AB 3252: Animal health.

(1)Existing law requires any person that has the care or control of any animal that dies from any contagious disease to immediately cremate or bury the animal. Existing law prohibits the transport of any animal that has died from any contagious disease, except as specified. Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, use, expose, or fail to immediately kill any horse, mule, or other animal that has the diseases dourine, glanders, or farcy after the person is notified of the disease by a licensed veterinarian or the Department of Food and Agriculture.

This bill would repeal those provisions.

(2)Existing law defines biologics, requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to license biologic establishments that meet specified requirements, prescribes requirements relating to the application for a biologic license, and requires a certain biologic license application fee and license renewal fee. Existing law prescribes certain procedures for the enforcement of those provisions. Existing law exempts from certain of these requirements, private veterinarians who maintain their own, in-office blood donor animals for use in their own practice.

This bill would eliminate that exemption for private veterinarians.

(3)Existing law exempts certain facilities engaged in the collection, preparation, testing, processing, storage, or distribution of human blood or blood products and clinical laboratories whose only biologics are autogenous bacterins prepared at the request of licensed veterinarians from all the law relating to the regulation and licensing of commercial blood banks for animals and biologics.

This bill would additionally exempt licensed private veterinarians who collect blood or blood products solely for use in their own practice from the law regulating and licensing commercial blood banks for animals and biologics.

(4)Existing law makes any person who negligently or intentionally violates any state or federal law or regulation, including any quarantine regulation, by importing any pest-infested or disease-infected animal or other article and causing further infestation or infection, or causing an infestation to spread beyond any quarantine boundaries, civilly liable in a sum not to exceed $25,000.

This bill would revise this provision to instead impose civil liability for moving a pest-infested or disease-infected animal.

(5)Existing law provides for the regulation of public equine events and public horse sales, as defined, by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. Existing law prohibits, as specified, the showing of a horse at these events and sales if the horse has been administered a prohibited substance. Existing law authorizes the therapeutic administration, as defined, of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) before and during all events and sales, except public auctions, provided that the dosage does not exceed limits established by regulation. Existing law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture, on or before July 1, 2014, to establish, by regulation, the approved therapeutic medications list and maximum detectable plasma levels. Under existing law, each violation of these provisions is punishable by, among other things, a civil penalty of not less than $100 and not more than $10,000. Existing law requires penalties collected pursuant to these provisions, including the civil penalty described in (4) above, and any interest, to be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund. Under existing law, these moneys are continuously appropriated to the department for the purpose of carrying out these provisions.

This bill would revise the references to NSAIDs in these provisions, and related provisions, to instead refer to permissible substances, as defined. The bill would delete the requirement for the department to establish an approved therapeutic medications list on or before July 1, 2014. By expanding a category of substances for which a penalty may be imposed and expanding the application of the civil penalty provision described in (4) above, and thus increasing the revenue received from those penalties that is deposited in a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.