Proposed new §573.71, regarding operation of temporary limited-service veterinary services, is proposed to reflect the fact that it applies only to veterinarians, rather than to all licensees. The proposed rule is also amended to require veterinarians operating temporary limited service clinics to keep both rabies vaccination records and treatment records for five years, to comport with the length of time that veterinarians operating traditional, full-service clinics are required to keep such records. This proposal is intended to conform the language of the rule to comport with a previous rule change that altered the records retention requirement so that veterinarians are now required keep both rabies certifications and patient health records for five years, and did not distinguish between veterinarians working in full-service clinics and those working in temporary limited-service clinics. The proposed rule is renumbered from §573.70.

Proposed new §573.72, regarding employment by nonprofit or municipal corporations, is proposed to reflect the fact that it applies only to veterinarians, rather than to all licensees. The proposed rule is renumbered from §573.71. There is no statutory limitation on the ownership of an equine dental provider's practice as there is for veterinary practices, so there is no need for an exception for equine dental providers employed by a nonprofit organization.

Proposed new §573.73, regarding animal reproduction, is renumbered from §573.72, but the text is otherwise unchanged.

Proposed new §573.74, regarding management services organizations in veterinary practice, is renumbered from §573.73, but the text is otherwise unchanged.

Proposed new §573.75, regarding duty to cooperate with Board, is proposed to apply to all licensees, equine dental providers and veterinarians alike. The proposed rule is renumbered from §573.74.

Proposed new §573.76, regarding notification of licensee addresses, is proposed to apply to all licensees, equine dental providers and veterinarians alike. The proposed rule is renumbered from §573.75. The proposed rule is amended to include new requirements that licensees inform the Board of their business telephone number and residence or cellular telephone number, to allow Board representatives to contact licensees more readily.

Proposed new §573.77, regarding sterilization of animals from releasing agencies, is renumbered from §573.76, but the text is otherwise unchanged.

Proposed new §573.78, regarding default on student loan/child support payments, is renumbered from §573.77, but the text is otherwise unchanged.

Proposed new §573.79, regarding the maintenance of sanitary premises, is proposed to apply to all licensees of the Board, veterinarian and equine dental provider alike. The proposed rule is also renumbered from §573.28.

Proposed new §573.80, regarding definitions, would define words used throughout Chapter 573 including: accepted livestock management practices, designated caretaker, food production animals, biologic, pregnancy testing, invasive dentistry, invasive dental procedures, consultation, general supervision, direct supervision, immediate supervision, official health documents, and specialist. The terms accepted livestock management practices, designated caretaker, food production animals, biologic, pregnancy testing, invasive dentistry, invasive dental procedures, consultation terms were previously defined in §573.65; general supervision, direct supervision and immediate supervision were all previously defined in §573.10; and term specialist was previously defined in §573.23. These terms have been broken out and placed in the definitions section for ease of use. The term official health documents is defined to add clarification and uniformity to the Board's rules regarding supervision, knowledge, and recordkeeping regarding documents signed by a veterinarian and attesting to an animal's health, including but not limited to vaccination certificates and health certificates for shipment of animals.

Throughout Chapter 573, numerous grammatical, capitalization, conforming and non-substantive changes are proposed. Also, statutory citation references are updated and standardized to reflect current law and Texas Register formatting requirements.

Nicole Oria, Executive Director, Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, has determined that for each year of the first five years that the proposed repeals and new rules are in effect, there will be increased cost to state government required to enforce rules of professional conduct against the newly licensed equine dental providers. The increased cost to the state required to enforce the rules for licensed equine dental providers will be offset by the reduction in cost of the amounts the Board previously spent on enforcing the unlicensed practice of veterinary medicine by unlicensed equine dentists. Ms. Oria has also determined that the proposed repeals and new rules may create some reduction in cost for state government for each of the first five years the proposal is in effect, as many of the changes and additions in the proposed rules are intended to make the rules more clear and enforceable, saving the agency staff time, as well as investigation and litigation expenses. Ms. Oria does not anticipate any fiscal implications for local government as a result of the proposed repeals and new rules.

