ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2656
(By Delegates Overington, Anderson, Fragale,
Proudfoot, Border and Davis)
[Passed March 9, 1998; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article ten-a, relating to
creation of the position of certified animal euthanasia
technician; under the control of the state board of veterinary
medicine; provision for controlled substance permits issued by
the state board of pharmacy and drug enforcement
administration identification numbers all of which issued to
humane societies or animal shelters incorporated and organized
under the laws of this state; institutional recognition by the
federal internal revenue service as a tax exempt or
governmental organization; the certified animal euthanasia
technician education program, requiring passage of written and
practical examinations; areas in which applicants are tested;
background checks; board to approve registration; annual renewal required; limitations of authority; responsibility;
loss of certification; disciplinary authority; and board to
propose legislative rules.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto
a new article, designated article ten-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10A. ANIMAL EUTHANASIA TECHNICIANS.
§30-10A-1. Definitions.
(a) "Board" means the West Virginia board of veterinary
medicine established under article ten of this chapter.
(b) "Animal euthanasia technician" means a person who is
certified by the board to euthanize animals assigned to the care of
a legally operated humane society, animal shelter or animal control
facility within this state.
§30-10A-2. Certification required and requirements for
certification.
(a) No person may perform the duties of an animal euthanasia
technician at a humane society, animal shelter or animal control
facility unless he or she is certified by the board. A person who
has completed the certified animal euthanasia technicians program
sponsored by the board shall complete and submit an application for
certification to the board at least thirty days prior to the date
the next written examination is scheduled. The application shall be accompanied by the required application fee and examination fee
set by the board by legislative rule.
(b) Prior to being certified, an applicant shall complete the
certified animal euthanasia technicians program sponsored by the
board and pass the written and practical skills examinations
required under this section. The board shall certify a person as
an animal euthanasia technician who has completed the program,
passed the examinations and met other requirements established by
the board by legislative rule.
§30-10A-3. Certified animal euthanasia technicians program;
application for certification; and written and practical skills examinations.
(a) The board shall sponsor a certified animal euthanasia
technicians program. The board shall design this program to teach
applicants for certification recordkeeping and the legal, safety
and practical information needed to become a certified animal
euthanasia technician.
(b) (1) The board shall administer a written examination to an
applicant for certification. The written examination shall test
the applicant's knowledge of the following:
(A) Animal restraint;
(B) Drug enforcement agency regulations;
(C) Record-keeping requirements for controlled substances;
(D) Handling, inventory and secure and proper storage of euthanasia drugs and solutions;
(E) The certification process;
(F) Legal requirements;
(G) Stress management;
(H) Sodium pentobarbital usage; and
(I) Other subject areas specified by the board in a
legislative rule.
(2) The applicant shall pass the written examination with a
minimum correct score as determined by the board by legislative
rule in order to be eligible to take the practical skills
examination provided for in subsection (d) of this section.
(c) In addition to the written examination provided for under
subsection (b) of this section, the board shall administer a
practical skills examination to an applicant who has successfully
passed the written examination. The board shall conduct the
examination in a manner that tests an applicant's ability to
properly restrain an animal, measure a correct dosage of euthanasia
solution, locate an injection site and perform an injection. In
order to pass the practical skills examination, an applicant shall
exhibit to the board that he or she can locate an injection site
and perform an injection and also perform euthanasia correctly and
humanely.
(d) An applicant who successfully passes the written
examination and the practical skills examination required by this section shall sign a form authorizing the board to make inquiries
through the United States department of justice, or any other legal
jurisdiction or entity, for the purposes of determining the
character and reputation of the applicant and other matters
relating to the certification of the applicant.
§30-10A-4. Scope of practice.
(a) A certified animal euthanasia technician may euthanize
animals assigned to the care of a legally operated humane society,
animal shelter or animal control facility within this state. A
certified animal euthanasia technician shall practice euthanasia
under the authority of a licensed veterinarian as defined in
article ten of this chapter or a county humane officer as defined
in article ten, chapter seven of this code within the limitations
imposed by this article and rules promulgated by the board under
this article.
