ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 467
(By Senator Craigo)
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[Introduced February 21, 1994;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections eleven and twelve, article
ten, chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
veterinarians; the West Virginia board of veterinary
medicine; complaints and disciplinary action; and hearings.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections eleven and twelve, article ten, chapter thirty
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-
one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. VETERINARIANS.
§30-10-11. Complaints; disciplinary action.
The board may at any time upon its own motion, and shall
upon the written complaint of any person, conduct an
investigation to determine whether there are any grounds for the
board to suspend, revoke or otherwise discipline the license of
a veterinarian issued under the provisions of this article.
By a concurrence of four members, the board may suspend for
a certain time or revoke the license of or otherwise discipline,
for any of the following reasons:
(a) The employment of fraud, misrepresentation or deception
in obtaining his or her license;
(b) An adjudication of insanity;
(c) Chronic inebriety or the habitual use of drugs;
(d) The use of advertising or solicitation which is false,
misleading or is otherwise deemed unprofessional under reasonable
rules promulgated by the board;
(e) Conviction of a felony or other crime involving moral
turpitude;
(f) Incompetence, gross negligence or other malpractice in
the practice of veterinary medicine;
(g) Having professional association with or employing any
person practicing veterinary medicine unlawfully;
(h) Fraud or dishonesty in the application or reporting of
any test for disease in any animal or animals;
(i) Failure to keep veterinary premises and equipment in a
clean and sanitary condition;
(j) Failure to report, as required by law, or making false
report of, any contagious or infectious disease;
(k) Dishonesty or gross negligence in the inspection of
foodstuffs or the issuance of health or inspection certificates;
(l) Cruelty to animals;
(m) Revocation of a license to practice veterinary medicineby another state, territory or district of the United States on
grounds other than nonpayment of any registration or license fee
or fees; or
(n) Unprofessional conduct as defined in reasonable rules
promulgated by the board.
§30-10-12. Hearings; administrative procedures act made
applicable; grounds for suspension or revocation of license
or disciplinary action.
Whenever the board denies an application for any license or
renewal of any license, or suspends or revokes any license, or
otherwise disciplines any licensed veterinarian, it shall make
and enter an order to that effect and serve a copy thereof on the
applicant or licensed veterinarian, as the case may be, at his or
her last known address, by certified mail, return receipt
requested. The order shall state the grounds for action taken
and shall require that any license suspended or revoked thereby
shall be returned to the board by the holder within twenty days
after receipt of the copy of the order.
Any person adversely affected by any such order is entitled
to a hearing thereon as to all issues not excluded from the
definition of a "contested case" as set forth in article one,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code if, within twenty days after
receipt of a copy thereof, he or she files with the board a
written demand for such a hearing. A demand for hearing shall
operate automatically to stay or suspend the execution of any
order placing a licensed veterinarian on probation, suspending orrevoking a license or denying an application for a renewal
license. The board may require the person demanding the hearing
to give reasonable security for the costs thereof and if the
person does not substantially prevail at the hearing, such
security shall be forfeited or the cost shall be assessed against
him or her and may be collected by an action at law or other
proper remedy.
Upon receipt of a written demand for a hearing, the board
shall set a time and place therefore not less than ten and not
more than thirty days thereafter.
All of the pertinent provisions of article five, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code shall apply to and govern any hearing
and the administrative procedures in connection with and
following the hearing.
Any hearing shall be conducted by a quorum of the board.
For the purpose of conducting the hearing, any member of the
board may issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum in the name
of the board, in accordance with the provisions of section one,
article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. All subpoenas
and subpoenas duces tecum shall be issued and served within the
time and for the fees and shall be enforced, as specified in said
section and all of the section one provisions dealing with
subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum apply to subpoenas and
subpoenas duces tecum issued for the purpose of a hearing
hereunder.
The board may postpone or continue any hearing on its ownmotion or for good cause shown upon the application of the
applicant or licensee, as the case may be. At the hearing the
applicant or licensee, as the case may be, has the right to be
heard in person and by any attorney at law admitted to practice
before any circuit court of this state.
After any hearing and consideration of all the testimony
evidence and record in the case, the board shall render its
decision in writing.
The written decision of the board shall be accompanied by
findings of fact and conclusions of law as specified in section
three, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, and a
copy of the decision and accompanying findings and conclusions
shall be served upon the applicant or licensee, as the case may
be, and his attorney of record, if any.
The decision of the board shall be final unless vacated or
modified upon judicial review thereof in accordance with the
provisions of section thirteen of this article.