Researcher: JKL Page 1 5/27/21
OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6504 (as amended by House “A”)*
AN ACT CONCERNING ANIMAL WELFARE.
SUMMARY
This bill makes a number of unrelated changes to animal-related
statutes. Principally, it:
1. requires, when an animal control officer (ACO) seizes an animal
that is neglected or cruelly treated and a veterinarian
determines the animal is too injured or diseased to be treated,
the ACO to have the animal humanely euthanized by a licensed
veterinarian;
2. allows municipalities and regional animal control facilities to
appoint a temporary ACO from another municipality for up to
90 days;
3. requires regional animal control facilities to meet the same
construction, maintenance, and sanitation standards as
municipal pounds must under state law and regulations;
4. requires animal shelters to have dogs and cats examined
regularly by a licensed veterinarian and maintain records of
veterinary services rendered, which existing law requires of
animal importers, and revises fines for violations;
5. requires the agriculture commissioner to develop a process to
allow an animal’s owner to request a reduction, from six
months to four months, in the rabies quarantine period under
specified circumstances;
6. increases, from 10% to 20%, the maximum amount of the animal
population control account funds that may be used for
sterilizing and vaccinating feral cats under the agriculture 2021HB-06504-R010751-BA.DOCX
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department’s animal population control program (APCP); and
7. updates the reimbursement amount paid to veterinarians
participating in the APCP.
Additionally, the bill generally requires a veterinarian, in order to
practice veterinary medicine on an animal, to establish a veterinarian-
client-patient relationship with the animal and the animal’s owner or
caretaker. It identifies the conditions that must be met to establish this
relationship and allows the relationship to be maintained through
veterinary telemedicine.
Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes.
*House Amendment “A” removes certain provisions about service
animals and adds the veterinarian-client-patient relationship and
veterinary telemedicine provisions.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except the veterinarian-client-
patient relationship and veterinary telemedicine provisions are
effective July 1, 2021, and the APCP provisions are effective October
31, 2021.
§ 1 — POULTRY DEFINITION
The bill makes a minor change to align the definition of poultry in
the dog and companion animal statutes with the definition of poultry
in the poultry dealer statute. (Under the poultry dealer statute, poultry
is any domestic fowl or game bird raised for food production,
breeding, exhibition, or sale (CGS § 22-326s).)
§ 2 — SERVICE ANIMAL DEFINITION
The bill adds a definition of “service animal” to the statutes
concerning dogs and other companion animals. It defines “service
animal” as (1) a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform
tasks for a person with a disability (which is the definition in the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act regulations) and (2) an animal
in training to become a service animal. 2021HB-06504-R010751-BA.DOCX
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§§ 3, 4 & 7 — ANIMAL CONTROL OFFIC ERS AND SEIZED
ANIMALS
Under current law, if an ACO takes physical custody of an animal
that the ACO believes is in imminent harm and is neglected or cruelly
treated and the animal is so injured or diseased in the opinion of a
licensed veterinarian that it should be destroyed immediately, then the
ACO may humanely destroy it or cause it to be humanely destroyed.
The bill instead allows the ACO to have the animal humanely
euthanized by a licensed veterinarian under those circumstances.
Under current law, if a court is involved in a case of animal neglect
or cruelty and determines that the animal is so injured or diseased that
it should be destroyed, the court may order that the animal be
humanely destroyed. The bill instead allows the court to order that the
animal be humanely euthanized by a licensed veterinarian.
The bill also makes minor, technical, and conforming changes,
including replacing references to “the chief ACO, any ACO, and any
municipal ACO” with references to ACOs appointed under state law.
§ 5 — TEMPORARY ACO APPOINTMENT
The bill allows a municipality’s chief elected official or a regional
animal control facility (presumably the facility’s operator) to appoint
an ACO from another municipality to act as the temporary ACO for
the municipality or region for up to 90 days. The bill grants the
temporary ACO the same powers and authority he or she has in the
municipality or region from which he or she came.
Temporary appointments must be in writing and include
information on the ACO’s compensation, insurance, and use of
equipment, if any. The chief elected officials of the affected
municipalities and the affected regional facilities must all approve of
the temporary appointment. The agriculture commissioner must be
notified in writing of a temporary appointment within five days after
the appointment is made. (Presumably, the officials and facility
operators provide this notice.)
§ 6 — REGIONAL ANIMAL CONTROL FACILITIES 2021HB-06504-R010751-BA.DOCX
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By law, any two or more towns with populations of less than 50,000
may share a regional pound and be served by a regional ACO. Under
current law, the towns’ legislative bodies must approve the regional
pound. The bill instead specifies that if there is a board of selectmen or
town council, then it approves the regional pound. Otherwise,
approval lies with a town’s governing body.
The bill also requires regional pounds to meet the same
construction, maintenance, and sanitation standards as municipal
pounds must under state law and regulations.
§ 8 — ANIMAL SHELTERS AND ANIMAL IMPORTERS
Veterinary Services Required
The bill extends to animal shelter operators or maintainers the
requirement that animal importers have dogs and cats examined by a
licensed veterinarian within 48 hours of the animals entering the state
and every 90 days thereafter until the animals are sold, adopted, or
otherwise transferred. The shelter or importer cannot transfer an
animal unless a veterinarian (1) examined it within 15 days before the
transfer and (2) issued a written certificate of health that includes the
shelter’s or importer’s name, address, and contact information.
