BILL REQ. #:  S-1324.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/22/13.   

     AN ACT Relating to local animal care and control functions; amending RCW 18.92.260; adding a new chapter to Title 16 RCW; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that:
     (1) Tens of thousands of stray and homeless dogs and cats are handled by Washington's animal care and control agencies and other animal welfare organizations each year, costing millions of dollars. This presents a significant financial burden to these organizations and to Washington taxpayers.
     (2) Unaltered dogs account for most serious incidences of unprovoked dog aggression and dog bites, causing injury, suffering, expense, and financial liability. This is a public safety issue that has not been adequately addressed in Washington state.
     (3) Many thousands of adoptable dogs and cats are put to death in shelters each year because there are not enough homes found to place them. This is a tragic consequence of animal overpopulation.
     (4) Pets owned by low-income individuals are less likely to be spayed or neutered than pets owned by individuals with higher levels of income. The cost of spay and neuter surgery is a barrier to achieving higher levels of surgically sterilized pets.
     (5) The majority of feral and free-roaming cats in Washington are not spayed or neutered, thus contributing significantly to the population of cats that are homeless and euthanized in shelters.
     (6) Reducing the companion animal population through spay and neuter surgery will reduce the number of animals handled and cared for by animal care and control agencies and other animal welfare organizations. This, in turn, will help reduce costs these agencies and organizations incur for handling stray, abandoned, relinquished, and homeless animals and, most importantly, will help reduce the number of animals that die in shelters.
     (7) Increasing the numbers of dogs that are surgically sterilized will help reduce risks of dog bites that result in injury, death, medical costs, and liability. Increasing the numbers of feral and free-roaming cats that are surgically sterilized will reduce the burdens they place on animal care and control agencies, shelters, animal rescue organizations, and individuals who care for these unowned, lost, or abandoned animals.
     (8) The most effective and humane way to reduce the number of animals dying in shelters is to reduce animal overpopulation through a targeted, statewide spay and neuter surgery network.
     (9) A companion animal safety, population control, and spay/neuter assistance program is necessary to address the problems and costs of companion animal overpopulation. The program should be funded through a fee that is practical, administratively feasible, and targeted at the class of Washington residents that is most responsible for companion animals and their impact on our communities: Owners of cats and dogs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Account" means the companion animal spay/neuter assistance account created in section 8 of this act.
     (2) "Animal care and control agency" means an agency or authority as defined in RCW 16.52.011(2)(c).
     (3) "Cat" means a member of the species Felis catus.
     (4) "Companion animal" means a cat or dog and includes a feral or free-roaming cat as defined in this section.
     (5) "Copayment" means the amount in dollars that a low-income owner of a dog or cat may be required to pay for spay or neuter surgery.
     (6) "Department" means the department of health.
     (7) "Dog" means a member of the species Canis familiaris.
     (8) "Feral or free-roaming cat" means a cat that is unowned, lost, or abandoned.
     (9) "Low income" means an individual who is a resident of Washington state and meets the income limitations defined in section 4(2) of this act or participates in a public assistance program defined in section 4(2) of this act.
     (10) "Medically unfit" means unsuitable for a surgical procedure due to any medical condition that may place a dog or cat at life-threatening risk if a surgical procedure is performed on such an animal, as determined by a veterinarian.
     (11) "Neuter" means the surgical procedure of castrating a male dog or cat.
     (12) "Owner" means an individual or individuals with ownership rights and responsibilities for a dog or cat.
     (13) "Participating spay and neuter surgery provider" means a private veterinarian, private veterinary practice, animal care and control agency, or nonprofit organization that performs spay and neuter surgeries on companion animals belonging to low-income individuals, or spay and neuter surgeries on feral or free-roaming cats, and is participating in the program established under this chapter.
     (14) "Program" means the companion animal safety, population control, and spay/neuter assistance program created in this chapter.
     (15) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department of health or the secretary's designee.
     (16) "Shelter" means a facility that is owned by a public, private, or nonprofit organization that provides food, water, and housing for stray, abandoned, abused, or owner-surrendered dogs and cats.
     (17) "Spay" means the surgical procedure of ovariohysterectomy on a female dog or cat.
     (18) "Surgical sterilization" means performing spay or neuter surgery on a dog or cat.
