of-state veterinarians and ensure international veterinary school graduates of both AVMA Council on Education and AAVSB approved programs are able to qualify for licensure examination in Hawaii. For more background on this bill, see this post.
Category: Legislative Updates
Updated HI State Laws Related to Animals
The following are law changes passed in 2021:
New: Animal sexual assault https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0711/HRS_0711-1109_0008.htm
Amended: Tethering https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0711/HRS_0711-1109.htm
New: Veterinary emergency care https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol10_Ch0436-0474/HRS0471/HRS_0471-0017.htm
New: Veterinary mandatory reporting https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol10_Ch0436-0474/HRS0471/HRS_0471-0018.htm
Microchipping, statewide:
Amended: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0143/HRS_0143-0002.htm
New: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0143/HRS_0143-0002_0002.htm
Upcoming free training on the role of veterinarians in identifying animal abuse:
Tuesday, May 3rd, 10:00-11:15am HST
https://www.justiceclearinghouse.com/webinar/the-forgotten-partner-in-responding-to-animal-abuse-the-veterinarian/ (registration required)
HB 1598 Hearing Notice 2/8/2022 – Testimony Needed!
HB 1598 will be heard on Tuesday February 8, 2022 at 2pm by the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce via videoconference. Please submit written testimony in support of this bill which will amend Chapter 471, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to better define the practice and parameters of veterinary medicine and veterinary telemedicine to protect Hawaii consumers and their pets from inadequate, improper, or unlicensed veterinary care. In addition, to address the current shortage of licensed veterinarians in Hawaii, this bill will also provide for the temporary permitting of out-of-state veterinarians and ensure international veterinary school graduates of both AVMA Council on Education and AAVSB approved programs are able to qualify for licensure examination in Hawaii. For more background on this bill, see this post.
SB 2798 Hearing Notice 2/7/2022 – Testimony Needed!
SB 2798 will be heard on Monday February 7, 2022 at 1pm by the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment via videoconference. Please submit written testimony in support of this bill which will amend Chapter 471, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to better define the practice and parameters of veterinary medicine and veterinary telemedicine to protect Hawaii consumers and their pets from inadequate, improper, or unlicensed veterinary care. In addition, to address the current shortage of licensed veterinarians in Hawaii, this bill will also provide for the temporary permitting of out-of-state veterinarians and ensure international veterinary school graduates of both AVMA Council on Education and AAVSB approved programs are able to qualify for licensure examination in Hawaii. For more background on this bill, see this post.
Legislative Update 2022
The Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association (HVMA) seeks to amend Chapter 471, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to better define the practice and parameters of veterinary medicine and veterinary telemedicine to protect consumers and their pets from inadequate, improper, or unlicensed veterinary care. Further, because there is a shortage of licensed veterinarians in Hawaii, HVMA is proposing to provide for the temporary permitting of out-of-state veterinarians and providing for international veterinary school graduates to qualify for licensure examination in Hawaii.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions brought about consumer demand for telehealth in the field of veterinary medicine. Telemedicine has allowed consumers more access to veterinary services for their pets, particularly in areas where access to veterinary care is limited. However, HVMA is aware that the use of telemedicine may also be abused without an established veterinary-client-patient relationship. Without actual physical examination of a pet, veterinary services rendered through telemedicine alone can be inadequate and below the standard of veterinary care. The addition of telehealth definitions and the telemedicine section will help to clarify the practice of veterinary telemedicine and assist the Hawaii Board of Veterinary Medicine in ensuring consumers in Hawaii receive proper and licensed veterinary telemedicine services.
Additionally, the pandemic highlighted the shortage of veterinarians available to provide specialty and routine veterinary care for Hawaii’s people and their pets. At times, veterinary emergency hospitals were unable to operate 24/7 and surgeon schedules were completely booked for months due to the inability to fill these staffing shortages by temporary permit. In one specific case, there was a veterinary surgeon within the state that could have assisted during this period, but due to her international veterinary school degree, was unable to sit for Hawaii’s state licensing exam due to a technicality in the administrative rules. These amendments are critically important to prevent such veterinary care shortages in the future, and ensure that all qualified veterinarians are allowed to sit for the Hawaii state licensing exam.
This bill has currently been introduced to the House (HB 1598) by Representatives Johanson, Hashem, and Nishimoto; and into the Senate (SB 2798) by Senators Lee, Gabbard, Keith-Agaran, Misalucha, Acasio, Ihara, and San Buenaventura . Please take the time to thank them for their support, and write your local representative to ask for theirs!
Legislative Update
The HVMA Legislative Committee is working on a few proposals to update Hawaii’s Veterinary Practice Law (HRS 471). These proposals include definitions and guidelines surrounding telemedicine, visiting veterinarians, and informed consent. Have another proposal? Let us know.
Legislative Update
New animal laws enacted in 2021:
Act 31 – Establishes the crime of sexual assault of an animal. Standard veterinary, animal husbandry, and conformation judging practices are exempt. Effective June 7, 2021.
Act 91 – Protects veterinarians from civil liability for rendering emergency aid to an animal, even if an owner is not available to consent to care. Requires veterinarians to report suspected animal cruelty or the injury or death of an animal as part of a staged fight. Protects veterinarians from civil liability for making such reports. Effective June 25, 2021.
Act 182 – Bans the unsupervised tethering of a dog under the age of six months. Bans tethering in a configuration that endangers the dog. Bans the use of tow or log chains to tether a dog. Effective July 6, 2021.
Act 5, Special Session – Requires dog and cat owners to have microchip identification implanted in their dogs and cats, and to register the microchip number and the owner’s contact information with a microchip registration company. Requires animal organizations to implant a microchip in all stray dogs and cats in their custody that do not have microchip identification. Effective January 1, 2022.