Ms. Oria has also determined that for each year of the first five years that the proposed repeals and new rules will be in effect, the public benefit anticipated as a result of the proposal is that the public will be able to rely on the training and quality of service from the regulation of licensed equine dental providers. The public will further benefit from having all licensees maintain patient records for five years, because it will allow the public longer to request records from veterinarians and will make the Board's enforcement process more efficient. The public will also benefit from being able to seek Board enforcement of discipline against the veterinarian if employees of the veterinarian violate the Board's rules under the new respondeat superior standard. The public will further benefit from not having to worry that an animal could be held by a veterinarian through a contractual lien. The public will benefit from the clarification of the Board's compounding rules, which will allow the Board to more readily ensure that compounded medications are only used when no other drug could substitute, under the confines of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, and with significant cautionary measures in place when used in food-producing animals. Moreover, the public will benefit from being able to more easily determine which specialized veterinarians are best qualified to treat their animal, and from the prevention of misleading advertising by licensees, either by statement or implication. The public will also benefit from additional required information in veterinarian patient records, which will provide useful documentation in Board disciplinary actions and more clarity to the treatment a veterinarian provided. The public will benefit from the requirement that veterinarians keep a log of which individuals have access to their controlled substances, as it will prevent diversion of the controlled substances. The public will also benefit from the requirement that all licensees report any loss of certification, licensure or registration to the Board, as it will allow the Board to take disciplinary action in Texas, including revocation of a Texas license, if necessary to protect the public in Texas, depending on the severity of the offense that caused the loss of licensure, certification or registration, and the extent of the resulting danger to the public. Furthermore, the public will benefit from licensees better maintaining and improving their professional skills by taking a majority of their continuing education courses either in person or through highly interactive online classes, and by only being able to claim credit for the portion of a multi-day course they actually attended. Another public benefit anticipated as a result of the proposal is that the rules of professional conduct for Board licensees will be clearer, better organized, and more easily understood. Ms. Oria has determined that there is no anticipated economic impact on veterinarians who are required to comply with the proposal. Furthermore, Ms. Oria does not anticipate a local employment impact from the proposal.

Ms. Oria has determined that equine dental providers, including micro-businesses operating as equine dental provider practices, will experience minor economic costs increase associated with complying with the proposed repeals and new rules for each year of the first five years that the proposal is in effect, due to the costs associated with creating and maintaining patient records, and the costs associated with attending continuing education classes. The Board estimates that there are approximately 30 equine dental provider micro-businesses in Texas. The proposed rules regarding equine dental providers are necessary to implement HB 414, which required that equine dental providers be licensed and regulated by the Board. In HB 414, the Texas Legislature itself set many of the parameters that are creating costs for equine dental providers under the proposal including, but not limited to, the number of continuing education hours an equine dental provider must obtain per year, the standard of care that an equine dental provider must use in his practice, and the requirement that an equine dental provider create patient records to give to both the client, and the supervising veterinarian on request. Where the Legislature did not specifically set the requirements that will cause licensed equine dental providers to incur additional costs, the Board has paralleled the requirements already in place for licensed veterinarians, such as in type of continuing education required and in how long patient records must be maintained. The Board considered setting separate and lesser requirements for equine dental providers with regard to the length of time records must be kept, but determined that a lesser period of record retention would hinder the effectiveness of the Board's enforcement process, and thereby decrease public safety. The Board also considered having lesser limitations on what type of continuing education an equine dental provider could attain and the distribution of hours among the various types of continuing education, but determined that any distribution requirements that allowed for fewer clinical hours or more self study to save money would not be rigorous enough to adequately maintain and improve the skills of licensed equine dental providers. Thus, the Board determined that there are no legal and feasible alternatives or other less expensive methods of regulating equine dental providers' continuing education and patient recordkeeping that could adequately to protect the health of Texas horses, or the economic interests of Texas horse owners.

The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners invites comments on the proposal from any member of the public. A written statement should be mailed or delivered to Loris Jones, Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, 333 Guadalupe, Suite 3-810, Austin, Texas 78701-3942, by facsimile (FAX) to (512) 305-7574, or by email to vet.board@tbvme.state.tx.us. Comments will be accepted for 30 days following publication in the Texas Register.

The new rules are proposed under the authority of the Veterinary Licensing Act, Texas Occupations Code, §801.151, which states that the Board may adopt rules necessary to administer the chapter; may adopt rules of professional conduct appropriate to establish and maintain a high standard of integrity, skills, and practice in the veterinary medicine profession; may adopt rules to protect the public; and may adopt rules to ensure that equine dentistry is performed only by a veterinarian who is active and in good standing or by a licensed equine dental provider who is active and in good standing under the appropriate level of supervision of a veterinarian who is active and in good standing and who has established a veterinarian-client-patient relationship with the owner or other caretaker of an animal. The rules are also proposed under the authority of the Veterinary Licensing Act, Texas Occupations Code, §801.501, which states that the Board by rule shall develop a system of monitoring a license holder's compliance with the requirements of the Veterinary Licensing Act; §801.356, which states that the Board by rule may establish the conditions under which a veterinarian may operate temporary limited-service veterinary clinics; §801.307, which allows the Board by rule to establish a minimum number of continuing education hours required to renew a license to practice veterinary medicine; and §801.203, which allows the Board by rule to establish methods by which consumers and service recipients are notified of the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the Board for the purpose of directing complaints to the Board.

Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 801, is affected by this proposal.