     (19) "Voucher" means a nontransferable document that, when approved by the secretary or the secretary's designee, authorizes low-income owners of companion animals or caretakers of feral and free-roaming cats to receive program-supported companion animal spay or neuter surgeries, presurgical examinations, and vaccinations by participating spay and neuter surgery providers.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The companion animal safety, population control, and spay/neuter assistance program is established. The purpose of the program is to provide for spaying and neutering of companion animals owned by low-income individuals and for spaying and neutering feral and free-roaming cats. This, in turn, will promote greater public safety and humanely reduce the number of homeless animals that require animal control services and enter our state's animal shelters.
     (2) The department shall administer the program and shall:
     (a) Enroll spay and neuter surgery providers and publicize the program and the names and locations of participating spay and neuter surgery providers;
     (b) Establish criteria and procedures for screening companion animal owners and caretakers of feral and free-roaming cats for eligibility to participate in the program. Caretakers of feral and free-roaming cats are not subject to the low-income requirements set forth in section 4(2) of this act;
     (c) Screen companion animal owners and caretakers of feral and free-roaming cats for eligibility or contract for screening to promote the ease and convenience of applying for services under the program;
     (d) Obtain the greatest number of spay and neuter surgeries that can be accomplished efficiently, consistent with the program's purpose and availability of funds;
     (e) To the extent practical, maximize the ease and convenience for eligible owners and caretakers of companion animals to apply for and receive spay, neuter, and other authorized veterinary medical services, and minimize administrative burdens, procedures, and costs for participating spay and neuter surgery providers that participate in the program; and
     (f) Actively promote the program to inform the public about companion animal overpopulation issues and surgical sterilization.
     (3) The department's priorities for expenditures are to fund spay and neuter surgeries on companion animals belonging to low-income individuals who are Washington state residents and for spaying and neutering feral and free-roaming cats.
     (4) The department may expend moneys from the account to pay the costs of presurgical examinations and vaccinations of companion animals eligible for spay or neuter surgery.
     (5) To the extent that moneys from the account are available and spay and neuter funding priorities are met, as determined by the secretary, the department may expend money from the account for spay and neuter surgeries on companion animals that are in the possession of animal shelters, animal care and control agencies, and other animal welfare organizations. Expenditures under this subsection may be made for spay and neuter surgeries on companion animals: Received as stray or abandoned; relinquished by companion animals' owners or caretakers; transferred in from other shelters, agencies, or organizations; or taken into custody in accordance with chapter 16.52 RCW or local ordinances.
     (6) The department shall set copayment amounts for spay or neuter surgery on owned companion animals. The copayment amounts may not exceed twenty dollars per dog and ten dollars per cat. Any copayments due must be paid by or on behalf of low-income owners of companion animals to participating spay and neuter surgery providers. There is no copayment due for spay or neuter surgery performed on feral or free-roaming cats.
     (7) The department may not use moneys from the account to provide veterinary medical services to the public at large.
     (8) Other agencies of the state, including but not limited to the department of social and health services and the Washington state health care authority, shall work cooperatively with the department to facilitate the development of screening procedures for determining the eligibility of low-income applicants to participate in the program.
     (9) The department may contract with public, private, or nonprofit agencies or organizations with relevant experience and expertise to accomplish the purposes of the program.
     (10) At least ninety percent of the funds from the account must be used for payments to spay/neuter surgery providers for performing spay/neuter surgery and other authorized services, informing and educating the public about the benefits of spay/neuter surgery for companion animals, and promoting the program to the public. No more than ten percent of the funds from the account may be expended for other purposes, including program administration.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The department may expend moneys from the account for spay and neuter surgeries and other authorized services for companion animals that are:
     (a) Owned by qualified low-income individuals;
     (b) Feral or free-roaming cats; or
     (c) Not owned by individuals but are in the possession of animal shelters, animal care and control agencies, and other animal welfare organizations.
     (2) An individual is "low income" if the individual is a resident of Washington state and certifies or provides evidence that he or she:
     (a) Meets the definition of "low-income household" defined in RCW 43.185A.010; or
     (b) Is eligible for and participates in at least one of the following public assistance programs:
     (i) The Washington basic food program administered by the Washington state department of social and health services;
     (ii) Basic health administered by the Washington state health care authority;
     (iii) Medical assistance programs administered by the Washington state department of social and health services that fall within a household income limitation of two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty level as defined by the United States department of health and human services;
     (iv) Supplemental security income administered by the federal social security administration; or
     (v) Any other public assistance program that the secretary determines is sufficient to qualify a person as a low-income individual.
