Includes in the definition of veterinary medicine, the treatment of dental conditions; exempts persons who can treat floating teeth of horses from licensing requirments

BILL NUMBER:S4341

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to the practice of veterinary medicine

Purpose

This bill is designed to bring the NY Veterinary Practice Act into compliance with most of our neighboring states and those states with large raring and e~line populations by including animal dentistry within the scope of practice of veterinary medicine.

Summary of provisions

Section 6701 of the education law is amended to include the treatment of dental conditions as within the definition of the practice of veterinary medicine.

A new paragraph 14 is added to Section 6705 to "grandfather" persons engaged in oral adjustment of floating of teeth in horses and who are not otherwise qualified from the prohibitions contained in this amendment.

Justification

When the New York veterinary practice act was first enacted, there was general agreement that the practice of veterinary medicine included all of the veterinary specialties and for many years the practice operated under that assumption.

Recently, the State Racing and wagering Board attempted to exclude unlicensed "veterinary dentists" from racetracks in the state. The State Education Department's Office of the Professions joined in the effort to prohibit this unlicensed practice. The decision in State Supreme Court in the Matter of Chris Brown v. the NYS Racing and Wagering Board was unfavorable and the state appealed the matter. The Appellate Division upheld the lower Court on the grounds that the New York Practice Act, unlike many others, did not include specific reference to dentistry in its definition of veterinary medicine.

The court noted that the New York statute marks a "departure from parallel statutes of sister states in our region. We are guided by the maxim expression unius est exclusion alterius, that the failure of the Legislature to include a matter within a particular statute is an indication that its exclusion was intended." While the State Education Department urged the Court to accept its view that dentistry was within the scope of practice of veterinary medicine, the Court noted that this was a legislative matter for consideration and modification if it was to occur.

It is important to note that most of the states in this region including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut,

Maryland and Rhode Island, along with other states with significant equine industries, including Kentucky, Oklahoma, California, Texas, Montana, Minnesota, Washington and Ohio include dentistry within the scope of veterinary practice.

The New York practice Act has not been significantly modified in many years, during which many of these states' statutes were enacted or amended. It is therefore appropriate that New York join with similar states in the treatment of animal dentistry. This is especially fitting given the efforts of the Racing and wagering Board and State Education Department to seek continuity in racing standards through regional and national compacts.

The legislation reflects the fact that there are a small number of persons who have been floating teeth and providing similar services to horse owners throughout the state and it protects them by grandfathering their ability to act in this regard.

Prior legislative history

This bill is similar in intent to S.6461/A.9562 of 2010.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.