Specialty/ER Service Interruption
The Hawaii Board of Veterinary Medicine has recently reinterpreted Hawaii’s veterinary practice law and begun rejecting the practice of veterinary sponsorship. This practice previously allowed many out-of-state specialists to share their services with our clients on a short-term or intermittent basis. All of us have benefited from referring our clients to visiting dermatologists, radiologists, surgeons, as well as our few emergency care centers that operate 24/7. This interruption in veterinary sponsorship has limited service hours at emergency clinics and worsened the backlog of surgery cases in Hawaii.
If your clients are being affected, please encourage them to file a complaint with the DCCA and Board of Veterinary Medicine to insist that they must immediately return to honoring the practice of veterinary sponsorship in Hawaii as clearly allowed by HRS 471(2)-5.
Microchip Regulation Update
On July 1, 2020, the City and County of Honolulu implemented mandatory microchip identification for cats and dogs over the age of four months. This replaces the City and County of Honolulu’s dog license tag requirement, but does not replace the requirement that cats allowed outdoors have visible identification. Any dog or cat without a microchip who is impounded by Hawaiian Humane Society or taken into custody by an animal rescue nonprofit must have a microchip implanted before release. The microchipping obligation does not apply to private individuals returning lost pets or to veterinary clinics, but we hope you will urge your clients to comply with the law. Clients with a new pet who is already microchipped should be informed that they have 30 days to update the pet’s microchip with their owner information.
In addition, the Hawaiian Humane Society will no longer be updating their microchip registry. Instead, they are recommending that veterinarians help pet owners register their information with the microchip manufacturer or with a free online database such as FoundAnimals.org. Pet owners who have microchips implanted by your clinic also have a legal obligation to register their contact information with an online registry within 30 days. Please do not send microchip information to the Hawaiian Humane Society at this time.
Another provision of the new law requires that any intact dog impounded as stray three times in a 12-month period must be spayed/neutered before the dog can be returned to its owner unless a licensed veterinarian finds the dog is medically unfit for sterilization.
Questions or comments may be directed to the Hawaiian Humane Society at info@hawaiianhumane.org or 356-2200.
Update from Hawaiian Humane Society
July 1 marked the implementation of the most significant overhaul of Oahu’s animal welfare ordinance in 25 years. It made changes in three major areas:
- Stray animal handling
- Pet identification
- Routinely stray dogs
The pet identification provisions are expected to affect the greatest number of pet owners.
FAQs
What law has changed?
Revised Ordinance of Honolulu Chapter 7: Animals and Fowl
How did the rules change regarding stray animal holding?
Hawaiian Humane now has legal custody of any stray dog or cat with microchip identification after five days in its care, down from nine. Dogs wearing a current county license tag still must be held for a minimum of nine days. The kenneling fee for stray animals has increased to $10 per day from $2.50. There is still no kenneling charge for animals reclaimed within 24 hours. This is not a legal requirement, but Hawaiian Humane is urging pet owners who travel, particularly if they will not have email or cell phone access, to list their pet sitter or veterinarian as a secondary contact on their microchip registration in the event that their animal gets lost while they are away.
What are the new rules for pet identification?
All dogs and cats are now required to have microchip identification. Pet cats allowed outdoors are still required to have visible identification. That is highly recommended for dogs, as well, but not legally required.
What if you have a current dog license?
Owner information can still be updated with the City and County of Honolulu. No new dog licenses are being sold and licenses can no longer be renewed.
What about microchip registration?
Clinics that wish to upload microchip information should do so with the manufacturer’s database, not Hawaiian Humane. Hawaiian Humane is no longer maintaining a separate microchip database for Oahu and pet owners are no longer legally required to register their microchips with Hawaiian Humane. Under the new ordinance, pet owners who have microchips implanted have 30 days to register their contact information with the microchip manufacturer or a free online database. Similarly, they have 30 days to update any changes to their contact information or to transfer ownership of a pet.
What does the new law say about routine strays, or “frequent fliers”?
Any dog brought to Hawaiian Humane as stray three times in a 12-month period must be spayed/neutered before the dog can be returned to its owner, unless medically contraindicated. Sterilization services will be offered at the Community Spay/Neuter Center, but owners may request that Hawaiian Humane transfer a dog falling under this requirement to a private veterinary clinic upon confirmation of a spay/neuter appointment.
What do we do if someone brings us a lost pet?
Hawaiian Humane remains the official pet lost and found for Oahu. If you need help identifying the owner of a microchipped pet, call the admissions team at 356-2285.
Paycheck Protection Program Update from AVMA
The AVMA Advocacy team worked very hard to influence and improve the Paycheck Protection Program. The Small Business Administration recently released data on the loans and the uptake by the veterinary profession has been significant. About 56% of veterinary practices took PPP loans totaling an estimated $2.1 Billion, with over 80% of the loans being less than $150,000. Over 200,000 jobs in veterinary practices have been protected. A blog posting with data and an infographic can be found at https://www.avma.org/blog/covid-19-loans-are-supporting-veterinary-teams-and-patients.
Congress is working on additional legislation that will impact the PPP, which could include retroactive changes. It is expected to pass before Congress leaves for their August recess. AVMA is actively seeking measures to ensure favorable tax treatment of PPP loan proceeds, and for a streamlined forgiveness process for loans below $150,000, which would include the vast majority of veterinary PPP loans. We have a Congressional Advocacy Network Action Alert out on the tax treatment of PPP funds that can be found at https://avmacan.avma.org/avma/app/onestep-write-a-letter?0&engagementId=508320.