Pulse - July 2021 - 9

PULSEPOINTS
RADAR SCREEN
The Board thanked the Animal Health Foundation for organizing
access to www.accessibe.com to help practices with website ADA
compliance
· DVM2Kx reported on their upcoming Trivia Night scheduled
for July 7
· The 2022 Celebration is scheduled for February 5, 2022 at
the Disney Grand Californian
· The Board approved a motion to have a FUN DAY for the
membership in October, venues considered include LA Zoo,
OC Discovery Cube.
· The board was advised that a new tenant had been identified
and a lease signed effective July 1, 2021
· All 2021 Award and Scholarship Winners have been celebrated
in some fashion either live or virtually.
· The board approved a motion to offer the UC Davis Student
Representative position to Celestina De Villa
· The board approved a motion to set the dues for RETIRED MEMBERS
(as defined in the By Laws and Policy Statements) at $175
per year
· The board approved a motion to transfer $55000 to the
SCVMA Education and Scholarship Foundation.
· The SCVMA's PPP loan has been fully forgiven
· The SCVMA presented the Red Cross OC Heroes Award virtually
CVMA President Dr Dirk Yelinek reported on the activities of the
CVMA with a focus on legislative issues impacting the profession
in California. Here is a portion of that report:
As is the case every year, legislation is top of mind in 2021.
The four most significant bills this year are SB 585 (declawing),
SB 384 (cannabis), AB 1282 (community blood banks), and AB
1535 (sunset review). A short status report on each is as follows:
SB 585 (CVMA Position-Oppose): This bill would have outlawed
declawing in the State of California for all but certain
defined " therapeutic " purposes, and also would have imposed
a VMB reporting requirement for veterinarians carrying out the
procedure. However, the measure ultimately died in committee
for what appears to have been largely logistical reasons. The
likelihood is that the bill will be resurrected next year.
SB 384 (CVMA Position-Support): Current law allows veterinarians
to discuss the clinical use of cannabis with clients in
the context of an established VCPR. SB 384 would expand that
authorization to allow for the recommendation of cannabis products,
and direct the VMB to promulgate guidelines attending to
that recommendation. Although the bill is not perfect, and discussions
are ongoing regarding possible amendments concerning
dosage and other items, the CVMA supports the bill for purposes
PULSE
JULY 2021
of getting veterinarians a seat at this increasingly relevant/burgeoning
table.
AB 1282 (CVMA Position-Approve if Amended): This bill
seeks to phase out the two existing closed-colony blood banks
in California in favor of community-sourced blood banks. The
CVMA's primary concern relative to this bill is ensuring that
any community model that might be adopted hold paramount
both (a) sufficiency of supply and (b) quality of supply. We are
working closely with the bill's author and sponsor to make sure
those concerns are adequately addressed, including through
discussing the metrics of how the closed colony " phase out "
and community bank " phase in " will occur.
AB 1535 (CVMA Position-Watch Closely, Work With Author):
Sunset review is the process by which a state board's continuing
existence is reviewed and (usually) approved by the legislature.
While this would seem to be a relatively routine exercise
on its face (Q: " Do we want to maintain the Veterinary Medical
Board? " A: " Yes. " ), it can actually be a breeding ground
for special interest advocacy, in the form of interest groups
attempting to " pack " substantive statutory directives into the
sunset bill. This year, there is a concern that such " packing "
relative to the VMB's sunset review may involve statutory language
that would (a) make the currently-operative (and thus
temporary) COVID-related telemedicine waiver permanent (and
in fact expand it), and/or (b) allow human physical therapists
to perform animal physical rehabilitation services under only
indirect veterinary supervision (currently, direct supervision
is required). As our official position indicates, we are closely
watching this bill as it evolves, and are opposing/will oppose
any of the " packing " efforts described above.
The CVMA helped to get veterinarians and veterinary staff
included in Tier 1A of the COVID-19 vaccination prioritization.
While a few counties resisted such handling (or were inconsistent
in it), the majority of counties did in fact vaccinate veterinary
personnel under the Tier 1A auspice, and we feel like we
played a significant role in getting most veterinary personnel
to (near) the front of the line.
The CVMA assisted in Dr. Richard Sullivan's election as the
District X representative to the AVMA Board of Directors, succeeding
Dr. George Bishop. Dr. Sullivan is a longtime CVMA
and AVMA member who most recently served on the Veterinary
Medical Board's Multidisciplinary and Advisory Committee.
He has dedicated his career to organized veterinary
medicine at the local, state, and national levels, and is a true
expert in many issues of concern to the profession. He will
serve a six year term, and will be a significant asset to the
AVMA's leadership.
9
http://www.accessibe.com
Pulse - July 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pulse - July 2021