Under current law, an animal importer who violates these
requirements is subject to a fine of up to $500 for each animal in
violation. The bill instead subjects an animal importer or animal shelter
operator or maintainer to a $250 fine per animal for a first violation
and $500 fine per animal for subsequent violations.
Record Maintenance
The bill also requires animal shelter operators or maintainers to
keep records of veterinary services rendered to each dog or cat it
imported into the state for three years. Existing law requires the same
of animal importers.
Under current law, an animal importer who does not maintain the
records as required is subject to a $500 fine. The bill instead subjects an
animal importer or animal shelter operator or maintainer who violates 2021HB-06504-R010751-BA.DOCX
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this provision to a $250 fine for a first violation and $500 fine for
subsequent violations.
§ 9 — WAIVER FOR A RABIES QUARANTINE PERIOD
REDUCTION
The bill requires the agriculture commissioner to develop a waiver
request process and form for an animal’s owner, keeper, or
veterinarian to request a reduction of a rabies quarantine period from
six months to four months. This applies to an animal that was attacked
and potentially exposed to rabies and only if the owner, keeper, or
veterinarian submits proof with the request that the animal was
vaccinated against rabies within 96 hours after the attack. The
commissioner must post the waiver request process and form on the
agriculture department’s website and make them publicly available
and accessible as well as known to veterinarians in Connecticut.
§§ 10 & 11 — ANIMAL POPULATION CO NTROL PROGRAM
(APCP)
The Department of Agriculture’s APCP (1) provides low-income
Connecticut residents discounted sterilization and vaccination options
for their dogs and cats and (2) assists registered nonprofit rescue
groups with the sterilization and vaccination of feral cats. The
agriculture commissioner uses an established animal population
control account for the APCP costs. The account funds come from a
surcharge on dog licenses, certain animal adoption fees for pounds’
unsterilized cats and dogs, and proceeds from commemorative APCP
“Caring for Pets” license plates.
The bill increases, from 10% to 20%, the maximum amount of the
animal population control account funds that may be used for
sterilizing and vaccinating feral cats under the APCP.
It also updates the reimbursement amount paid to veterinarians
participating in the APCP. Under current law, a veterinarian receives,
per sterilization, $120 for a female dog, $100 for a male dog, $70 for a
female cat, and $50 for a male cat. The bill instead requires the
agriculture commissioner to establish a reimbursement rate that is up 2021HB-06504-R010751-BA.DOCX
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to 75% of the market rate or fee charged by veterinarians in
Connecticut as of October 31, 2021. When services to be performed
include both sterilization and vaccination, the bill requires the
reimbursement to be the amount designated for sterilization plus $30,
instead of $20 as under current law.
§ 12 — VETERINARIAN PRACTIC E
Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship
The bill requires a Connecticut-licensed veterinarian, in order to
practice veterinary medicine on an animal, to establish a veterinarian-
client-patient relationship with the animal and the animal’s owner or
caretaker. However, it allows a licensed veterinarian, in good faith, to
provide emergency or urgent care to an animal without having this
relationship if the animal’s owner or caretaker is unidentifiable.
Under the bill, a veterinarian establishes a veterinarian-client-
patient relationship when the following conditions are met:
1. the veterinarian has assumed the responsibility of making
medical judgements about the animal’s health and the need for
providing medical care or treatment to the animal, and has
provided instruction to the animal’s owner or caretaker on the
same;
2. the veterinarian has sufficient knowledge of the animal to make
a preliminary or general diagnosis of the animal;
3. the animal’s owner or caretaker has agreed to follow the
veterinarian’s recommendations about the animal’s medical
care or treatment;
4. the veterinarian is available for follow-up evaluation of the
animal or has arranged for (a) emergency or urgent care or (b)
continuing treatment by another licensed veterinarian who can
access the animal’s medical records or provide reasonable and
appropriate care;
5. the veterinarian oversees the animal’s medical care or 2021HB-06504-R010751-BA.DOCX
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treatment; and
6. the veterinarian has performed a physical examination of the
animal or is personally acquainted with the keeping and care of
the animal by providing care to another animal kept at the same
location.
The bill specifies that a veterinarian-client-patient relationship may
not be established solely through veterinary telemedicine.
Veterinary Telemedicine
The bill defines “veterinary telemedicine” as the exchange of
medical information about an animal’s health or delivery of a medical
diagnosis, care, or treatment of an animal through electronic means,
including by telephone, video, mobile apps, or an Internet website-
based platform.
Once a veterinary-client-patient relationship is established, the bill
allows the veterinarian to maintain that relationship through
veterinary telemedicine in between medically necessary examinations
of the animal or timely visits by the veterinarian to where the animal is
kept.
If there is no veterinarian-client-patient relationship, the bill permits
a veterinarian to provide only general advice using electronic means
and prohibits him or her from providing specific advice, including a
diagnosis or recommended care or treatment, for the animal.
BACKGROUND
Related Bill
sHB 6318 (File 119), favorably reported by the Human Services
Committee and passed by the House, makes changes throughout the
general statutes with respect to service animals, including aligning
state law with the federal definition.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Environment Committee 2021HB-06504-R010751-BA.DOCX
Researcher: JKL Page 8 5/27/21
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 32 Nay 0 (03/29/2021)