Existing law requires the governing body of each city, city and county, or county to maintain or provide for the maintenance of an animal shelter system and a rabies control program. This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to collect certain rabies control program data from each city, city and county, or county, as outlined. By increasing the data collected from each city, city and county, and county, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

This bill would authorize a corporation, or humane officer thereof, proffering a complaint under existing law to bring it as a civil action to obtain specific or injunctive relief to enforce laws relating to or affecting animals. This bill contains other related provisions.

This bill would require all animal shelters, as defined, to provide public notice on their internet website at least 72 hours before euthanizing an adoptable dog or cat, as defined, and include the date that an adoptable dog or cat is scheduled to be euthanized, as provided. By creating new requirements regarding this public notice, the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require a city that has previously adopted an emergency plan designating emergency shelters to update its emergency plan to designate emergency shelters able to accommodate persons with pets on or before July 1, 2024. The bill would require an emergency shelter designated as able to accommodate persons with pets to be in compliance with safety procedures regarding the sheltering of pets established in the component of the state and local emergency plan and applicable disaster assistance policies and procedures of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This bill would require that whenever a city or county designates an emergency shelter, cooling center, or warming center that it also designate an emergency shelter, cooling center, or warming center, as applicable, that can accommodate persons with pets.

This bill would delete the requirement that a defendant granted probation complete counseling and would, instead, require the court to order a defendant convicted of specified offenses, including the above-described offense, against animals and granted probation to successfully complete counseling designed to evaluate and treat behavior or conduct disorders.

This bill would require the department to develop and administer the Pets Assistance With Support Grant Program (PAWS), to award grants to qualified homeless shelters and qualified domestic violence shelters, as defined. The bill would require grant recipients to meet certain availability and service requirements as they relate to the pets of people experiencing homelessness and people escaping domestic violence. The bill would provide that the program would only become operative upon appropriation by the Legislature.

This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the California Public Interest Veterinary Debt Relief Program under the administration of the commission to award funds to California-licensed veterinarians, in relief of their educational loan debt, as defined, who enter into a contract with the commission to provide veterinary services in eligible premises settings, as defined, on a full-time basis, as specified. The bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the California Public Interest Veterinary Debt Relief Program Fund as the initial depository of all moneys appropriated, donated, or otherwise received for the program and would require the commission to disburse moneys in the fund for purposes of the program, as provided.

This bill would authorize a licensee to practice veterinary telemedicine, as defined. The bill would require a veterinarian who practices veterinary telemedicine, among other things, to employ sound professional judgment to determine whether using veterinary telemedicine is an appropriate method for delivering medical advice or treatment to the patient, provide quality of care consistent with prevailing veterinary medical practice, and be able to refer the client to a veterinarian who may be able to see the patient in person upon the request of the client. The bill would also define the term “client” for purposes of the act and make other conforming changes.

This bill would require the department, in consultation with service dog schools and advocacy organizations, to conduct a statewide educational campaign concerning the problems faced by qualified service dog users, subject to appropriation by the Legislature for that purpose. The bill would authorize the department to solicit donations from private sources, including service dog schools, to support this campaign.

This bill would also authorize a nonprofit that contracts with a county to provide services to undomesticated burros to remove an undomesticated burro that strays onto private land, to remove an undomesticated burro that strays onto a public roadway, and to provide medical care or treatment to an undomesticated burro that is seriously ill or injured, as provided.

This bill would authorize a veterinarian, for the purpose of permitting a registered veterinary technician to administer to an animal patient preventive or prophylactic vaccines or medications for the control or eradication of an apparent or anticipated internal or external parasite, to establish a veterinarian-client-patient relationship by satisfying other specified criteria.