FL
Florida House Bill H0729

Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0729 Compare Versions

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1010 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to veterinary professional associates; 2
1616 providing a short title; creating s. 474.2126, F.S.; 3
1717 providing legislative findings; defining terms; 4
1818 authorizing certain individuals to use the title 5
1919 "veterinary professional associate"; authorizing 6
2020 veterinary professional associates to perform certain 7
2121 duties only while under the responsible supervision of 8
22-a licensed veterinarian; specifying certain education 9
23-requirements; prohibiting such associates from 10
24-prescribing certain drugs or controlled substanc es or 11
25-performing certain surgical procedures; providing 12
26-exceptions; providing that supervising veterinarians 13
27-are liable for the acts or omissions of veterinary 14
28-professional associates under their supervision; 15
29-providing an effective date. 16
30- 17
31-Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
32- 19
33- Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Veterinary 20
34-Workforce Innovation Act." 21
35- Section 2. Section 474.2126, Florida Statutes, is created 22
36-to read: 23
37- 474.2126 Veterinary professional associate. — 24
38- (1) The Legislature finds that the practice of educated, 25
22+a licensed veterinarian; prohibiting such associa tes 9
23+from prescribing certain drugs or controlled 10
24+substances or performing certain surgical procedures; 11
25+providing exceptions; providing that supervising 12
26+veterinarians are liable for the acts or omissions of 13
27+veterinary professional associates under their 14
28+supervision; providing an effective date. 15
29+ 16
30+Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17
31+ 18
32+ Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Veterinary 19
33+Workforce Innovation Act." 20
34+ Section 2. Section 474.2126, Florida Statutes, is created 21
35+to read: 22
36+ 474.2126 Veterinary professional associate. — 23
37+ (1) The Legislature finds that the practice of educated, 24
38+trained, and experienced veterinary professional associates will 25
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4747 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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51-trained, and experienced veterinary professional associates will 26
52-increase consumers' access to high -quality veterinary medical 27
53-services, at a reasonable cost to consumers, while also 28
54-increasing the effici ency of the practice of veterinary medicine 29
55-in this state. 30
56- (2) As used in this section, the term: 31
57- (a) "Approved program" means a master's program in 32
58-veterinary clinical care, or the equivalent, from a school of 33
59-veterinary medicine in the United States or in its territories 34
60-or possessions. 35
61- (b) "Veterinary professional associate" means a person who 36
62-has earned a master's degree from an approved program and is 37
63-authorized to perform veterinary medical services delegated by a 38
64-supervising veterinarian. 39
65- (3) The title "veterinary professional associate" may be 40
66-used only by an individual who has successfully completed an 41
67-approved program and passed a national competency examination. 42
68- (4) Unless otherwise prohibited by federal or state law, a 43
69-veterinary professional associate may perform duties or actions, 44
70-including duties or actions in s. 474.202(9) and (13), in which 45
71-he or she possesses the competence, necessary training, current 46
72-knowledge, and experience to perform the assigned duties. The 47
73-veterinary professional associate may perform only the duties 48
74-assigned to him or her while under the responsible supervision, 49
75-as defined in s. 474.202, of a licensed veterinarian, except 50
51+increase consumers' access to high -quality veterinary medical 26
52+services, at a reaso nable cost to consumers, while also 27
53+increasing the efficiency of the practice of veterinary medicine 28
54+in this state. 29
55+ (2) As used in this section, the term: 30
56+ (a) "Approved program" means a master's program in 31
57+veterinary clinical care, or the equivalent, f rom a school of 32
58+veterinary medicine in the United States or in its territories 33
59+or possessions. 34
60+ (b) "Veterinary professional associate" means a person who 35
61+has earned a master's degree from an approved program and is 36
62+authorized to perform veterinary medica l services delegated by a 37
63+supervising veterinarian. 38
64+ (3) The title "veterinary professional associate" may be 39
65+used only by an individual who has successfully completed an 40
66+approved program and passed a national competency examination. 41
67+ (4) Unless otherwis e prohibited by federal or state law, a 42
68+veterinary professional associate may perform duties or actions, 43
69+including duties or actions in s. 474.202(9) and (13), in which 44
70+he or she possesses the competence, necessary training, current 45
71+knowledge, and experien ce to perform the assigned duties. The 46
72+veterinary professional associate may perform only the duties 47
73+assigned to him or her while under the responsible supervision, 48
74+as defined in s. 474.202, of a licensed veterinarian, except 49
75+when immediate supervision is required as provided in paragraph 50
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8484 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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88-when immediate supervision is required as provided in paragraph 51
89-(6)(b). 52
90- (5) To ensure competency in clinical practice, all 53
91-candidates for the veterinary professional associate designation 54
92-must complete a minimum of 100 hours of in -person clinical 55
93-skills training, focusing on fundamental hands -on procedures, 56
94-patient handling, diagnostic tec hniques, and treatment protocols 57
95-under direct supervision. Additionally, candidates must complete 58
96-a minimum of 200 hours of clinical rotations in approved 59
97-veterinary settings. The rotations must provide practical 60
98-experience in real-world veterinary care en vironments, allowing 61
99-candidates to develop proficiency in case management, client 62
100-communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Compliance 63
101-with the requirements of this subsection shall be verified 64
102-through documented assessments conducted by licensed veterinary 65
103-professionals. 66
104- (6) A veterinary professional associate may not: 67
105- (a) Unless otherwise authorized by state or federal law, 68
106-prescribe medicinal drugs or drugs, as defined in s. 465.003, or 69
107-a controlled substance listed in chapter 893; or 70
108- (b) Perform surgical procedures that enter a body cavity, 71
109-except for veterinary sterilizations. Such surgical procedures 72
110-must be performed under immediate supervision, as defined in s. 73
111-474.202, of a licensed veterinarian. 74
112- (7) A licensed veterinarian who ass igns duties or actions 75
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121-F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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125-to a veterinary professional associate is liable for any act or 76
126-omission of the veterinary professional associate acting under 77
127-the licensed veterinarian's supervision. 78
128- Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 79
88+(5)(b). 51
89+ (5) A veterinary professional associate may not do either 52
90+of the following: 53
91+ (a) Unless otherwise authorized by state or federal law, 54
92+prescribe medicinal drugs or drugs as defined in s. 465.003(15) 55
93+or a controlled substance listed in chapter 893. 56
94+ (b) Perform a surgical procedure, except for veterinary 57
95+sterilizations or surgical procedures that do not enter a body 58
96+cavity. Surgical procedures must be performed under immediate 59
97+supervision, as defined in s. 474.202 , of a licensed 60
98+veterinarian. 61
99+ (6) A licensed veterinarian who assigns duties or actions 62
100+to a veterinary professional associate is liable for any act or 63
101+omission of the veterinary professional associate acting under 64
102+the licensed veterinarian's supervision. 65
103+ Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 66