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.