     (3) No unowned dog or cat transferred from jurisdictions outside Washington state into this state is eligible for spay or neuter surgery under the program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) Any private veterinarian, private veterinary practice, animal care and control agency, and nonprofit organization whose services include performing spay and neuter surgeries on companion animals is eligible to apply to the department to participate in the program.
     (2) Spay and neuter services provided under the program may only be performed by veterinarians licensed under chapter 18.92 RCW.
     (3) Participation by spay and neuter surgery providers in the program is voluntary. Participating spay and neuter surgery providers may also elect to exclude particular species (dog or cat) and participants may exclude acceptance of feral or free-roaming cats.
     (4) Any private veterinarian, private veterinary practice, animal care and control agency, or nonprofit organization that performs companion animal spay and neuter surgeries that is interested in participating in the program must submit an application to the department that includes a schedule listing the fees charged for companion animal sterilization in its normal course of business. Applicants must list separate fees for surgical sterilization of female cats, male cats, female dogs within various weight ranges, male dogs within various weight ranges, and for other surgical classifications as the department determines. In addition to providing a schedule of fees, applicants that are animal care and control agencies or nonprofit organizations must include reasonable documentation of their direct and indirect costs of performing surgical sterilization.
     (5) The department shall reimburse each participating private veterinary spay and neuter surgery provider for companion animal sterilization based upon the provider's normal fee schedule, provided that it does not exceed an amount that the department determines is usual, customary, and reasonable. The usual, customary, and reasonable fee limit shall be calculated at the seventieth percentile rate, based upon the department's review of prevailing fees for similar services charged by peer private veterinary practices in Washington state. That fee limit is the rate at which seventy percent of private practice prevailing fees do not exceed. The department may establish rates of compensation for presurgical examinations and for administration of vaccinations in such a manner and at a level as the department determines is fair and reasonable.
     (6) The department shall establish separate rates of compensation for the reasonable costs of surgical sterilization provided by animal care and control agencies and nonprofit organizations that are participating spay and neuter surgery providers. Compensation provided under this section may not exceed the fee limit established for private veterinary practices under subsection (5) of this section.
     (7) The department shall adjust rates of compensation at two-year intervals.
     (8) No participating spay and neuter surgery provider is required to perform medical procedures on an animal that the provider determines is medically unfit.
     (9) Participating private veterinarians or private veterinary practices are not required to screen applicants for eligibility, although they may do so voluntarily. The department may require that animal care and control agencies and nonprofit organizations that are participating spay and neuter surgery providers screen applicants for eligibility.
     (10) The department shall provide payment on a monthly basis to all participating spay and neuter surgery providers for spay and neuter surgeries, presurgical examinations, and vaccinations authorized by the department for reimbursement. Services not authorized for payment may not be reimbursed. Companion animal owners and caretakers of feral and free-roaming cats are responsible for payment of any additional fees due to the participating spay and neuter surgery provider that are mutually agreed upon, administered by that provider, and not covered under the program.