(b) For the purposes of this article, controlled substance
permits issued by the state board of pharmacy and the federal drug
enforcement administration shall be issued to a municipal or county
run animal control facility, or a humane society or animal shelter
incorporated and organized under the laws of the state, with one or
more duly appointed agents. The humane society or animal shelter
shall possess a tax exempt charitable or tax exempt governmental
determination under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(c) A certified animal euthanasia technician may not practice or offer to practice his or her profession outside the direct
authority of the humane society, animal shelter or animal control
facility which employs him or her or otherwise contracts for his or
her services. A certified animal euthanasia technician is not
qualified and may not indicate that he or she is qualified to act
in any capacity relative to animals beyond his or her specified and
regulated authority to euthanize animals at the instruction of the
humane society, animal shelter or animal control facility by which
he or she is employed and under the supervision of a humane officer
or licensed veterinarian.
§30-10A-5. Annual renewal of certification required.
(a) A certified animal euthanasia technician shall renew his
or her certification annually. The board shall mail certification
renewal applications to all certified animal euthanasia technicians
at their last known business address on or about the first day of
December of each year. The certified animal euthanasia technician
shall complete and return the renewal application to the board no
later than the thirty-first day of December, with the required fee.
The certified animal euthanasia technician shall sign the renewal
application and list the physical location of the primary facility
where he or she provides euthanasia services.
(b) The annual renewal fee is twenty-five dollars if received
by the board by the thirty-first day of December for the next
calendar year, and thirty-five dollars if received by the board after the thirty-first day of December.
(c) The board may revoke the certification of an animal
euthanasia technician who fails to submit his or her renewal
application as required under subsection (a) of this section.
(d) A certified animal euthanasia technician who no longer
provides euthanasia services under the provisions of this article
shall notify the board that he or she is no longer providing
services.
§30-10A-6. Recordkeeping.
A humane society, animal shelter or animal control facility
which was issued a controlled substances permit by the board of
pharmacy and an identification number by the federal drug
enforcement administration is responsible for insuring that
certified animal euthanasia technicians in its employ maintain
proper records regarding the inventory, storage and administration
of controlled substances. The proper completion and retention of
these records is the joint responsibility of the humane society,
animal shelter or animal control facility and the certified animal
euthanasia technician. The humane society, animal shelter or
animal control facility and the certified animal euthanasia
technicians are subject to inspection and audit by the board, the
West Virginia board of pharmacy and any other appropriate state or
federal agency with authority regarding the recordkeeping,
inventory, storage and administration of controlled substances used under authority of this article.
§30-10A-7. Limitations of authority; responsibility; loss of
certification; and board's disciplinary authority.
(a) A certified euthanasia technician may not practice
euthanasia at any humane society, animal shelter or animal control
facility which does not possess a current state controlled
substance permit issued by the board of pharmacy and a current drug
enforcement administration identification number issued by the drug
enforcement administration.
(b) A certified animal euthanasia technician shall comply with
the provisions of this article and any rules promulgated by the
board under the authority of this article.
(c) The board shall immediately revoke the certification of an
animal euthanasia technician if he or she:
(1) Is convicted of a felony;
(2) Is guilty of cruelty to animals; or
(3) Is guilty of any other act or omission which the board
prescribes by legislative rule in accordance with article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(d) The board of veterinary medicine may take disciplinary
action against a certified animal euthanasia technician who is
guilty of misconduct. The board may take disciplinary actions
which may include, but are not limited to, the levying of fines or
the suspension or revocation of the animal euthanasia technician's certification. Any disciplinary action by the board may not
infringe upon the authority of any law-enforcement department or
agency.
(e)If the board suspends or revokes the certification of an
animal euthanasia technician under the provisions of this section,
it is the sole responsibility of the humane society, animal shelter
or animal control facility to replace him or her with a certified
animal euthanasia technician.
§30-10A-8. Drug selection.
(a) In the event that sodium pentobarbital is no longer
approved as the euthanasia "drug of choice" for animals by either
state or federal mandate, the board shall determine the replacement
"drug of choice" for sodium pentobarbital for use by certified
animal euthanasia technicians by legislative rule. The replacement
"drug of choice" shall be administered, controlled, stored and
secured by a humane society, animal shelter or animal control
facility which meets the qualifications in section one of this
article in accordance with legislative rules promulgated by the
board.
(b) The board may replace sodium pentobarbital as the "drug of
choice" at any time by legislative rule promulgated pursuant to
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The determined
"drug of choice" for animal euthanasia as specified by the board
shall be used by animal euthanasia technicians certified under the provisions of this article.
§30-10A-9. Responsibilities of individual boards, coordination
between boards, rule-making authority.
The board is responsible for the implementation and
enforcement of this article. After consultation with the board of
pharmacy, the board shall propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of
this article.