     (11) To receive reimbursement for spay and neuter surgeries and other approved services, the participating spay and neuter surgery provider must submit documentation of authorized services performed as required by the department.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   The department shall adopt policies and procedures relative to:
     (1) Determining eligibility for spay and neuter surgery;
     (2) Establishing copayment amounts for spay and neuter surgeries on companion animals owned by qualified low-income individuals;
     (3) Enrolling spay and neuter surgery providers in the program;
     (4) Determining the percentage of moneys to be allocated to spay and neuter surgery, education of the public, and other purposes;
     (5) Determining fair and reasonable rates of compensation for spay and neuter surgeries, presurgical examinations, and vaccinations, and for making fair and reasonable adjustments to those rates;
     (6) Providing guidance to shelters concerning shelter reporting as required under section 12 of this act; and
     (7) Any other matter necessary for the administration of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Animal care and control agencies are authorized to add to each companion animal licensing fee a charge in an amount to be determined by the animal care and control agency, up to one dollar per license, to fund the program. Any fees collected shall be deposited into the companion animal spay/neuter assistance account created in section 8 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   The companion animal spay/neuter assistance account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All companion animal spay/neuter fees received under section 7 of this act, gifts and grants to the program under section 9 of this act, or other revenue directed to the account must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the program as authorized by this chapter. Only the secretary of health or the secretary's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   The department may accept any donations, grants, bequests, and devises, conditional or otherwise, or money, property, service, or other things of value which may be received from the United States or any agency thereof, any governmental agency, any institution, person, firm, or corporation, public and private, to be held, used, or applied for the purposes of the program established under this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   A person who knowingly falsifies the following information is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be suspended from participation in the program:
     (1) Individual and household income or ownership of a pet in order to qualify for pet sterilization;
     (2) Prevailing fees and rates charged for spay and neuter surgeries, presurgical examinations, and vaccinations; or
     (3) Payment requests submitted to the department for performance of services.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   By April 30, 2015, and annually thereafter, the department shall prepare and submit to the governor and the legislature a report that describes and evaluates the program's performance and impact over the previous year and cumulatively since its inception. At the least, the report must include the following elements: The number of spay and neuter surgeries performed by individual spay/neuter surgery providers, the number of surgeries performed within each county, and the number performed statewide; the number of dogs and cats received by animal shelters and the sources and fates of these animals reported by shelter, by county, and statewide; program revenue and expenditures; effectiveness, efficiency, and accomplishment of objectives; and recommendations for legislative or administrative actions as the department deems appropriate.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   To assist the department in evaluating the impact of the program, animal care and control agencies, humane societies, and other nonprofit organizations that serve as animal shelter for dogs and cats within the state must annually report to the department, in a form and manner required by the department, the number of cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies received and the sources and fates of these animals. However, animal shelters that handle small numbers of cats or dogs, as determined by the department, may not be required to report. The department shall provide guidance to shelters on classifying animals by age, health, and other factors for reporting purposes. Animal shelters that fail to report as required under this section may, at the department's discretion, be disqualified from receiving moneys under this chapter.

Sec. 13   RCW 18.92.260 and 2002 c 157 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) Subject to the limitations in this section, animal care and control agencies as defined in RCW 16.52.011 and nonprofit humane societies, that have qualified under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code may provide limited veterinary services to animals owned by qualified low-income households. The veterinary services provided shall be limited to electronic identification, surgical sterilization, and vaccinations. A veterinarian or veterinary technician acting within his or her scope of practice must perform the limited veterinary services. For purposes of this section, "low-income household" means the same as in RCW 43.185A.010 and section 4(2)(b) of this act.
     (b) Animal control agencies and nonprofit humane societies, receiving animals on an emergency basis, may provide emergency care, subject to a local ordinance that defines an emergency situation and establishes temporary time limits.
     (c) Any local ordinance addressing the needs under this section that was approved by the voters and is in effect on July 1, 2003, remains in effect.
     (2) Veterinarians and veterinary technicians employed at these facilities must be licensed under this chapter. No officer, director, supervisor, or any other individual associated with an animal care or control agency or nonprofit humane society owning and operating a veterinary medical facility may impose any terms or conditions of employment or direct or attempt to direct an employed veterinarian in any way that interferes with the free exercise of the veterinarian's professional judgment or infringes upon the utilization of his or her professional skills.
     (3) Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and animal control agencies and humane societies acting under this section shall, for purposes of providing the limited veterinary services, meet the requirements established under this chapter and are subject to the rules adopted by the veterinary board of governors in the same fashion as any licensed veterinarian or veterinary medical facility in the state.
     (4) The Washington state veterinary board of governors shall adopt rules to:
     (a) Establish registration and registration renewal requirements;
     (b) Govern the purchase and use of drugs for the limited veterinary services authorized under this section; and
     (c) Ensure that agencies and societies are in compliance with this section.
     (5) The limited veterinary medical service authority granted by registration under this section may be denied, suspended, revoked, or conditioned by a determination of the board of governors for any act of noncompliance with this chapter. The uniform disciplinary act, chapter 18.130 RCW, governs unregistered operation, the issuance and denial of registrations, and the discipline of registrants under this section.
     (6) No animal control agency or humane society may operate under this chapter without registering with the department. An application for registration shall be made upon forms provided by the department and shall include the information the department reasonably requires, as provided by RCW 43.70.280. The department shall establish registration and renewal fees as provided by RCW 43.70.250. A registration fee shall accompany each application for registration or renewal.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 14   Sections 1 through 12 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 16 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 15   Sections 1 through 12 of this act take effect January 1, 2014.